NCAA Basketball: Michigan/Ohio State recap, at-large hopes among key questions

5. Outside of Alabama, which SEC team is capable of making a deep run?

Brown

I’d say LSU, Florida, or Kentucky have chances to make a deep run in the tournament. LSU remains strong because of their experienced guard play. Florida could surprise people in the big dance if they get consistent play out of Tre Mann, Colin Castleton, Noah Locke, and Tyree Applebee. I like how the Gators play, and I enjoyed seeing how the Gators rallied together as a team when Keyontae Johnson went down with a non-basketball injury.

If they can make a deep run, this would be huge for Mike White and company. I say Kentucky because as bad as Kentucky has looked at times, you can underestimate John Calipari no matter the circumstances.

The SEC isn’t as cut and dry at the top as we keep hearing. Alabama is hot right now, but they can be knocked off the mountain top just like any other team. The conference and NCAA Tournaments are new seasons on their own, so each of these teams could change their fortune when it matters most.

Tineo

Even with the impressive win in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the SEC has not been good this year. Apart from Alabama, the conference has been inconsistent and has just two other teams ranked inside the top 25, according to KenPom. That’s No. 24 Arkansas and No. 25 Tennessee.

Kentucky has been down, Missouri can play like a top 10 team one game and play like a borderline tournament team the next. Florida has good wins, including a big win against West Virginia. However, I would not trust carrying that in the tournament.

Right now, Alabama is the only SEC team I could see making the deep run.

Zacher

I do think LSU might be the most dangerous, mainly because of their deadly offense – but I’m going to go with Arkansas.  Eric Musselman’s crew are in the top 40 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and they have a star in freshman Moses Moody, who has recorded single-digits in just three of the Razorbacks’ 22 games this season.

Arkansas looks like a drastically different team from the one that started SEC play 2-4 and was blown out at Alabama by 31.  They have won seven of their last eight games – the lone loss being a four-point defeat at Oklahoma State – and those seven wins have included dubs over Mississippi, Kentucky, Missouri, and Florida.

For a team that was picked sixth in the SEC preseason poll and started the season 9-0 – with their best wins being rather unimpressive against Auburn, Abilene Christian, and North Texas – I don’t think much was expected of the Razorbacks, but Musselman has his crew nationally ranked and firmly in the tournament picture.  With the way they’re playing now, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them make a run in the SEC Tournament – and, eventually, March Madness.

Zinkula

Arkansas might be the right answer, especially after LSU fell to Georgia by 13 points. I’m a sucker for offensive talent, however, and the Tigers have a lot of it. Cameron Thomas, Javonte Smart, and Trendon Watford are one of the more dynamic scoring trios in the country. Thomas — a 90.2% foul shooter — makes teams pay at the charity stripe, where he’s scored more points (138) than everyone in the nation except Oakland’s Jalen Moore (154).

Smart has emerged as a scorer lately, shooting a blistering 45.0% from downtown. He’s one of only 9 players this season to shoot at least 45.0% from three on at least 111 attempts. At 6-9, Watford has provided an interior scoring presence for an undersized Tigers squad.

LSU’s defense allows a lot of 3-point attempts — only 13 teams have done so at a higher rate. Given the team’s questionable interior defense, Will Wade has chosen to send help in the paint and live with opponents launching from downtown. If its opponents go cold from three, LSU has enough offensively to make a run.

Loose

With the way things have gone for Missouri and Tennessee recently, the answer seems to be Arkansas. They’ve won their last seven SEC games, including road wins at Kentucky and Missouri. But what does this all mean? The answer should be Arkansas, but any team can get hot at the end of the season.