There is bad news and good news for the SEC. The bad news is that the last time the conference had more than five teams in the NCAA tournament was 2008. Further, since ’08, the SEC had five teams in the field just once, in 2011. Last season the SEC only placed three teams into the Big Dance, 1 seed Florida, 8 seed Kentucky and 11 seed Tennessee which was sent to Dayton to play in the First Four. In short, top to bottom, the SEC has certainly struggled in recent years.
All that having been said, the good news is that the SEC has remained a major factor in Division I. Florida rode their 1 seed into the Final Four last year before losing to national champion Connecticut in the semifinals. Kentucky did even better, making it all the way to the national championship game before falling to UConn as well. Even Tennessee succeeded, turning a First Four appearance into a Sweet 16 spot before losing to Michigan. The SEC also placed four teams into the NIT (LSU, Arkansas, Georgia and Missouri) and one team into the CBI (Texas A&M). Thus, while the SEC has not been putting teams into the tournament, there are still programs here that have had success, and the teams that make the field are as dangerous as any team in the country.
This season the SEC may struggle again to get more than a small handful of teams into the Big Dance, but the projected conference champion, Kentucky, could very well be back in the national championship game again this year. Florida should also be in the NCAA picture along with a rising Arkansas program. If the SEC is to get more than three bids this year, teams such as Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and/or Georgia will need to step it up. Auburn is our pick at the moment from this group, as Bruce Pearl has brought in arguably the best crop of transfers in the nation as part of his return to the college coaching ranks.
Predicted Order of Finish:
1. Kentucky: John Calipari has such a deep and talented team that he intends to use hockey-style line shifts during games. If the players can all mesh together, the sky is the limit for the Wildcats.
2. Arkansas: The Razorbacks need to learn how to win on the road, but if they do, with talented players such as Bobby Portis, Michael Qualls and Ky Madden, they may prove to be the second best team in the conference.
3. Florida: Michael Frazier II is the only returning starter, but Dorian Finney-Smith should be able to step into a starting role and the Gators have reloaded with the likes of Rutgers transfer Eli Carter. There is no reason why they will not be near the top of the conference race again.
4. Auburn: Bruce Pearl has energized the fan base at Auburn already, and the pieces are here for him to be successful in his first year. Niagara transfer Antoine Mason, New Mexico State transfer K.C. Ross-Miller, JC transfer Cinmeon Bowers and leading returning scorer K.T. Harrell should all be huge helps in turning this team into a legitimate NCAA tournament contender.
5. LSU: The combination of Jarell Martin, Jordan Mickey and 7-1 freshman Elbert Robinson III give the Tigers a very tough frontcourt. The backcourt will be the question mark with JC transfer Josh Gray and freshman Jalyn Patterson both being needed to perform at high levels if the Tigers want to dance this year.
6. Missouri: Kim Anderson takes over head coaching duties and everything says that he will be able to succeed. Mizzou has brought in a strong recruiting class this season, but these kids will need to mature in a hurry with the majority of last year’s team gone.
7. Ole Miss: Life after Marshall Henderson begins this season for the Rebels. Jarvis Summers should excel this year and keep an eye on Aaron Brown down low.
8. Texas A&M: Billy Kennedy has turned to Rick Stansbury as an assistant coach, but he will need a lot more than that if the Aggies want to get into the bubble discussion this year. This team does have a lot of experience on the roster with Alex Caruso, Kourtney Robinson and more — enough to potentially be a surprise team in the SEC standings.
9. Georgia: The Bulldogs would be picked higher if they hadn’t lost Brandon Morris in the offseason. Still, they have the talent to rise in the standings with the likes of Kenny Gaines, Charles Mann and Cameron Forte.
10. Alabama: The Crimson Tide have a solid backcourt but also have some significant issues down low with sophomore Shannon Hale as the only proven player.
11. South Carolina: Frank Martin actually has this program slowly moving in the right direction, especially with Sindarius Thornwell and Tyrone Johnson in the backcourt, plus some experience down low. However, the Gamecocks may still be a year away from making a serious run at an NCAA bid.
12. Tennessee: The Vols will have a solid backcourt with Josh Richardson, Kevin Punter and Robert Hubbs III. They also look like they will have a lot of problems down low.
13. Vanderbilt: Damian Jones should be the star for the Commodores. Unfortunately, there are not very many other proven players on the roster. Kevin Stallings has brought in a Top 30 recruiting class, and with Jones only being a sophomore, things should be looking up for Vandy this time next year.
14. Mississippi State: The good news is that all five starters return for the Bulldogs. The bad news is that they just don’t appear to have the talent level to avoid being near the bottom of the conference standings.