A who’s who guide to the 2025 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville
Considered the nation’s top conference this year by a country mile, the 2025 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament runs Wednesday through Sunday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Here’s a who’s who this week in Music City:
Who’s the favorite: No. 1 seed Auburn has to be considered the favorite to repeat as tourney champs. The Tigers’ eight-week streak atop the AP Top 25 ended with losses to Texas A&M and Alabama. (The Tigers fell to No. 3 in Monday’s poll.) Still, Bruce Pearl’s club finished the regular season as the outright champion at 15-3.
Who’s hot: Florida has won nine of its last 10 games. The Gators defeated then-No. 1 Auburn 90-81 at Auburn on Feb. 8. They beat then-No. 22 Mississippi State 81-68 in Starkville on Feb. 11. They beat then-No. 12 Texas A&M 89-70 on March 1. They beat then-No. 7 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on March 5. They finished the regular season with a convincing 90-71 win over Ole Miss.
Who’s not: Missouri was 9-4 in SEC play after beating Alabama 110-98 on Feb. 19. Dennis Gates’ Tigers have lost four of five since, including that 91-83 Senior Day loss to Kentucky at Mizzou Arena on Saturday. Their one win down the stretch was over conference doormat South Carolina.
Who’s a dark horse: Arkansas has won four of its last five, though the one loss was an absolute clunker (72-53) at South Carolina. The Razorbacks were 1-6 in league play before the John Calipari revenge game at Rupp Arena on Feb. 1. They are 7-4 since. As the No. 9 seed, Calipari’s club will have to win five games in five days to take the title. And Cal has a long record of claiming not to care about the tournament.
Who’s the best player: Duke’s Cooper Flagg will win the Wooden Award for national player of the year, but Auburn’s Johni Broome should finish second in the voting. The Morehead State transfer averaged 18.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He scored 34 points in Auburn’s 93-91 overtime loss to visiting Alabama on Saturday.
Who’s the best offensive team: Take your pick. Auburn is No. 1 in kenpom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rankings. Alabama leads the nation in scoring at 91.2 points per game. Kentucky ranks third at 85.8 points. One reason the SEC has risen to the top of the conference rankings is the league is full of offensive-minded coaches.
Who’s the best defensive team: Tennessee is No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to kenpom. Rick Barnes’ stingy Vols rank No. 1 nationally in effective field goal defense; No. 2 in 3-point defense and No. 20 in 2-point defense.
Who’s the best coach: It’s truly in the eye of the beholder. Pearl has turned Auburn into a perennial power. Tennessee’s Barnes has over 800 career victories. Nate Oats took “football school” Alabama to the 2024 Final Four. Ole Miss’ Chris Beard took Texas Tech to the 2019 national title game. Florida’s Todd Golden is merely 39 years old. And Kentucky’s Mark Pope did a terrific job shepherding a new roster through an injury-plagued campaign.
Who’s new: Ex-Big 12 members Texas and Oklahoma are SEC Tournament first-timers. But the new duo to watch is ESPN’s Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas. The World Wide Leader’s No. 1 college basketball broadcast team is ditching its usual ACC Tournament duties to hop on the SEC bandwagon.
Who usually wins this thing: Kentucky has traditionally outdistanced the field with 32 tournament titles but hasn’t cut down the nets since 2018. Alabama has won it eight times, followed by Tennessee with five and Florida with four. Auburn and Mississippi State have won it three times. Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Georgia have won it twice. Arkansas and LSU have one title each.
Who will win it this year: When you’re hot, you’re hot, so Florida is the pick. The Gators have terrific guards in Walter Clayton, Will Richard and Alijah Martin. Plus, 6-foot-10 sophomore Alex Condon has been a terror of late. Condon scored 27 points in Florida’s win at Alabama. He grabbed 15 rebounds in the Gators’ victory over Ole Miss on Saturday.
