The Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament heads to Nashville, TN, Wednesday, March 8 to kick off a week of southern hoops action. This year will be the start of an 8-year stretch of the SEC men’s basketball tournament being hosted in Nashville, until at least 2030.
The action starts Wednesday with No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs taking on No. 14 LSU Tigers where the winner will face No. 5 Tennessee Thursday. The tournament continues Wednesday with No. 13 Ole Miss set to take on the No. 12 South Carolina Gamecocks, and the winner will see the No. 6 Vanderbilt Commodores.
To get a better look at the tournament itself, we first need to take a look at the participating teams.
(Credit: ActionNetwork.com)
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide (26-5, 16-2)
The Tide rolled through the SEC, with a 16-2 conference record this year. Their dominance has not gone unnoticed. Earlier in the year, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates called the Crimson Tide the “Number one team in the country.” Alabama is the only team in the SEC to go undefeated at home this year, going 15-0 at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL. The Tide opened up as betting favorites to win the tournament at +170 according to FanDuel. Many people expect SEC player of the year Fr. Brandon Miller to lead the Tide to an SEC title this year, but only time will tell if the Tide will keep rolling in Nashville. The Tide will face the winner of No. 8 Florida and No. 9 Mississippi State Friday, March 10, at 12 p.m. CT on ESPN.
#2 Texas A&M Aggies (23-8, 15-3)
The Aggies of Texas A&M put together a solid year this year with a record of 23-8 overall and 15-3 in SEC conference play. The Aggies ended the regular season by upsetting the then-No. 4 team in the country, Alabama, at home March 4. Despite being the second seed in the tournament, A&M has the fourth-best odds to win the championship at +500 (FanDuel) behind Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The Aggies will face the winner of No. 10 Arkansas and No. 7 Auburn Friday, March 10, at 6 p.m. on the SEC network.
#3 Kentucky Wildcats (21-10, 12-6)
It’s been an up-and-down season for Kentucky this year. The Wildcats were off to a rocky start with losses to Michigan State, Gonzaga, UCLA and Missouri all before January. The Wildcats started to heat up once January started with a record of 11-5 in the months of January and February. While the Wildcats lost two straight games, both to unranked opponents, to end the year, Kentucky still opened up with the third-best odds to win the SEC tournament at +450 (FanDuel). Kentucky is set to play the winner of No. 6 Vanderbilt and the winner of No. 11 Georgia and No. 14 LSU Friday, March 10, on the SEC Network following the Texas A&M game.
(Credit: Missouri Athletics)
#4 Missouri Tigers (23-8, 11-7)
What a year for the Missouri Tigers. First-year head coach Dennis Gates in 11 transfer students, four of which followed Gates from Cleveland State. Before the season tipped off, not many people looked at Mizzou as a real threat to the SEC title, but thanks to contributions from players like All-SEC first team player Sr. Kobe Brown, Sr. D’Moi Hodge, Grad Transfer Nick Honor from Clemson, and Sr. Noah Carter, Mizzou is in a prime spot to make a run at the SEC crown. The Tigers are tied with Texas A&M for the second-best overall record in the SEC at 23-8 and boasted an 11-7 conference record. Despite securing a double-bye in the SEC tournament, the Tigers have the sixth-best odds to win at +2500 (FanDuel). Mizzou will play the winner of No. 5 Tennessee and the winner of No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 12 South Carolina Friday, March 10, on ESPN following the Alabama game.
#5 Tennessee Volunteers (22-9, 11-7)
Tennessee was the first team to miss out on a double-bye in this year’s tournament, despite winning the SEC tournament last year. While the Volunteers are the fifth seed in the tournament, they opened up with the second-best odds to win the SEC title at +280 (FanDuel). As the Vols look to repeat as SEC champs, they must first get through the winner of No. 13 Ole Miss and No.12 South Carolina, whom they went a combined 3-0 against this year. The Vols will await the winner of the Rebels-Gamecocks matchup and play Thursday, March 9, on the SEC Network following the Florida-Mississippi State game.
(Credit: The Athletic)
#6 Vanderbilt Commodores (18-13, 11-7)
Not a lot of people were expecting much from Vanderbilt this year, and the Commodores pleasantly surprised those people. The Commodores are red-hot heading to Nashville going 7-2 in their last nine games of the regular season. Vandy tied for the third-best SEC in-conference record this year with Tennessee and Missouri. The Commodores have the eighth-best odds to win the SEC tournament at +3500 (FanDuel). Vandy is set to take on the winner of No. 11 Georgia and No. 14 LSU Thursday, March 9, on the SEC Network following the Arkansas-Auburn game.
