Debate has often raged from one season to the next when it comes to which college hoops conference is the best. The ACC has often been anointed, and adding UCLA to the mix won’t hurt. The Big 12, Big East and Big Ten have each taken their turns at the top of the list.
There isn’t much rage in the debate this season, however. The Southeastern Conference is dominating the rankings and projected brackets for the NCAA Tournament, along with packing the list of favorites on NCAAB futures boards.
It’s much simpler –and certainly quicker– to list the four SEC teams that Joe Lunardi doesn’t have in his latest 68-team March Madness field, but instead we’ll start with the dozen schools that could set a new record come Selection Sunday.
Iron Bowl on the Hardwood
Auburn claimed unanimous approval from AP voters in the latest poll, and oddsmakers at some top-rated sportsbooks agree by listing the Tigers alongside Duke at the top of the futures market to win the NCAA Championship, each around +450 to +500.
Bruce Pearl’s cagers are the last unbeaten team in the SEC ranks, and have managed the last two wins without the services of center Johni Broome. The 6-10 senior is dealing with an ankle sprain and is still listed as questionable for Auburn’s upcoming battle with Tennessee.
Auburn still has the top line on Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket projections, and the Tigers’ Iron Bowl rivals from Tuscaloosa also show up as a No. 1 seed on the list.
Alabama is the top-scoring team in the land, and even that list is dominated by SEC squads with 4 of the top 7. The Crimson Tide sit in a 3-team race for third on futures boards with Houston and Iowa State, each of them in the +1100 to +1200 range to win it all.
The Tigers and Crimson Tide meet at Alabama on February 15th before closing the regular season in Auburn on March 8th, and those two matchups will definitely have a bearing on the upper few rungs of the seeding for the SEC Tournament.
Vols About Face Tough Stretch on Schedule
Tennessee spent some time lounging in the nation’s No. 1 spot for a few weeks, and the Volunteers are third behind Auburn and Alabama on the NCAAB odds to win the SEC. Rick Barnes’ bunch can generally be found around +900 to cut down the SEC nets, and play some of the toughest defense in the country.
It goes without saying every SEC team plays a tough schedule, but the Volunteers are about to embark on an especially difficult 4-game stretch with a trip to top-ranked Auburn preceding home dates against Kentucky, Florida and Missouri.
Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss trail the Volunteers in SEC futures, and are showing up as 2-3-4 seeds, respectively, on Lunardi’s NCAA Tournament projections. The Gators are just behind Alabama at some shops on national champ odds and sit just ahead of Tennessee on the KenPom.
Vandy, UGA Can’t Afford Slip-Ups
Texas A&M leads the next half-dozen who would get an invite from Lunardi today if the ESPN analyst had the final say about the Big Dance. Sharp sportsbooks are listing the Aggies behind Ole Miss and in front of Mississippi State to win the NCAA tourney.
Mississippi State and Texas A&M are top 25 teams in just about every poll and set of rankings out there, so the Bulldogs and Aggies should be safe and hear their names called on Selection Sunday.
Missouri, Oklahoma Georgia and Vanderbilt finish off the current list of 12 SEC teams that are on Lunardi’s board, but none can afford a sour close to the regular season, especially if it’s followed by a 1-&-done exit from the conference tournament.
That’s especially true for Vanderbilt and Georgia. The Commodores are on Lunardi’s ‘last 4 in’ list, and show signs of impending struggles after dropping three of their last five games. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are also sliding down the bracketology updates by also dropping three of their last five.
Calipari’s Hogs Struggling to Find 1st SEC Dubya
Arkansas, LSU, South Carolina and Texas are the four SEC teams not showing up on Lunardi’s NCAA bracket, and any one of that quartet could easily steal a slot from the 12 that are by closing strong or making a deep run in the league tourney.
The Razorbacks and Gamecocks were still winless in the conference standings heading into the middle of Week 12, and the spotlight is really on John Calipari in his first season at Arkansas after being a chic pick to win the SEC according to preseason futures.
The Tigers still have home games against Ole Miss, Florida, Tennessee and Texas A&M, and Baton Rouge is never fun for visiting teams. Texas is among Lunardi’s ‘first 4 out’ list, and could still play spoiler with a talent like Tre Johnson on the floor.
