The SEC basketball tournament will be competitive in every game. Can Kentucky continue their dominance and win their fifth straight conference tournament?
This SEC basketball season has been filled with some of the best storylines of this season. At the top of the rankings, Tennessee has been fighting to be a potential 1-seed all year. At one point, the AP actually had them ranked as the best team in college basketball. However, after some losses to Kentucky, LSU, and Auburn, they have possibly ended contention for that spot unless they win the SEC Tournament.
Kentucky appears to be peaking at the right time. They are the likely favorite to in the SEC Tournament, and they are playing like they want it. However, the most controversial storyline has revolved around the pending investigation over LSU coach Will Wade. With an investigation about paying recruits looming, the Tigers have decided to suspend their coach and star Javonte Smart. After only playing one game without them, there is still a lot to learn about how the top seed in the SEC Tournament can adjust moving forward.
Outside of the top tier of talent, there are a lot of teams who would love to play spoiler. South Carolina is the highest ranked team (4) without a chance to win earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid due to their bad losses early into the season. Auburn would love to shoot the lights out in hopes of winning it all in Nashville. Both teams have a good shot to make it to the championship, but they would have to go through each other to get there.
On the bubble, Florida and Alabama are still looking for a win or two to cement their tournament status. Arkansas is trying to win their way into the tournament, but they would need a lot of help to get there. At the bottom of the bracket, Vanderbilt is still trying to get a win in the SEC this year, with this upcoming game against Texas A&M being their last chance.
All that being said, What are we looking for in this tournament? (*All statistics come from Sports Reference.*)