The SEC goes cold least: 0.97 droughts per team-game. No other conference is under 1.2.

Droughts per team-game across all 31 D1 conferences, 2025-26. Not strength-adjusted: teams play most games inside their own conference, so this describes the conference, not who has the best offense.

Tier

Conference drought power rankings

Ranked worst to best by drought index, a composite of droughts per game (60%) and avg drought duration (40%). Higher score = more drought-prone conference.

#	Conference	Drought index	Droughts/game	Avg duration
1	NECMost drought-prone	94	1.69	4:01
2	MEAC	86	1.75	3:57
3	America East	83	1.77	3:55
4	Southland	75	1.61	3:57
5	METRO	74	1.73	3:53
6	Patriot	70	1.66	3:54
7	SWAC	65	1.43	3:58
8	Sun BeltG5	64	1.58	3:53
9	Missouri Valley	63	1.42	3:57
10	Ohio Valley	60	1.48	3:55
11	Conference USAG5	56	1.41	3:55
12	Mountain WestG5	55	1.44	3:54
13	Southern	55	1.42	3:55
14	UAC	54	1.41	3:54
15	WCC	51	1.41	3:53
16	ASUN	50	1.39	3:53
17	Ivy League	49	1.43	3:52
18	Atlantic 10	47	1.48	3:50
19	MACG5	45	1.26	3:55
20	Big TenP4	42	1.35	3:52
21	Horizon	40	1.27	3:53
22	Big 12P4	39	1.27	3:53
23	Big South	37	1.32	3:51
24	AmericanG5	36	1.35	3:49
25	Big East	36	1.26	3:52
26	Big Sky	36	1.24	3:52
27	Big West	35	1.30	3:51
28	PAC12	35	1.26	3:51
29	Summit	34	1.25	3:51
30	ACCP4	24	1.29	3:47
31	SECP4Best	0	0.97	3:47

Conference comparison

How do conferences stack up? Toggle between metrics to compare drought frequency, duration, and win rates.

All conferences

Click a conference to see individual team breakdowns. P4 and G5 mark Power 4 and Group of 5 conferences.

Conference	Teams	Droughts/game	Avg duration	Avg win %
America East	9	1.77	3:55	42%
MEAC	8	1.75	3:57	40%
METRO	13	1.73	3:53	49%
NEC	10	1.69	4:01	43%
Patriot	10	1.66	3:54	45%
Southland	12	1.61	3:57	47%
Sun BeltG5	14	1.58	3:53	51%
Atlantic 10	14	1.48	3:50	55%
Ohio Valley	9	1.48	3:55	50%
Mountain WestG5	10	1.44	3:54	50%
Ivy League	8	1.43	3:52	51%
SWAC	12	1.43	3:58	41%
Missouri Valley	11	1.42	3:57	53%
Southern	11	1.42	3:55	49%
UAC	9	1.41	3:54	48%
WCC	10	1.41	3:53	52%
Conference USAG5	23	1.41	3:55	53%
ASUN	7	1.39	3:53	44%
AmericanG5	13	1.35	3:49	52%
Big TenP4	18	1.35	3:52	58%
Big South	9	1.32	3:51	49%
Big West	12	1.30	3:51	51%
ACCP4	18	1.29	3:47	58%
Big 12P4	16	1.27	3:53	60%
Horizon	12	1.27	3:53	48%
Big East	11	1.26	3:52	56%
PAC12	9	1.26	3:51	61%
MACG5	12	1.26	3:55	54%
Summit	8	1.25	3:51	49%
Big Sky	11	1.24	3:52	49%
SECP4	16	0.97	3:47	60%

Drought rates by conference

Conferences differ in drought rate by more than fans assume. The high-major leagues (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC) cluster low: their offenses are stable enough that 3-minute cold stretches are rare. The mid-majors (MWC, A-10, AAC) span a wider range, with top programs running at high-major rates and bottom programs leaking points. The low-majors are where droughts compound, weaker offenses go cold more often, weaker defenses fail to capitalize on opponents' droughts, and the results swing wider as a consequence.

The Conference Drought Power Rankings sort every D1 conference by average droughts-per-game in 2025-26, weighted by games played. The Conference Comparison chart overlays distributions for any two leagues. The All Conferences table is sortable on every column; pick a conference name to see every team in it ranked by drought rate, duration, and impact.

Why it matters at tournament time. Selection-committee bubble teams from the mid-major tier almost always have a worse drought profile than the at-large field, and that gap predicts March performance better than KenPom efficiency margin alone. Drought rate is a stand-in for offensive stability, and offensive stability is what survives a single-elimination format.

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