Starting Five: SEC basketball reaches its final stretch

By Chris Marler

As the SEC basketball season heads into its final stretch, the conference race is heating up with high stakes for several teams. From Alabama’s challenging road ahead to Auburn’s historic pace, the next few weeks will shape not only the SEC standings but also the NCAA tournament field. 

Here are five key storylines to watch as the regular season winds down and March Madness looms.

1. Alabama could slip, a lot.

It’s surprising that no one is talking about this. Alabama is definitely one of the best teams in the country, and as noted multiple times, it definitely has the most talented roster in the country. However, the idea that they should skate to the finish line feels very premature. Alabama’s remaining six games are against ranked opponents. That includes three road games and three games against Florida, Tennessee, and Auburn. 

Alabama finishing the season unbeaten feels unlikely. It’s far more plausible they end up as a No. 2 or 3 seed than maintain their current projection as a No. 1 seed and No. 2 overall in the tournament.

2. Could Texas A&M make a move?

Anyone who has watched the Aggies can see what has been evident for weeks—they are good enough to be a No. 1 seed in March. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen. However, with the way Buzz Williams has this team playing, the way they play defense, and the way Wade Taylor IV can take over games, they are as likely as any team to make a deep run in the postseason. 

3. It’s time to talk about Auburn as an all-time great.

This seems like another development the rest of the country is late to recognize — but not LouisianaSports.net. The pace Auburn is playing at right now isn’t just indicative of a good or even great year, this is one of the best teams in SEC history and among the greatest in college basketball history. The resumé and results represent nothing other than that. 

Auburn has 14 Quad 1 wins this year. That’s six more than any other team in the country and more than double 359 of the remaining 363 teams in the country. It’s also just three shy of the all-time record. They’re coming off a road win against the then-No. 2 team in the country, a game in which they never trailed for a single second. 

4. What are realistic tournament expectations? 

The number 13 has been the most consistent figure when it comes to projected SEC teams in the NCAA tournament. That’s where Joe Lunardi currently sees the SEC in his latest bracketology projections. However, there are three teams designated as last four in or last four byes. Oklahoma and Arkansas are two teams in the last four in grouping. Both teams need to win the games they are expected to down the stretch of the regular season, and a win or two in the SEC tournament would all but secure their spot in the NCAA tournament.

5. Can Mississippi State catch a break? 

Does Mississippi State play games against unranked opponents? Like, ever? It doesn’t seem like it. That’s partially because they’ve played eight of their last ten games against ranked teams. They’ve also played 40% of their games this season against Top 25 teams. Luckily, there’s some reprieve for Chris Jans’ Bulldogs, as they only have two more ranked opponents in their final six games of the regular season.