While most of the smaller low and mid-major conference tournaments are already finished or nearing their conclusion, the big boys of the high major conferences begin their post-season tourneys this week. Even though most college basketball fans can’t wait for the official March Madness to begin next week, most hard core fans actually enjoy all of the drama and high seed match-ups that conference tournaments provide.
Despite trailing the Vanderbilt Commodores early in the year, Kentucky(14-2) ran away with the SEC regular season title by two games, thus earning the #1 seed, followed by the Commodores(12-4), Tennessee(11-5), and Florida(9-7) in the East, with Mississippi State and Ole Miss tied at 9-7 as the class of the West. Outside of the top 3 teams in the conference, no one else is a lock for March Madness, so look for a number of teams to try and run the table in Nashville.
Here are my 5 Things To Look For In The SEC Tournament:
1) Can Kentucky Win Both The Regular Season and Conference Titles?
Quite simply, yes. Although Kentucky’s 2 regular season losses came in SEC play, against South Carolina and Tennessee, Coach Cal is a master motivator and will have his squad ready for war. It will not be a cakewalk since the Wildcats could face both teams that defeated them during the regular season in consecutive nights assuming Devan Downey and the Gamecocks beat Alabama and the Vols get past LSU and Ole Miss. Winning 3 games in 3 days would give the Cats a clean sweep of the SEC and a #1 seed in the NCAA’s after missing the tourney altogether last season. Although most pundits agree that they’ve already done enough to secure a #1 seed.
2) Will Florida Win a Game and Be Officially Off The Bubble?
The Gators have been playing with their tournament lives for the past 2 weeks. As soon as you think they are in, they drop 2 straight to South Carolina and Xavier, win 2, then lose 3 straight to Georgia, Vandy, and Kentucky. Which squad will show up in Nashville? While Billy Donovan’s Gators are one of the last 4 in on most people’s brackets, getting a win or two under their belts in the SEC Tourney would all but secure the Gators an at-large berth to March Madness for the first time in 3 seasons. Once they get in it’s well known that good guard play wins games and few teams have a more explosive backcourt than Walker and Boynton.
3) Are South Carolina, Arkansas, or Georgia Spoilers?
Even though Georgia finished 6th in the Eastern division at 5-11, they have beaten all of the top tier teams in conference like Tennessee, Vandy, and Florida, as well as Top 25 ranked Georgia Tech. Of course everyone knows about the Gamecocks upset of Kentucky and Vandy to finish the season. The Razorbacks have as much talent as anyone in conference behind Rotnei Clarke, Courtney Fortson, and freshman Marshawn Powell, all of which averaged more than 15 ppg in the regular season. With a win, all three could be NIT bound, but could also be a handful if they build up a head of steam into the 2nd and 3rd rounds. With their propensity towards beating the top teams, surely each game could be a shocker.
4) Can Any of The Western Teams Make It To The NCAA Tourney?
Mississippi State and Ole Miss are firmly on the NCAA bubble and in need of at least a win or two to be assured of putting on their dancing shoes. Ole Miss was nationally ranked early before struggling in early Feb(losing 5 of 6 games) while the Bulldogs wondered how good they could have been with the services of exiled freshman Renardo Sidney. Regardless, Miss State passes the eye test with the NCAA’s all time shot blocker, Jarvis Varnado and a talented backcourt of Dee Bost and Ravern Johnson. If they get in, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities for Varnado to block 10+ shots in a first round game. Chris Warren and Terrico White must be on point for the Rebels to make a deep run.
5) How Will John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins Fare In Their One and Only SEC Tourney?
It’s a foregone conclusion that Kentucky’s fabulous freshmen, Wall and Cousins, both will be off to the NBA as lottery picks after the season, so SEC fans should enjoy them while you can. While Wall could be the #1 overall pick, Cousins isn’t far behind and is possibly the biggest match-up nightmare for any opposing team in the country to guard against. Of course anything is possible but getting the best of Cousins, Wall, and Co is a daunting task for even the best of NCAA teams, let alone some of the SEC’s mediocre squads. If it works out as planned, Vandy will get a third shot at beating the Wildcats in the championship game on Sunday. Remember, the Commodores were only a Christian Laettner–esque last second shot away from beating the Cats in their last meeting.
Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
