It’s no secret that the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has been absolutely dominant in men’s basketball this season.
At the time of this article being written, the SEC has nine total teams in the AP top 25, with a whopping four teams in the top five with Auburn getting the number one spot, followed by Alabama and Florida at two and three respectively, and then Tennessee rounding out the top five.
Many fans, coaches and analysts across the country are referring to this conference as the best men’s basketball conference of all time.
All the hype originated back in December when the annual SEC versus ACC challenge resulted in a 14-2 victory in favor of the Southeastern Conference.
The only two wins the ACC claimed were Clemson’s win over number four Kentucky and number nine Duke’s win over number two Auburn. The rest went in the SEC’s favor as the conference, as a whole, dominated like no other.
In the most recent “Men’s Bracketology” by Joe Lunardi of ESPN, 14 total SEC teams are projected to make the tournament. If this holds up, that would shatter the previous record set by the Big East in 2011 with 11 teams in the tournament.
The SEC could also potentially finish with three out of four number one overall seeds in the tournament with Auburn, Alabama and Florida. Tennessee could also be another team in the conference gaining consideration for a number one seed.
To put the conference’s presence in perspective, just look at the Oklahoma Sooners for example. The Sooners started out undefeated in non-conference play at 13-0 and looked like a top ten college basketball team in America.
The Sooners, however, have struggled in conference play with an SEC record of 3-9, dropping their overall record to 16-9, which is still impressive and can be considered as right on the cusp of making the NCAA tournament in March.
Dan Hurley, head coach of the UCONN Huskies, disagrees that the SEC is the best conference in the league this year. Back in January, Hurley was asked about the SEC dominance and his stance on the issue.
Hurley was quoted saying, “Does your league have the best team in the country that wins the national championship? To me, that’s what sports is all about.”
I understand what Hurley is saying from the perspective of a back-to-back national championship winning head coach. However, for me to justify an entire conference as being “the best,” the conference needs to be strong from top to bottom.
The reality of it all is simple: what will the Southeastern Conference do in March? Will they have three final four teams and an all-SEC national championship? Only time will tell. I know one thing, though. I will be picking multiple SEC teams to make a run in my March Madness bracket.
