NCAA Basketball: Predicted Winners of last 17 Conference Tournaments of 2023-24

SEC

Dates: March 13th-17th
Location: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN
Top Seed: Tennessee Volunteers
Winner: Kentucky Wildcats

All of the talk about John Calipari and if he is washed up or if he should retire at the end of the year the Wildcats enter the SEC tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country. Kentucky can score points at an elite level and have put up 100 or more points multiple times this year. Scoring was never the problem though it was always about what Kentucky and coach Cal were able to do on the defensive end.

There is a direct correlation between when Kentucky started rolling and when they fixed their defense and started allowing fewer points. If the Wildcats keep up the defensive intensity they are going to be very hard to beat. Those of you who have not watched Kentucky let's fill you in quickly. The Wildcats play at a blazing pace, shoot over 40% from the three-point line, and average 90 a game. As mentioned when they are scoring at a high level they are almost impossible to beat.

Sleeper: Florida Gators

The Gators are hardly a sleeper especially since they have wins over Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi State this year. The Gators are another team who can light up the scoreboard and play at the fastest pace in the league. Florida does have trouble trying to stop teams from scoring which has gotten them into trouble this year. The Gators are good enough to win this league and they have already beaten some good teams at the top of the league but will they defend enough to give themselves a chance against the other high scoring teams?  Florida is already safely in the NCAA tournament so they are playing for seeding but head coach Todd Golden wants the tournament title and it would help seeding in a big way.