As we all know, SEC basketball has been a gauntlet this season and will continue to be the best conference in basketball until somebody knocks them off this season, and quite frankly, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. The only conference that truly comes close is the Big 12, and for that conference, I only put maybe three teams in the upper half, and that’s it. The SEC has four or five teams who can win the conference.
I’ve always considered SEC football the king of the sport, yet this season, it’s the SEC basketball side of things. The competition is high, with so many teams matching each other level for level, from second to ninth in the conference. And then there’s Auburn, a big exception. When it’s all said and done, I believe Auburn’s performance makes them the best team in college basketball.
As we saw last week, you can buckle up or get put down. Auburn’s impressive comeback win last weekend against South Carolina, Kentucky’s winning on the road in Starkville, Ole Miss’s winning on the road at Alabama this week, Missouri’s improvement this year by beating Florida on the road, and a Gator team who’s been as impressive as anybody in the country. Also, you have Georgia winning at home against Kentucky last week and John Calipari and Arkansas 0-4 in league play; who saw that coming?
When it all settles, this conference will be the best in the country when it comes to overall talent, parity, and record of teams entering the NCAA tournament in March.
Every night in the SEC, you will have an opportunity to pick up Quad 1/2 wins every single game, given how tough this league is when, in some conferences, you have 4 or 5. In this conference, you could have up to nine or ten games where if you struggle in one, you can fix the loss with a win and improve your resume for March.
SEC basketball is at a high peak right now and the best it’s ever been, primarily due to better coaches in the league, NIL, transfer portal; it’s the way the game has changed drastically since the last five or six years when you could win with talent and freshman, and now you got portal players, players staying back for another year, it’s all changed the dynamics of the landscape of College basketball and right now it’s the best its ever been in that regard.
As we enter SEC play, it’s important to remember that the regular season games in this challenging SEC basketball schedule will be beneficial when the conference tournament and NCAA tournament arrive.
For example, a game in the 50s could be messy and ugly, while a team that plays in the 90s and prefers a fast tempo presents a different kind of challenge. It’s important to be well-prepared before March so that you can effectively study and strategize for these opponents.
Overall, the SEC schedule will prepare these teams for crucial moments later in the season. SEC is finally catching up in college basketball and becoming one of the best leagues in the sport. They had a few runs in the last 20 years where Kentucky ran the league and everybody played catch up, but as of the last five or six years, it’s been a different team every single year, and the parity that’s involved now with the new landscape of college basketball is only going to make it better and better.
Relax and enjoy this league because every night will be must-see TV.
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