The dream of 40-0 is alive and well for No. 1-ranked Kentucky. The Wildcats settled their business during the regular season, sweeping aside all comers en route to a perfect 31-0 record, 18-0 in SEC play. The all-conquering ‘Cats now head into the conference tourney which begins on March 11 looking to go 34-0 and secure the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.
Can someone – anyone – in the SEC finally tame the Wildcats? Read on as we preview the SEC conference tournament. Meanwhile, the field over in the ACC looks a lot more competitive than the one down south, with the likes of Virginia, Duke, and Louisville all in with a shout. Check out which team prevails in our ACC tournament preview here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]SEC Tournament Preview and Prediction
Favorite – Kentucky Wildcats
31-0. 18-0 in conference play. That immaculate record just speaks for itself.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Not only is Kentucky head and shoulders above everyone else in the SEC, it’s also the overwhelming -110 favorite to come away with this year’s national championship. The Wildcats are almost surely going to end up with one of the four No. 1 tournament seeds, but they will be very motivated to take their undefeated record into the tournament.
Kentucky’s depth and frontline defense with Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein have been unmatched in the conference, and there’s little reason to believe the Wildcats don’t get the three wins needed to lock up that top overall seed.
Sleeper – LSU Tigers
LSU is the tournament’s No. 4 seed, which means it will have to get past Kentucky just to reach the conference finals. But don’t put it past the Tigers to come away with a stunning upset. They were oh-so-close to pulling it off during their meeting in Baton Rouge on Feb. 10, but came up short in a 71-69 loss.
The very talented one-two punch of Jarell Martin (17 points, nine rebounds per game) and Jordan Mickey (16 points, 10 rebounds) gave Kentucky’s vaunted frontline fits with 37 points (on 61 percent shooting) and 18 rebounds combined in their regular season meeting.
Mickey missed LSU’s regular season finale against Arkansas, which the Tigers still won, 81-78, with a shoulder injury, but he should be good to go in time for their first tournament game on Friday.
Long Shot – Vanderbilt Commodores
Kentucky aside, no team will be entering the SEC tournament hotter than No. 7 seed Vanderbilt. After an early seven-game losing skid, the Commodores went 8-2 in their last 10 conference games, with their only losses coming against Tennessee in overtime and at Florida by three points. They will also be on the bracket opposite Kentucky’s, meaning they won’t meet the Wildcats until the final.
And should they reach the final, the Commodores’ long-range attack could just cause the ‘Cats some problems. Vandy is shooting 39 percent from three during conference play, tops in the SEC.
Can Anyone beat Kentucky?
No SEC team was able to beat Kentucky in 18 tries, but more than a few teams came agonizingly close. Ole Miss and Texas A&M sent the Wildcats to overtime in consecutive games. Both Florida and LSU were right within striking distance deep in the second half in back-to-back games in early February. As was Georgia in Kentucky’s penultimate conference game before the Wildcats pulled away in the last two minutes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, four of those five games close calls came on the road. Only two teams (Ole Miss and Vandy) have even come within 10 points of Kentucky at home or in a neutral court all season. With a lack of any home court advantage to help any team except Tennessee, there doesn’t look to be any standout challenger that can finally take Kentucky down.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky once again conquers all comers in the SEC to secure the conference title and heads into the tourney an unbeaten 34-0. Create a betting account now to enjoy all the thrills and spills of Championship Week.
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