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Has SEC Basketball Improved Enough to be the Best?

By Billy Williford

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The quality of basketball in the SEC is good. The conference is much improved this season. Does the league have a case to call themselves the best?

There’s no question the quality of basketball SEC teams are playing this year is a different brand from last year. The league is coming off a 6-4 win in a challenge against the Big 12, confirming the conference isn’t just for football.

It should be noted the SEC won without the league-leading Auburn Tigers who are 19-2 on the season and according to Jerry Palm, from CBS Sports, should be on the two line of the NCAA Tournament. This year marks the first time the SEC has won the challenge in the five-year span.

This past weekend of games was a huge statement for a basketball league that has lacked keeping up with the same national esteem the football teams get.

Hot take here, but I think the SEC is arguably the best conference in basketball top to bottom. Their top teams might not carry the same magnitude of the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, and even Virginia. But as a whole, the league is tough and much improved.

Before the 2016 season, most conference power rankings had the SEC around the six or seven spot. The 2017 preseason the SEC leaped to the top four and even snuck into the third position in some rankings.

There is still an opportunity for the conference to grow. The SEC might not be entirely on the ACC level. However, in an ACC/SEC Challenge, I think the SEC could compete if not win a challenge.

Here is a little research to prove my thoughts:

In the 2016-2017 season, only LSU (10) and Missouri (8) didn’t have more than ten wins. Staying with the same two teams, both LSU and Missouri just had two league wins.

Also, last season there were four teams who made it to the 20-win mark at the end of the regular season: Kentucky (26), Florida (24), Arkansas (23), and South Carolina (22).

Fast-forward to this season, and the SEC currently has only one team (Vanderbilt) under ten wins. There are only two teams in the league with less than three conference wins, and they are Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. And Vanderbilt just scored a huge win over TCU, supposedly an elite Big 12 team.

Most teams are approaching the halfway point in league play and have ten games left. So far this year the SEC has six teams within five wins of the 20-win mark.

Alabama (14), South Carolina (13), Missouri (13), and Texas A&M (13), all have a chance to reach 20 wins by the end of the regular season.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN has a total of seven teams from the SEC to receive bids to the big dance. Only the ACC with nine has more projected bids. I think there is a realistic possibility that we could see seven or eight teams dancing depending on how Texas A&M and Georgia can close out their seasons.

Speaking of the ACC, in head to head match-ups with SEC teams this season the ACC has a 9-6 lead. Surprisingly enough Florida has an 0-3 record against ACC opponents this year. The red-hot Tennessee team leads the way for the conference with a 3-1 record. Their only loss was to North Carolina, and to be honest, Tennessee should have won that game.

I know if you’re an ACC fan or SEC hater you’re asking why even note a losing record against the best. To confirm the improvement of course, in 2016, the ACC had an 11-5 record in head-to-head match-ups between the two conferences.

The SEC began making their progress last year to be the best. Despite having 4 fewer bids than the ACC in the NCAA Tournament, the conference had two more teams in the Sweet 16. To add to the debate, it also had two more Elite Eight teams.

I know North Carolina won the Championship last year so my argument must be fallacious. This is a different year, and the SEC is making strides as other conferences are taking baby steps.

It might not be this year that the SEC dethrones the ACC as the best conference in college basketball but that day is approaching. The show is starting so sit back and enjoy.

Please when that day comes, don’t say you didn’t see it coming. Your warning starts now.

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