Starting Five: SEC in the NCAA Men’s Tournament

By Chris Marler

Too Short said it best, “Blow the whistle.” It’s tournament time. 

Over 20% of the field is from the @SEC. 🤯

The all-time greatest regular season by any conference in college basketball history.@MarchMadnessMBB x #ItJustMeansMore pic.twitter.com/QVAmSorkTW

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) March 17, 2025

1. Best Bet in Round (for not 1-2 seeds)

The SEC got 14 teams in the tournament, but only eight of them are currently favored in round one. What team is the best bet? I’ll take Mississippi State over Baylor. Mississippi State opened as a 2-point underdog. The Bulldogs are now a 1.5-point favorite. 

Mississippi State doesn’t have a ton of huge wins on their resumé. What they do have is Josh Hubbard. Hubbard set the all-time NCAA record for most points scored in a freshman and sophomore season last week at the SEC tournament in Nashville. They are also one of just five teams in the SEC who ended the regular season with a winning record away from home. 

2. Biggest question mark for the top four teams?

This is a tie. Is Grant Nelson going to be healthy enough to be a factor for Alabama and what can Auburn do to get back to their previous selves? 

First up, Nelson. Grant Nelson wasn’t an All-SEC caliber player this season. However, he has shined in several big moments for Alabama and a lot of those moments happen to be in March. He was phenomenal against Auburn in the regular season finale, and who could forget his legacy game against North Carolina in last year’s Sweet 16? Alabama will need to get that version of Nelson after he suffered a knee injury in the SEC Tournament semifinal game against Florida. Nate Oats said that Alabama “dodged one”, and it wasn’t a serious injury. 

Now for the more difficult question: what does Auburn have to do to get back to their normal selves and make a run. Regardless of their last four games, this is the best resumé in the country. What Auburn needs more than anything is to get their guards and Chad Baker-Mazara going early in this tournament. Tahaad Pettiford and CBM are currently playing with a fractured confidence. That needs to change immediately. 

3. Non-SEC game I can’t wait for 

I know, I know this is an SEC focused article first and foremost. But, I cannot be the only one whose eyes lit up when the 12-versus-5 matchup between McNeese State and Clemson dropped. That game is going to be incredible. 

There are plenty of storylines, for one. Wade, the former coach at LSU, returns for another year leading mid-major McNeese State to the big dance. He’ll be facing his alma mater. Clemson is one of the best teams in the country no one seems to talk about. The Tigers barely missed out on making the ACC Championship game and were a blown lead away from making a Final Four just a season ago. 

4. How many SEC teams make it to next weekend and the Sweet 16?

The SEC got 14 teams in the tournament, which is a record. That also means they will set a new tournament record for losses by a conference in a single tournament, as well. For the league’s sake, let’s hope that a majority of those losses come next week and not in the first weekend. 

So, how many teams will make it to the Sweet 16? I’ll take off the homer glasses for a second and say six. I think Auburn, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee should all be safe in the first two weeks, even though Auburn’s potentially facing Louisville in Lexington and the potential matchup Alabama could get with St. Mary’s is worrisome.  The other two teams I feel most confident in are Missouri, despite a potential showdown with Texas Tech. And the other Kentucky or Texas. 

I think Tre Johnson will carry Texas to two wins before they get Kentucky in Round 2. That will solidify, at least, one SEC team making it to next weekend. 

5. Who’s on upset alert?

Yale over Texas A&M. 

This feels lame because Yale knocked out Auburn a year ago and I really like Wade Taylor IV and A&M’s ability to rebound. But, the moment won’t be too big for Yale. They have the three time Ivy League defensive player of the year in the post and John Poulakidis is lethal from deep. He had 28 last year in round one over Auburn, and Yale shot a ridiculous 55% from three in the Ivy League title game.

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