#7 Auburn Tigers (20-11, 10-8)
It has been sort of a disappointing year for the Auburn Tigers, who at one point last year were the No. 1 ranked team in the country. That being said, a 20-11 record for a “disappointing year” is something to be proud of. Despite a solid 14-2 record at home this year, the Tigers went 4-8 on the road to bring their overall record to 20-11. Auburn opened with the fifth-best odds to hoist the SEC crown at +1200 (FanDuel). The Tigers will go head-to-head with No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks Thursday, March 9, at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
#8 Florida Gators (16-15, 9-9)
Nobody was more average this year than the Florida Gators, who had just above a .500 win percentage during the regular season at 16-15, and exactly .500 with their in-conference record at 9-9. To be on par with the rest of their regular season performances, the Gators ended the season going 3-3 in their last 6 games. The Gators opened up with the fifth-worse odds to win the SEC tournament at +10000 (FanDuel). Florida will face the No. 9 Bulldogs of Mississippi State Thursday, March 9, at 12 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
#9 Mississippi State Bulldogs (20-11, 8-10)
If you’re looking for consistency, look no further than the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Last year the Bulldogs went 18-16 overall with an 8-10 in the SEC and were the No. 10 in the SEC tournament. This year the Bulldogs went 20-11 overall (a small improvement from last year) and again went 8-10 in the SEC, and are the ninth seed in this year’s tournament. Mississippi State opened with the 9th best odds to win the tournament at +4500 (FanDuel). The Bulldogs will face the No. 8 seed Florida Gators Thursday, March 9, at 12 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
(Credit: Arkansas Athletics)
#10 Arkansas Razorbacks (19-12, 8-10)
You could make the argument that nobody had a more disappointing regular season in the SEC than Arkansas. This time last year, the Razorbacks were the SEC’s fourth seed with a 28-9 overall record and went 13-5 in SEC play. This year, Arkansas find themselves in the bottom four teams in the conference with a losing record in the SEC. Despite the down year, Arkansas has the sixth-best odds to win the SEC tournament at +1200 (FanDuel). The Razorbacks will face No. 7 Auburn Tigers Thursday, March 9, at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
#11 Georgia Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12)
This year was definitely an improvement from last year for Georgia. Last year, the Bulldogs were the worst team in the SEC with an overall record of 6-26, and won only one game in SEC play (1-17). The Bulldogs are without a doubt longshots to win the SEC title, needing to win five straight to claim the crown and have +50000 odds (FanDuel) to do so. Georgia will face No. 12 seed LSU Wednesday, March 8, on the SEC Network following the Ole Miss-South Carolina game.
#12 South Carolina Gamecocks (11-20, 4-14)
Nothing much to write home about South Carolina this year. While it was a step back from last year when the Gamecocks went 18-13 overall and 9-9 in the SEC, nobody expected much from SC this year. South Carolina has the second-worst odds to win the SEC tournament at +80000 (FanDuel). The Gamecocks will play No. 13 Ole Miss Wednesday, March 8, at 12 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
#13 Ole Miss Rebels (11-20, 3-15)
Talk about consistency, last year the rebels were the 13th seed in the SEC tournament, same as this year, and went 13-19 overall and 4-14 in in-conference play, not too far off from how they fared in the 2022-2023 season (11-20 and 3-15 respectively). The Rebels have their work cut out for them if they want to become champions of the SEC, needing to win five straight games and have +50000 odds to do so, second worst of all SEC teams. The Rebels are set to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks Wednesday, March 8, at 12 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
(Credit: Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos)
#14 LSU Tigers (13-18, 2-16)
Finally, bringing up the rear are the Tigers of Louisiana State. The Tigers had the worst conference record in the SEC this year, only managing to win two games in eighteen attempts. Also, LSU was the only team in the SEC this year to go winless on the road, going 0-9 this season. Not many people will be placing bets on LSU to win the SEC tournament, and the odds show it. LSU opened with the worst odds to win the tournament at +100000 (FanDuel). The Tigers will face Georgia Wednesday, March 8, on the SEC Network following the Ole Miss-South Carolina game.
No matter who hoists the SEC men’s basketball tournament trophy this year, we are bound to see some exciting play, upsets, and some good old-fashioned southern hoops. While it’s anyone’s guess as to who will win the tournament this year, while I’m here I might as well give a few picks;
The favorite: #1 Alabama (+170)
The “sleeper pick”: #5 Tennessee (+280)
The real sleeper pick: #7 Auburn (+1200)
Team poised to make a run: #3 Kentucky (+450)
Best realistic value: #6 Vanderbilt (+3500)
Who I Want to see win: #4 Missouri (+2500)
Who I think will actually win: #1 Alabama (+170)