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SEC Basketball: Conference schedule observations

By Carmine Carcieri

Mar 11, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC logo on the basketball court prior to game six of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC logo on the basketball court prior to game six of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ole Miss has the first shot at the Kentucky Wildcats in SEC basketball league play.

When conferences across the country begin to release their league schedules, you know the season is right around the corner.

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The latest Power Five league to announced their conference match-ups is the SEC. Beyond Kentucky, the SEC is lacking true heavyweights. Florida, Texas A&M, Georgia and others could all be competitive, but the standings are wide open after the Wildcats.

The non-conference portion of the season will likely be even more important for SEC, as they try to build quality wins and strong resumes before facing off against one another. It will be awfully interesting to see how many bids the SEC is granted in the NCAA Tournament and what teams will emerge from the pack.

So what can we take away from the release of the schedule? Here are our observations:

  • John Calipari’s squad will open up league play at Ole Miss, but the marquee showdown in the SEC will come on February 4 when the Wildcats take on the Gators in Gainesville. Kentucky also hosts Florida three weeks later (February 25) and has to close out the regular season with a trip to Texas A&M.
  • The start of SEC play will come on Thursday, December 29. Five games will take centerstage with the best game featuring Florida at Arkansas. The Razorbacks are a bit underrated at this point, as they return Moses Kingsley, Dusty Hannahs and Anton Beard, add three JUCO prospects, and forward Dustin Thomas is eligible.
  • It’s very rare for teams to play out of conference in the middle of January but the SEC will take on the Big 12 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Arkansas travels to Oklahoma, Georgia hosts Texas, Vanderbilt is home against Iowa State, Auburn will head to TCU, Kentucky plays Kansas at Rupp and Ole Miss plays at home versus Baylor. This is a chance for SEC basketball to improve their national reputation.
  • Nobody has a tougher start to conference play than the Tennessee Volunteers. Rick Barnes’ team travels to A&M on December 29 and hosts the Razorbacks on January 3, before traveling to Florida on January 7. Add in the fact that the Vols are still rebuilding and don’t have Kevin Punter anymore, and this could be an ugly 0-3 start for Barnes and company.
  • The final day of SEC regular season play is also intriguing. As mentioned above, Kentucky faces Texas A&M in College Station, but that’s not the only enjoyable battle. Two rebuilding squads, Alabama and Tennessee, face off against one another, the Gators go to Vanderbilt to take on Luke Kornet and his teammates, and the Georgia Bulldogs will play the Razorbacks (both teams could be fighting for the right to play in March).
  • The SEC Tournament will take place from March 8-12. That is notable because last year, Calipari was not pleased when his team was seeded lower than Texas A&M despite beating them in the SEC Tournament championship game. It’s difficult to heavily factor in conference championship games that take place on Selection Sunday, especially when it’s two teams that are already in the field of 68.

Ultimately, the SEC season will not be about who can dethrone Kentucky (that won’t happen), but instead, who can be the second place squad.

Next: Kansas State rotation

Right now, it’s completely up in the air.

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