With only a few games and less than a month remaining in conference play, teams in the SEC are jostling for positions in the conference standings and for spots in the NCAA Tournament coming in March.
That said, here are some of our forecasts of what’s to come for the SEC.
Top 10 SEC NCAA College Basketball Predictions
1. Florida Will Get a Number 1 Seed
Recent losses by Michigan State and Kansas benefited the Gators, who climbed to No. 3 of the AP poll rankings. The Gators (No. 5 in RPI) are almost locked in on the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. All of the remaining games of Billy Donovan’s squad are against non-Top 50 RPI teams, aside from a February 11th duel with Tennessee (48) and a pair of games against (10) Kentucky,
2. Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee Will Make It to the Big Dance
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]It’s sensible to assume at this point of the season that either Florida or Kentucky will take home the SEC Title. If so, that would mean one automatic bid to the Big Dance for the SEC winner. Neither the Gators nor the Wildcats win the conference title, both are shoo-ins to the tournament. This leaves us with teams like the Tennessee, Missouri, Ole Miss, LSU, and Arkansas as teams on the bubble.
Among these teams, Tennessee, LSU, and Arkansas have the best shot at making it, for a variety of reasons, such as wins against Top 50 RPI teams and strength of schedule (SOS).
Considering these factors, it seems that Tennessee will join Florida and Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers, ranked 48 in RPI, have two wins against Top 50 RPI teams (Xavier and Virginia) and their SOS is 16.
3. LSU Will Miss the Boat to March Madness
The Tigers have more wins against Top 50 RPI teams than Tennessee but they also have more losses against sub Top 100 RPI teams with three.
4. Arkansas Will Also Miss the Boat
Like LSU, the Razorbacks could be brushed aside by the selection committee mainly because of their poor showing against sub Top 100 RPI teams. Arkansas’ most damaging loss was a 53-69 defeat at the hands of RPI 138th ranked Texas A&M.
5. Florida Will Win Both Regular Season Meetings with Kentucky
As it stands today, Florida looks more like a championship team than the Wildcats, who were hyped so much in the preseason that some were even predicting they’d go undefeated this season. Those “undefeated” forecasts were proved wrong as early as Kentucky’s third game when they lost to Michigan State back in November.
The Gators have clearly moved on from their early season troubles that included losses to Wisconsin and Connecticut, albeit both of those teams are currently ranked inside Top 20 of the AP poll rankings.
Meanwhile, Kentucky continues to show signs of vulnerability. The Wildcats have five losses overall, and three of those were against sub Top 50 teams. The latest was an 87-82 loss to LSU.
Experience and momentum is on the side of the Gators and it’s not really a long-shot to think that they’ll sweep the regular season series.
6. SEC Final Four Teams Are Going To Be: Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee & Ole Miss
With Florida and Kentucky being almost sure bets to go No. 1 and No. 2 in the final SEC standings, both teams are going to the conference quarterfinals on byes and will proceed to dispatch whichever teams make it past the second round.
The Gators will have an easier time taking care of their quarterfinal assignment compared to the always shaky but formidable Kentucky squad.
Joining the Gators and the Wildcats in the semifinals are the Volunteers and the Rebels.
7. Florida Will Win SEC Championship
As we’ve mentioned, the Gators will whip Kentucky twice in the regular season. But lightning would strike thrice for the Wildcats as Florida will again come out on top in the SEC championship game.
8. Jabari Brown Will Be SEC Player of the Year
Missouri junior guard Jabari Brown has silently compiled impressive numbers throughout the season. Brown’s lights-out efficiency from the field and scoring are his strongest suits in his candidacy to win the SEC Player of the Year plum.
He is averaging .500 from the field, which is almost 100 points higher than his output a season ago. He is also averaging 20.1 PPG – second best in the SEC. Brown improved his chances of winning the award when he dropped 33 points (10-11 FG, 3-6 3-pts) against Kentucky.
2014 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament
9. First Round Match-Ups and Winners
#12 Auburn Tigers def. #13 Alabama Crimson Tide
#11 Mississippi State Bulldogs def. #14 South Carolina Gamecocks
10. Quarterfinals Match-Ups and Winners
#1 Florida def. #9 Arkansas
#5 Tennessee def. #4 LSU
#2 Kentucky def. #10 Texas A&M
#3 Ole Miss def. #6 Georgia
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