Long recognized for excellence on the gridiron, it’s no longer all about football in the Southeastern Conference.
Anointed as the deepest collection of college basketball teams in the land, the SEC will set a new record on Selection Sunday when at least a dozen –and possibly as many as 14– schools will receive an invite to the 2025 NCAA Men’s Tournament.
If the projections of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi are correct, the SEC will have a pair of No. 1 seeds, a couple of No. 2’s and two more No. 3’s among those invites. Every other conference represented –especially the ACC, Big 12, Big East and Big Ten– will be out to beat a team from the top league in the country.
Before we get to action from the Field of 68, the SEC has a date with itself in the most anticipated tournament of the league’s history…and eagerly awaited by bettors holding college basketball futures tickets.
Auburn Knocked From No. 1 in Final Week
Given how many of the top teams in the land call SEC home, it’s a wonder any school in the conference could last more than a week or two ranked No. 1 in the country. The SEC, in fact, had two teams hold the top spot in the AP poll for at least five consecutive weeks:
- Auburn
- Tennessee
The Tigers stood on the top rung for eight consecutive votes before the tough SEC slate caught up to them in the final week, and they are an easy pick as the favorite to win the SEC title at top sportsbooks.
Auburn is priced around +150 to cut down the nets in Nashville later this week, and Bruce Pearl’s team is eager to bounce back from losses at Texas A&M and to rival Alabama to close the regular season.
Johni Broome is the top weapon on the club, averaging a double-double (18.6 pts, 10.6 reb) while also leading the Tigers in assists (3.3). The 6-10 senior appears to be a sure bet to finish second to Duke’s Cooper Flagg as Player of the Year.
Tennessee also held the No. 1 ranking for five weeks in a row beginning just before Christmas. Rick Barnes’ bunch is built around a trio of guards – Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler and Jordan Gainey. The Volunteers finished fourth to earn a bye into the quarterfinals, and they’re also fourth on the chart at +600 to win the SEC.
Gators & Tide Also Idle First 2 Days
Between Auburn as the top seed in the SEC and Tennessee at No. 4 are the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide. Florida is closest to Auburn on the NCAAB odds to win the league crown at +240, while Alabama checks in at +475.
Todd Golden’s gang in Gainesville has already proven they’re capable of beating all comers. The Gators took out both Auburn and Tennessee when those schools were wearing the AP No. 1 tag, and they closed the campaign by beating three teams headed to the NCAA’s – Texas A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss.
Alabama entered the season ranked No. 2, and if not for a couple of close losses away from home to Purdue and Oregon in November, the Crimson Tide would have ascended to No. 1 at one point to give the SEC a trio of top-ranked teams on the year.
Nate Oates has one of the best guards in the country in Mark Sears. The senior from Muscle Shoals leads the team in scoring and assists, and averaged over 22 PPG for the Crimson Tide in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Can the Aggies or Wildcats Pull Off the Upset?
Texas A&M and Kentucky fall in behind the top 4 in the SEC, both in terms of seeding for the conference tournament and with the oddsmakers. The Aggies and Wildcats both provide a +2500 return to return home from Nashville with the crown.
Buzz Williams has a really odd team in College Station. In an age where 3-point shooting and offense is the rage, the Aggies get it done with defense and old-fashioned glasswork. Texas A&M ranks 326th in the country from behind the arc, but also ranks first in offensive rebounding and fourth in overall boards.
Mark Pope had a very good first year in Lexington. A 1-4 spurt during about a 3-week span was offset by wins over Duke and Gonzaga during the non-con slate, and the Wildcats picked up a couple of tough road wins at Oklahoma and Missouri in their final two road dates.
Texas Needs Deep Run in Nashville to Dance
Oklahoma and Missouri are two of the remaining SEC teams that appear to be headed to the NCAA Tournament. They are joined by Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia, Arkansas and Vanderbilt on Lunardi’s current projections to make it 13 teams from the SEC.
Of that group, it’s Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Arkansas who could slip out with a 1-&-done showing at the SEC Tournament. Texas is listed with Lunardi’s ‘first four out,’ and the Longhorns could push their way in if they can at least make the quarterfinals.
