All you need to know about the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, including predictions
Everything you need to know about the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament:
When: Wednesday-Saturday (March 13-17).
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
TV coverage: The SEC Network has the two games Wednesday and all four games Thursday. ESPN has the Friday afternoon games, with the SEC Network televising the two Friday night games. ESPN has Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s championship game.
Television drinking game: Count the number of times our friend Jimmy Dykes uses the term “NASCAR.”
Seeds: 1-Tennessee; 2-Kentucky; 3-Alabama; 4-Auburn; 5-South Carolina; 6-Florida; 7-Texas A&M; 8-Mississippi State; 9-LSU; 10-Ole Miss; 11-Georgia; 12-Arkansas; 13-Vanderbilt; 14-Missouri.
NCAA NET rankings: The computer’s national rankings as of Tuesday morning were 5-Tennessee; 6-Auburn; 8-Alabama; 19-Kentucky; 35-Florida; 42-Mississippi State; 46-Texas A&M; 49-South Carolina; 89-Ole Miss; 92-LSU; 101-Georgia; 108-Arkansas; 155-Missouri; 203-Vanderbilt.
The favorite: After winning the regular-season title with a 14-4 record, Tennessee is the SEC tourney favorite at +130, according to Draft Kings.
Coach of the Year: South Carolina coach Lamont Paris gets my vote. Picked to finish last, the Gamecocks finished in a four-way tie for second place at 13-5.
Player of the Year: The best player on the best team, Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht deserves the honor.
Who’s hot: Kentucky has won five straight, including an impressive 85-81 victory at Tennessee last Saturday.
Who’s not: Poor Missouri lost all 18 of its conference games.
Who’s a dark horse? In Walter Clayton and Zyon Pullin, Florida has the guard play you need at tournament time.
Who’s dangerous? After being a major disappointment, Arkansas finished its last three games by playing Kentucky tough at Rupp (111-102 loss), beating LSU (94-83) and taking Alabama to overtime in Tuscaloosa (92-88 loss).
Who’s also dangerous? After losing five straight, Texas A&M finished with a road victory against Georgia (70-56) a home win over Mississippi State (75-69) and a road win at Ole Miss (86-60).
Who needs a good showing? Mississippi State finished the season with four straight losses, but ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi predicts the Bulldogs will make the NCAA Tournament field with a win against LSU on Thursday.
Best defensive team: Tennessee is ranked No. 3 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Auburn is ranked sixth.
Best offensive team: Alabama is ranked No. 2 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Kentucky is ranked sixth and Florida is 17th.
Players to watch: Knecht is the SEC Player of the Year, but Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves has given a master class in consistency.
Three more to watch: Keep an eye on Auburn’s Johni Broome, Alabama’s Mark Sears and Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard.
Who will get the most attention? All eyes will be on Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, especially after his 27-point performance in Knoxville and The Ringer’s latest mock draft, which has the Kentucky Mr. Basketball winner rated as the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Who might be saying goodbye? The ice has to be thin under Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse. He’s 28-60 in SEC play after his Commodores finished 4-14 this season.
Who has played well in the tournament? Alabama has won two of the last three SEC tournaments. The Crimson Tide beat Texas A&M 82-63 in last season’s finals.
Titles by school: Kentucky (32), Alabama (8), Tennessee (5), Florida (4), Mississippi State (3), Auburn (2), Ole Miss (2), Vanderbilt (2), Georgia (2), Arkansas (1), LSU (1).
When did Kentucky last win the tournament? The last of UK’s 32 SEC tourney titles came in 2018 when the Cats beat Tennessee 77-72 in the finals in St. Louis.
Who has never won the tourney? You will not find an SEC Tournament championship trophy on display at Missouri, South Carolina or Texas A&M.
Who will win Wednesday? Arkansas over Vanderbilt and Missouri over Georgia.
Who will win Thursday? Mississippi State over LSU; Arkansas over South Carolina; Texas A&M over Ole Miss; Florida over Missouri.
Who will win Friday? Tennessee over Mississippi State; Auburn over Arkansas; Kentucky over Texas A&M; Florida over Alabama.
Who will win Saturday? Tennessee over Auburn; Kentucky over Florida.
Who will win Sunday? I’m on record as saying Kentucky will cut down the nets.
Fun fact: This should be a really fun tournament.
