Remember when it was important how you finished the year!

[UcMiami]

Was reading a review of brackets and it struck me that one first round game features a team that finished the year 1-7 and they are the higher seed against a team that finished the year 2-6! Can you guess which teams?

So I went and looked at some of the others and I don't think I remember a year in which so many tournament teams just stunk up the place in Feb/Mar. So here goes:
The winners are two powers from the same SEC:
Vanderbilt at 1-7, and 2-9 (That big win coming against Arkansas)
LSU at 1-7, 2-8 (Big win Alabama, avenging their previous loss)
But they are joined by a few other teams in slumps:
Arizona State 2-6
Oklahoma 1-4, 3-5
Florida 2-5
St Johns 3-5
Florida State 3-4
Oklahoma State 3-4

Used to be that bubble teams and some of the above are, were evaluated on their last ten games or so ... and a lot of the listed losses were not against tournament teams or were against bubble teams.

 

[DobbsRover2]

At one time the Last 1o games were a factor, but this year that stat was discarded probably for good. Never has any team in the 2000s made it to the tournament with a 2-8 record in the last 10 as did both Vandy and LSU. Only once was an at-large team allowed in with even a 3-7 record, and that case had special circumstances.

The selectors have not only been sending the message to teams like Georgia and South Carolina that it's fine to play a crappy OOC slate and it won't be held against them, but the LSU's and Vandy's are told they can pack it in starting in February and that's okay too.

Now what conference are those teams all from?