When George Mason reached the Final Four in 2006 it was expected that the NCAA tournament selection committee would start showing Mid-Major schools (schools not in one of the six biggest conferences) more respect. However, that didn't happen as the number of at-large bids going to Mid-Majors actually went down.
But last year, two Mid-Major schools (Butler, Virginia Commonwealth) reached the Final Four. And this year it appears the selection committee took notice with 11 of the 37 at-large bids going to schools not in one of the power conferences, four more than last year.
Here is the full breakdown from the last 12 tournaments...
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