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History of USC's Invitations to the NCAA Tournament.

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  • History of USC's Invitations to the NCAA Tournament.

    To categorize things here, I have broken down the NCAA Tournament into three time periods: (i) the conference winner only period; (ii) the limited At-Large period; and (iii) the modern 64-team period. I additionally will split that modern 64 period into two categories: (i) the Sports Arena period; and (ii) the Galen period.

    1939-1974: Conference Champions ONLY. From the inception of the NCAA Tournament in 1939 until 1974, with few exceptions, only conference champions were given invites to the NCAA Tournament; the exceptions were for independent schools -- not affiliated with any conference (which still exists in football, but not men's basketball). From 1953-1974, the number of teams invited to the NCAA Tournament ranged from 22 to 25.

    1975-1984: Limited At-Large. Following the 1974 season, the NCAA opened the Tournament to non-conference winners, gradually increasing that number from around six (6) At-Large invitees to about twenty-five (25) in 1984.

    1985-present: Modern Field. In 1985, the NCAA expanded the field to the now familiar number of 64 and six rounds all teams have to play. In 2001, a play-in game was added; in 2011, three additional play-in games were added.

    Sports Arena vs. The Galen Center: commencing in 1959, the Sports Arena was home to men's basketball for both USC and UCLA. In 1966, UCLA moved into Pauley, and left SC as the only college hoops tenant. USC's last season at the Sports Arena was 2005-06. From 2006-07 onward, USC has played at The Galen Center.

    Period No. of Seasons Avg No. of HM Teams Avg No. of HM Tourney Invitees Pct of HM Teams Invited Invitations for USC Invit Rate
    Conference Champions ONLY ('39-'74) 36 60 10 16.7% 4 11.1%
    Limited At-Large ('75-'84) 10 70 24 34.3% 2 20.0%
    Modern - Sports Arena ('85-'06) 22 76 32 42.1% 6 27.3%
    Modern - Galen Center ('07-'21) 15 76 34 44.7% 8 53.3%

    What's important here to me is The Galen Center. Prior to the opening of The Galen Center, USC consistently was below average in invitations to the NCAA Tournament. Starting at the beginning of the 1960s and running through the end of the1970s, that was because UCLA under John Wooden dominated the conference (during a period when typically only conference champions could receive an invitation). After the NCAA Tournament opened to At-Large teams, USC only received invitations at a rate of about 2/3rds of what an average team would.

    Then The Galen Center was built. Starting with the 2006-07 season, USC has only missed the NCAA Tournament when (i) it was on probation (2010 season); (ii) the effect of KO (essentially the 2012 thru 2015 seasons); and (iii) Enfield's two-year drought 2017-18 and 2018-19.

    Otherwise, USC has made the Tournament every other season.

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