Now that the NCAA tournament bracket has been released, we now know which teams from the SEC are in, their seeds, region, and matchups. The SEC has 8 teams in the tournament with a seed range from 3 (Kentucky) to 9 (Texas A&M) and is represented in every region.

With everything in place, let’s take a look at how I think these teams will fare during the SEC tournament. 

Texas A&M

The Aggies will play the Nebraska Cornhuskers on 03/22, and I expect Texas A&M to win this game as their playing style is incredibly hard to prepare for. There really is not a comparable team in the Big 10 that Nebraska would have faced.

I do think that Nebraska is fairly solid on both sides of the ball, but they are also the beneficiary of a weaker Big 10 conference. Outside of Purdue, there are some good but not great teams, and programs like Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, and Penn State are all down this year. We have seen the highs and lows for A&M, but I think they are too physical to lose this game.

That said, I think they will lose to Houston in their second game. I would not be shocked at all if A&M took the 1 seed down, but at the end of the day, this is still a team that lost 14 games who before beating Kentucky in the SEC Tournament was a bubble team.

They are hard to trust, but if they perform like we have seen against some of the conference elites, they are more than capable of pulling off the upset.

Mississippi State

The Bulldogs are the 8 seed in the West region and will face off against the Michigan State Spartans. These two are fairly identical in that they are intense on the defensive side of the ball and play a physical style. I think Mississippi State may be a little better on offense as of late with Hubbard and Smith leading the way.

It’s hard to go against Tom Izzo in March. Regardless of what transpired in the regular season, his teams just seem to find a little magic in the big dance. That said, I think the Bulldogs pull off the win. The playing styles that both teams possess resembles (somewhat) what we see in the Tennessee Volunteers, a team Mississippi State beat twice in the regular season. I think Mississippi State matches up well with the Spartans but has more scoring options and will get the win.

Similar to Texas A&M, if they win, they will likely play the region’s 1 seed, in this case that is the UNC Tar Heels. I think the Bulldogs matchup well with the Tar Heels and can challenge them. I think the biggest difference, however, is the game’s location as it will be played in Charlotte in front of a crowd that will be predominantly in favor of UNC.

I think MSU challenges UNC, but in the end the 1 seed survives.

‍Florida

Florida is the 7 seed in the South and will play the winner of Boise State/Colorado. The Gators demonstrated their potential during their run to the SEC championship game while playing tremendous on the offensive side of the ball.

However, the injury to C Micah Handlogten is concerning as a team with defensive concerns lost one of its main rim protectors. I would have picked Florida prior to this injury, but given the circumstances, I believe Colorado will beat Boise State and then defeat the Gators.

South Carolina

The Gamecocks earned the 6 seed in the Midwest and will play the Oregon Ducks. Ironically, the leader for the Ducks is Jermaine Cousinard who used to play for the Gamecocks. I am not crazy about this matchup for USC but I do think they will win. Had Oregon not won the Pac-12 championship, they would not have qualified for the big dance.

The Gamecocks have been too steady this entire year to not win a game like this in the tournament. Beyond this, I expect them to play Creighton nk the round of 32. The Bluejays journeyed to the elite 8 a season ago and returned quite a bit of experience from that team. This season, they notched wins against Uconn, Marquette, and Alabama.

I think Creighton is a solid team and will end the impressive run of the Gamecocks.This is no disrespect to USC. I would take the Gamecocks against every other 3 seed, but Creighton is as solid as they come.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide are the 4 seed in the West and will play Charleston. Put simply, I think Alabama’s offense is far too potent to lose their first game. That said, their defense will be a problem for them in this tournament, and because of that, I don’t expect them to go far. There is a trend I have noticed with the Kenpom rankings.

Firstly, these rankings are not predictive of who is going to win, but a trend that usually holds true year in year out is teams with large discrepancy between their offensive and defensive efficiency rankings are vulnerable to being upset. Of course, it does not predict that these teams will be the victim of a March upset, but it can help identify those who are at risk. From there, it is all about the matchup. Alabama ranks 2nd and 112th in offensive and defensive efficiency rankings according to Kenpom and should be on upset alert.

Looming for the Crimson Tide in the round of 32 is St. Mary’s, a team who is balanced on both sides of the ball and who defends the 3 well which is a large portion of Alabama’s offensive attack. I don’t think stopping Bama’s offense is possible for most anyone, but I think the Gaels can slow it down just enough to beat them. This is how Bama has lost most of their games this season- their offense scored enough to have won, but their defense can’t get enough stops.

I think this will be their downfall in just their second game of the tournament. 

Auburn

I will be the first to admit that I questioned the Tigers’ potential given their lack of success away from Neville Arena. I think their run through the SEC tournament with relative ease silenced all of those questions. They proved they are just as good as what’s on paper and can beat anyone.

I think Auburn has a fairly straight path to the Sweet 16 with a matchup against the defending national champs looking imminent. This is a game I have gone back and forth on numerous times. Auburn has struggled against elite teams all year, but the tournament is especially unkind to defending champions.

If these two played 10 times, I would take the Huskies to win 6 of them. But I think in this single matchup, the Tigers will show the same level of energy and tenacity on both sides of the ball to win and defeat the defending national champions. I also expect them to defeat the Iowa State Cyclones and advance to the final four.

I don’t think they go past the final four, but what a journey that would be for the Tigers.

Kentucky

The Wildcats play Oakland on 03/21, a game in which I don’t think they will have any trouble. Their offense is just too good to be tamed by an inferior opponent like Oakland. Similar to Alabama, the Wildcats have a top offense with a less than impressive defense.

However, I don’t see a matchup in the first weekend that will pose significant concerns like I do for the Crimson Tide. I expect the Wildcats to defeat the Texas Tech Red Raiders and advance to the sweet 16. There, Marquette will likely await.

This one is hard to gauge as Marquette is executing a lot of gamesmanship in regards to the injury status of starting point guard, Tyler Kolek. With him, this is a well balanced offensive attack, but if he is not able to go or is a shell of himself, I think Kentucky can advance to the Elite 8.

That being said, I feel that their floor is easily the Sweet 16. 

Tennessee

The Volunteers will have no problems in their first matchup against St. Peter’s. I don’t think the Peacocks will be nearly as fortunate this time around in the tournament. I think the Vols will actually coast into the second weekend. There, however, I think they will get the Creighton Bluejays.

I think this is a tricky matchup for the Vols. They are evenly matched but I believe the biggest difference is Creighton has 4 players averaging double figures, 3 of them averaging over 17 ppg. I think that for Creighton it’s simple. Stop Dalton Knecht, or at least make him work harder for his points.

For the Vols, it’s hard given how many different scoring options there are for the Bluejays. Also, given that Creighton will have time to prepare for how they want to defend Knecht, I think they will walk away with the win. 

Ultimately, no one knows how any of this will play out, but one thing is certain- there will definitely be upsets along the way. I think Auburn has the deepest run, but many of these 8 SEC teams are capable of going all the way to the final four and beyond.