Just weeks away from the first NCAA bracket reveal, and the SEC regular season battle will perhaps shape what the NCAA tournament looks like in March.
We’re just weeks away from the first NCAA tournament bracket reveal, where the tournament committee will debut the first look at what the top 16 overall seeds might look like if the season were to end right there.
Before we reach that critical point, the SEC is in the midst of a battle for the top half of the standings with just three games separating No. 1 and No. 11 in the conference, and the top eight just separated by two. Much like the Big Ten, the SEC’s large bulk of teams and subsequent success overall leads to possibly 10 teams from each league getting in. Here’s a look at the SEC schools fighting for not just a top four seed, but those looking to get in the field of 68.Despite being a game above .500 in the league, and 14-6 overall, the Crimson Tide’s resume is tremendous, and a lot needs to take place to see this team slip a level or two. They’ve got tremendous wins vs. Illinois and St. John’s when they were both in the Top 10. There are no “bad losses” for the Tide, unless you’d argue the Texas game was a “bad loss.” Sure, but Texas is also a Quad II, which might not matter as long as the Tide are consistently playing well. Alabama, though, has a very tough road ahead and, if not successful, it could drop a few seed lines as we inch toward Selection Sunday.The current SEC leaders also have a tough road ahead. It will be fascinating to see how A&M does with a tight SEC race and a target on their back for the next 11 games. How difficult is that 11-game run to end the season? They only face one Quad III team . The rest? Either Quad I or Quad II. One thing to note: Despite Texas A&M’s success this season, it has only played one ranked team, an 87-82 loss to Tennessee in overtime.The Florida Gators are like the kid with pretty good grades: Top 15 in NET , .500 vs. ranked teams, and a half game out of first place in the SEC. But there’s one nagging problem. They’re 4-6 vs. Quad I opponents. Not great, but there’s plenty of room to improve that. Florida’s next three games are all against Quad I teams . Win two of those and the Gators remain in great shape.The Commodores have come back to earth after their roaring start to the season, although it would take a lot more for them to slip a level. There are still a ton of Quad I and Quad II games for Vandy to play and if it maintains consistency, there’s a chance it’ll enter the SEC tournament in prime position to land a top four NCAA tournament seed.Arkansas is playing some of its best basketball of the season, winning four of its past five, highlighted by a blowout victory vs. Vanderbilt. The Razorbacks are in the group of teams that could possibly shoot onto one of the top four seed lines, as Bracket Matrix has Arkansas as a No. 5 seed. A trio of Quad I games in February give the Razorbacks a good shot of improving their seed. First, they have to beat John Calipari’s old team, Kentucky, on Saturday.For the Vols, much like everybody else in the field this week, their task is simply just staying the course. Tennessee is 4-4 vs. Quad I teams and 2-2 vs. Quad II. The immediate way to fix those marks is to simply win games. Tennessee will see fellow Quad I teams Auburn and Kentucky in two of its next three games. As long as the Vols don’t stumble, they should land on the right side of the bubble and perhaps be a factor in the SEC title race.Carrying the SEC’s longest winning streak at four, the Tigers have worked their way off the bubble. Going through the SEC, though, can see streaks be flipped. One loss can turn into two straight, or three, if you aren’t bringing it for 40 minutes each night. Auburn’s toughest stretch of the season is coming up with four games vs. Quad I teams . Auburn’s record vs. Quad I teams so far this season? 4-6. If Auburn can’t gain consistency vs. the top half of the SEC, the Tigers will slide back to the bubble.If this had been written last week, Kentucky was solidly in the field with five straight wins. Then came this past week’s 80-55 loss to Vanderbilt. The defeat knocked the Wildcats to 2-6 vs. ranked opponents and, despite being ranked No. 33 in the NET, Kentucky’s inconsistency places them closer to the bubble rather than being comfortably in the field. Luckily for the Wildcats, a game vs. Arkansas this weekend gives them a shot to claw their way back.The Missouri Tigers find themselves in an interesting position entering the final month and change to end the season. They’re currently .500 in the league and sitting at 14-7. The problem is they’ve lacked the wins that would improve their NET ranking of 73. They also sit at 3-4 vs. Quad I opponents and 1-3 vs. Quad II opponents, the one victory coming last week on a buzzer-beater vs. Oklahoma. The positive for the Tigers: They have three Quad II opponents coming up and six remaining opponents currently ranked in Quad I to end the season. If Missouri can push both its Quad I and II records over .500 by the time the SEC tournament starts, the Tigers will be feeling good on Selection Sunday.Losers of three out of their last four games, the Longhorns continue to slip out of the NCAA tournament conversation. Having a 3-6 Quad I record at this time doesn’t help either. In fact, the Longhorns have a losing record on the first three Quad levels, but they are 7-0 vs. Quad IV teams such as Southern and Kansas City. Texas has a chance to fight its way back into tournament contention, with February games vs. Missouri and Georgia, which might turn into possible elimination games for at-large bids. The biggest problem for Texas is winning consistently. Its longest winning streak of the season? Four. All coming vs. Quad IV schools back in November.Following a 4-2 start in the SEC, the Bulldogs are slowly slipping from “on the bubble” to being completely out of the bracket for the SEC. Most teams that make the NCAA tournament, or in the conversation, will take on water at some point in league play. That’s just the nature of the sport, so all is not lost, especially sitting inside the top 40 in the NET. However, if Georgia wants to get in the field of 68, it’ll need to win games and pick up wins vs. potential bubble teams in the league. Getting Texas and Kentucky midway through February helps, but if Georgia can stay afloat between now and then remains the question. A journalist of 19 years, Andrew Hammond's career has taken him from Wichita, KS to Birmingham, AL. In that time, he's excelled in producing quality content in radio, television and newspapers in newsrooms...
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