Starting Five: SEC Tournament preview

By Chris Marler

Buzzer beaters, bragging rights, and Bridgestone Arena. It’s one of the best weeks of the year for SEC fans. Here are five things to watch for this week’s SEC Tournament.

1. Coach Cal said what? 

The most polarizing coach in the country kicked off tournament week with some eyebrow raising comments. Arkansas coach John Calipari made it very clear that he doesn’t really care about winning the SEC Tournament. Well, at least not as much as fans do, or as much as he does about winning the national title. 

“I don’t care about the conference tournament, which is why we won it so many times,” Calipari told On3 Sports. “The tournament that matters is the NCAA Tournament … if you’re gonna get to the finals, win, or don’t get to the finals because you’re gonna be exhausted … Let’s play well, and try to improve our seed.”

2. Best matchups? 

It’s hard to say which matchups to look forward to the most since it’s a five-day tournament with every day creating play-in games for the next. However, there are two potential games that standout most and both involve Texas A&M. 

The first one is on Thursday and would feature a Texas versus Texas A&M matchup. That means Texas would need to win on Wednesday against Vanderbilt, which would be a tall task in and of itself. Getting to Friday is key for Texas if they have any chance at getting into the NCAA Tournament. It would be great if Rodney Terry’s bunch was able to do it with a win over their biggest rival. Well, biggest rival outside of general humility, but that’s a different story. 

If Texas were to lose that game, the other matchup that stands out most would be the Texas A&M and Tennessee matchup fans would see on Friday during the second window. These two met just a few weeks ago and Tennessee got a huge road win in College Station. These are two very good teams. However, they also play the least exciting brands of basketball of anyone in the conference. Defensive struggles, physical rebounding, and streaky shooting from three is how both teams love to play. Having them face each other and, quite frankly, only have one of them still standing going into Saturday is a plus from an entertainment standpoint.

3. Storylines 

One of the most unique storylines of the SEC basketball regular season was how much of an advantage playing at home is. Teams finished with a record of 211-60 for a winning percentage of .778. Without getting too deep in the details of overall records, especially since most of the season was played against each other, we won’t look at the overall away records. However, the primary takeaway from those numbers is that only five teams in the conference finished their season with a winning record in away games. 

This is March. This is tournament time. There are no more home games. So, it will be very interesting to see which teams play best away from home in this tournament and the big one that starts next week.

4. Players to watch 

One of the most exciting things about March is watching individual players take over. This is a rare season in the SEC where there is a ton of star power, yet there aren’t a ton of lottery picks in this group. It may seem contradictory, but don’t be mistaken—this league is filled with elite players capable of dominating March, even if they aren’t projected as top first-round NBA Draft picks.

Some of the best moments in March are when fans rally to watch a player have his one shining moment and captivate everyone during a tourney run. Steph Curry at Davidson, Jimmer Fredette at BYU, that white kid with the mustache at St. Peter’s. Fans love to see an underdog story and love to see someone go unconscious from three point land.

Here’s a shortlist of players who can end up being fan favorites and tournament heroes this week and the NCAA Tournament. 

• Josh Hubbard – G, Mississippi State 
• Chaz Lanier – G, Tennessee 
• Mark Sears – G, Alabama 
• Wade Taylor IV – G, Texas A&M
• Koby Brea – G, Kentucky 
• Caleb Grill – G, Missouri 
• Miles Kelly – G, Auburn
• Walter Clayton – G, Florida 
• Tahaad Pettiford – G, Auburn 
• Tyler Nickel – G, Vanderbilt

5. Who cuts down the nets in Bridgestone Arena? 

We all want upsets. We all want a Cinderella story. However, going through this tournament, it’s hard to see that coming because of how good the top teams are. It whouldn’t shock anyone if a team like Texas A&M or Kentucky made a run into the weekend or even the finals. That being said, the top four teams in this tournament are currently the top six overall seeds in the country. 

Tennessee is really good and should get a lot of fan support, since the tourney is in Nashville. However, all season long I have had one firm belief about the pecking order and hierarchy of teams in this conference and ultimately the country. 

1. Auburn has the best resumé in the country. 
2. Alabama has the most talented roster in the country. 
3. But, Florida may very well be the best team in the country. 

Florida finished the season 14-4 in conference play and 27-3 overall. Three of their four losses were on the road, three of their four losses were by six points or less, and three of their four losses ranked opponents. They also beat Auburn and Alabama on the road. 

I’ll take Florida to win it all in this year’s SEC Tournament.

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