The SEC has always been known as the strongest NCAA football conference, but it has also been steadily climbing up the men’s basketball ranks. It is no longer Kentucky, sometimes Florida and then everyone else. The SEC had five teams ranked in the first AP Poll of the season, and all 14 teams were in the top 100 on KenPom after the first week of the year with 11 falling in the top 60. It would be a good idea to go with an SEC team to win the NCAA Championship with the 25€ casino bonus ohne einzahlung.
Kentucky opened the season as the number one team on KenPom and have looked the part even though injuries have hit the Wildcats early. All-American Oscar Tshiebwe and potential breakout sophomore Daimion Collins haven’t played yet, and senior point guard Sahvir Wheeler has only played limited minutes. Things will get real quickly for Kentucky though as they play Michigan State and Gonzaga in the upcoming week.
Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Auburn were the other SEC teams ranked in the preseason top 25, and all four schools are in KenPom’s top 16 as well. Each school has legit Final Four aspirations, though each looks much different from the others. Tennessee’s identity is their lockdown defense mixed with their experience, especially in the backcourt. Meanwhile Arkansas will be heavily relying on freshmen production along with several transfers in the rotation, as Eric Musselman usually does. The Razorbacks could start sluggish with all the new pieces, but by March they will be a force to be reckoned with. Auburn and Alabama are both coming off disappointing first weekend exits in the NCAA Tournament but look poised to make a deeper run this season. Auburn returns their stud guards while adding one of the top transfers in the nation in Johni Broome. Alabama has more moving pieces from last season, but their offensive firepower will still be very difficult to match.
Florida, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss were all unranked to begin the season, but all five teams have strong chances of being tournament teams in 2023. Florida, LSU and Mississippi State all bring in head coaches who won big at the mid-major level and are now taking over talented and promising rosters. Texas A&M nearly made a miracle run to the tournament last season and now return a lot of the same pieces from that team. Meanwhile, Ole Miss has one of the best players in the SEC in junior guard Matthew Murrell. Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia and Vanderbilt all have lower expectations, but none of them will be easy to beat this year especially when playing at home.
The SEC will be an extremely competitive league all season long which will have all their tournament teams more than prepared for the challenge that the NCAA Tournament will bring in March.
