Despite what John Calipari says, this is the year you should want to win the SEC Tournament
So John Calipari is up to his old tricks, claiming the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament doesn’t really matter. We know why Cal says what he says. He wants to take the pressure off his team. He wants to keep the vibes positive heading into the NCAA Tournament. We get it.
And yet this is the year of all years that every player and every coach and every team — all sweet 16 of them — should want to be the one that climbs the ladder and cuts down the nets after Saturday’s championship game at Bridgestone Arena.
After all, this year’s conference tournament, which starts Wednesday, follows the greatest regular season in the history of the SEC. Actually, this SEC regular season was quite possibly the greatest in the history of college basketball.
Let’s review: The SEC slaughtered the ACC 14-2 in the ACC/SEC Challenge back in November. The SEC finished 30-3 against the ACC overall. There were eight SEC teams among the final AP Top 25 released Monday. Three were in the top five, including Bruce Pearl and Auburn, who held the No. 1 ranking for a considerable chunk of the season before losing to Texas A&M and Alabama last week. The Tigers still won the regular season title at 15-3.
“Look, we’re hungry,” Pearl told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum on Monday. “We’ve lost the last two games. We’re not happy about it.”
All of that makes this year’s Music City meet-up (a) the most anticipated and (b) wildest conference tournament in league history. And a tournament that every team would surely want to win.
I know, I know, there are a few out there who claim SEC basketball can’t be that good, right? The league built its reputation on its November and December success, right? Other leagues have improved, right?
Even Ken Pomeroy, often cited in this space, wrote a piece for his Substack subscribers with the following title: “Why hasn’t anyone said the SEC is overrated?”
Pomeroy went on to correctly point out that many strong leagues have followed strong regular seasons with weak NCAA Tournament showings. The 1997 ACC had five teams among the top 20 seeds. Only one made it to the Final Four. The 2024 Big 12 had six teams among the top 23 seeds. None made it past the Sweet 16.
“One takeaway is that it’s not unusual for historically great conferences to fail in the tournament,” Pomeroy wrote. “So maybe it’s time to sell the SEC. Before Greg Sankey throws a fit, it’s important to note I’m not disputing the SEC’s conference supremacy this season. Just that it’s likely the SEC’s Tournament performance will not be entirely consistent with being the best conference of all-time.”
That’s true. I’m not sure it’s an accurate barometer of a league’s strength, however. The NCAA Tournament can be a separate beast. UConn won the 2011 national title after going 9-9 in the Big East. North Carolina State reached last year’s Final Four after going 9-11 in the ACC. When the Wolfpack wilted this year, the school fired head coach Kevin Keatts.
The same can be said of this year’s SEC Tournament. And yet, let us pause now for a word from Mark Pope:
“This SEC Tournament matters,” the Kentucky coach said last week. “It’s the best league maybe that’s ever been in any year of college basketball, and this SEC matters. So, we’re heading to Nashville with all of our successes and confidence and warts and holes that we got to plug and we’re going there with one goal, which is to go win.”
Can Kentucky win it? Sure. The Cats hit Nashville on a high note having whipped LSU at home and beaten Missouri on the road. A healthy Andrew Carr’s resurgence has been especially encouraging. Koby Brea and Collin Chandler have proved capable of stepping in for the injured Jaxson Robinson. UK’s defense has been much improved over the last month.
It won’t be easy, of course. Not for any of the 16. But that’s what makes it both fun and rewarding. To earn the distinction of being the conference tournament champion of possibly the greatest conference in the history of the sport is a worthy goal. No matter what happens next.
Said Pearl, “Winning championships are things you’re going to celebrate your whole life.”
Especially this championship.
