Best bets for SEC’s final Saturday in February

David Leong-Imagn Images

By Chris Marler

The final Saturday of February is upon us, and it’s the biggest weekend of the year. For one of the few days all season, the SEC will have multiple ranked matchups on the slate.

Here are our best bets for Saturday.

Best Bets

Texas A&M ML
Kentucky ML – Lock of the Week
Alabama Under 80.5 Points
Amari Allen (ALA) Over 2 3s -143
Aden Holloway Over 15 points

Let Me Explain

Perhaps the thing I like the least about myself right now is my inability to stop believing that Kentucky will turn it around this season in basketball. Investing real American dollars on that team is a dangerous, consistently unfulfilling, game, yet here we are. The lock of the week is 7-1 on the season. I believe in my picks way more than I do in Mark Pope. You should, too.

Kentucky coach Mark Pope has been issued a public reprimand and fined $25,000 by the SEC for post-game conduct and comments related to officiating after the Wildcats’ game against Auburn, per the league.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 24, 2026

I am usually very big on trends, especially this late in the season for college basketball. Texas A&M is trending in the wrong direction, and has been for several weeks. Their schedule was wildly unchallenging in comparison to the rest of the league when they found themselves sitting atop the SEC standings at 7-1.

Since then, they have played five tournament teams in seven games. They have gone 2-5 in those seven games, and I’ll let you take a wild guess as to where the five losses came. Still, they get arch-rival Texas at home today in a desperation, must-win game. Take the Aggies.

Alabama leads the country in scoring. They’ve averaged over 90 ppg in each of the last three seasons and currently sit at 92.9 ppg. In six games against Tennessee under Nate Oats, Alabama has never scored more than 78 points. It’s basically a system play at this point to take Alabama under their points against Rick Barnes’ Vols.

Take Amari Allen over two 3-pointers, as well, since the talented freshman has made at least two threes in seven consecutive games and is coming off a career high six made threes on Wednesday against Mississippi State. Take Aden Holloway over 15 points or include it in a parlay since he has scored at least 15 points in seven of his last eight games.