It’s time to close out January and the first half of conference play this Saturday.
Bracketology Updates
The latest Joe Lunardi bracketology has ten SEC teams making the tournament. It’s a down year for the league compared to last year, but would still be second most of any conference behind the Big Ten who has 11 projected teams.
Here’s a look at the SEC’s ten projected teams.
- 4 Seed – Vanderbilt
- 4 Seed – Florida
- 5 Seed – Alabama
- 5 Seed – Arkansas
- 6 Seed – Tennessee
- 7 Seed – Kentucky
- 7 Seed – Auburn
- 8 Seed – Texas A&M
- 8 Seed Georgia
- Last Four In – Texas
- Next Four Out – Missouri
Latest Brackets per @ESPNLunardi
Seton Hall First Four Out pic.twitter.com/W65zdDWoLA
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) January 29, 2026
Game of the Week – Just one? No way.
It’s the biggest week of the year. We’ve talked about the lack of multiple marquee matchups on Saturdays so far this season. This week is not that. There may be only one game between ranked opponents, but we get Alabama at Florida, Texas A&M at Georgia, Auburn at Tennessee and Coach Cal’s revenge game in Kentucky at Arkansas.
Alabama and Florida will be played on Sunday on ABC. The last time that happened was in the SEC tournament when Florida blew out Alabama on their way to the national championship. This week, Todd Golden hasn’t hidden his feelings on Alabama’s Charles Bediako being available to play for the Crimson Tide. It could be a contentious game in Gainesville.
NEW: Florida HC Todd Golden speaks on Charles Bediako’s return to Alabama🍿
“They were able to finagle it where they got a judge in Alabama that’s actually a donor in Alabama to write a temporary restraining order…
We’re gonna beat them anyways. If he plays, we’ll beat them… https://t.co/0Yo650Ilfw pic.twitter.com/1KwUCe7lx2
— On3 (@On3) January 23, 2026
Auburn at Tennessee and Texas A&M at Georgia are two other games that will be huge for postseason implications and conference standings. Texas A&M leads the SEC with a 6-1 conference record, and they’ll take on a Georgia team that desperately needs to keep their head above water at the .500 line in SEC play. They represent some of the up-and-comers in this year’s SEC while Auburn and Tennessee represent two of the OG’s of conference contenders.
The Battle for the W.O.A.T.
The Saturday slate will kickoff with the two worst teams in the conference playing in Columbia, South Carolina. South Carolina will host LSU to answer the question nobody wanted to ask – who gets fired first in the SEC this year. These two teams have a combined three wins this season and had just five combined last year. If both teams could find a way to lose, trust me, they would.
Florida just beat South Carolina by 47 points. On the road. 🐊
The Gators had as many points in the FIRST HALF as the Gamecocks had in THE WHOLE GAME.
This is Florida’s largest margin of victory in a road SEC game in program history. 😳 pic.twitter.com/HHcbYsBNkx
— CBB Kings (@CBBKings) January 29, 2026
Upset Alert
The obvious answer is Florida. They’ll host Alabama and will undoubtedly be a big favorite, but if Alabama gets Amari Allen back they’ll be at full strength for almost the first time all month. They’re capable of hanging with the Gators if they can score. They’re also one of the few teams with the same record on the road and in neutral sites as at home, 7-3.
The one off the beaten path with high risk but high reward is in Nashville. Ole Miss hasn’t shown the ability to consistently win like last season, but they do have a big road win earlier this season at Georgia. Kentucky is coming off a huge 25 point win over Kentucky, and Ole Miss is coming off a full week of rest and should be ready to go.
Lock of the Week
Last week, we escaped by the skin of our teeth after Missouri needed not one, but two, buzzer beaters to force, and win, an overtime game against Oklahoma. We are playing on borrowed time, but we are also 3-0. What is this week’s lock of the week?
Tennessee over Auburn.
Take whatever the points are if they’re between 4.5 to 6.5. Auburn got a big win at home against Texas on Wednesday and have won two in a row. Tennessee is coming off two big road wins over tournament teams, and will now get to return to their home court where they are 10-1. Auburn is 2-3 in true road games this year.
