A look into the 2018 Men’s basketball SEC Tournament with predictions
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8
Watch: ESPN Time: 1:00 pm ET
Billy Williford prediction: Auburn vs. Missouri
Winner: Missouri Tigers
Billy: For some reason, I can’t get away from the hometown team. Even though Auburn is the number one seed and they continue to show the doubters they are for real I think they run out of gas against Missouri.
Auburn got the best of Missouri beating them by 18 points in the regular season. Michael Porter Jr. is a difference maker this time around and leads Missouri to a win.
Ian McBride prediction: Auburn vs. Kentucky
Winner: Kentucky Wildcats
Ian: The first time these two teams saw each other, Auburn won 76-66. That was also while Auburn was as healthy as they have been all year. The Tigers have currently dropped 3 of their last 5, while UK has won 4 of 5.
Auburn continues to play Bruce Pearl basketball, which is tough as nails. But this time UK is a little more grown up and can handle being pushed around. As a matter of fact, this time they push back. The Wildcats take a close win to move on to the tournament final.
Caleb Calhoun prediction: Alabama vs. Kentucky
Winner: Kentucky Wildcats
Caleb: By making it to Saturday, the Alabama Crimson Tide are going to become a surefire bubble team once again. Avery Johnson’s team will have a ton to play for in St. Louis in an attempt to shockingly make it to Sunday…but it’s not going to work.
Kentucky’s history shows that it’s just too good and too talented to fall to Alabama. John Calipari’s team only lost down the stretch when other teams got red hot shooting against them. If Alabama makes it to Saturday doing it, their luck will then run out. So they are going to lose, making the selection committee agonize over whether or not to put them in the Big Dance.
Game 12: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10
Watch: ESPN Time: 3:00 pm ET
Billy Williford prediction: Tennessee vs. Florida
Winner: Tennessee Volunteers
Billy: Anytime Tennessee plays Florida it’s a huge game. It also doesn’t feel right for the Vols to only play the Gators once during the season.
In the first matchup earlier this season, Tennessee squeezed out a close 62-57 win in Knoxville. That started the Vols on a four-game winning streak at the end of the season. I see this game to be another close one, but something about peanut butter and jelly just sounds so good. That would be Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield if you didn’t know.
Ian McBride prediction: Tennessee vs. Florida
Winner: Florida Gators
Ian: These two teams absolutely battled the last time they played. The Vols ended up edging the Gators in Knoxville, and I’m sure Florida remembers that one very well. Florida took care of the ball fairly well against the tight Volunteer defense, but couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat. The Volunteers held the 35% shooting and 25% beyond the arc.
Tennessee had a substantial home crowd behind them in the first matchup and will have to look elsewhere to pull that extra something out of themselves this time around. As much as I want to pick the Vols, I believe that Florida improves on their last performance, increasing their production and the beating Tennessee in a higher scoring matchup than before.
Caleb Calhoun prediction: Tennessee vs. Arkansasa
Winner: Arkansas Razorbacks
Caleb: Tennessee basketball blew a sure win over the Arkansas Razorbacks to open the conference regular season earlier this year. If not for that overtime loss, they would have been outright SEC regular season champions. As it is, however, they are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. And they will lose to the Hogs again Saturday.
I’ve already mentioned how St. Louis favors Arkansas as a home team who is also great on neutral courts anyway. Combine that with Tennessee’s atrocious history in the tournament, and I’m going with Arkansas in the upset. It’s also worth noting that the last time the Vols won the regular season title, albeit this time it was outright, they lost to Arkansas on Saturday in the SEC Tournament. The same thing is going to happen again.