2011 SEC BASKETBALL

We're heading down the home stretch of the 2012 college basketball season. Here's where we think the SEC teams stack up and where they'll be come March Madness: SEC Basketball February 2012 Update

With 2011 March Madness here, it is time to bring the basketball programs into the limelight. Last season, we got great play from Kentucky and Tennessee, both of which managed to make it into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

While the SEC is known primarily as a football conference (they have won the last four national championships and are in position to play for a fifth), the conference is also a perennial basketball power. Florida is just a few years removed from back-to-back national titles, and John Calipari has returned Kentucky to prominence once again. Arkansas also looks to be on its way back, which can only help the SEC on a national front.

The strength of the basketball programs in the SEC once again lie in the East, with Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Vanderbilt all looking primed to compete for the SEC Championship this season. The East should be a hard fought division, and I highly doubt any team from the East will be able to get through the division with only one or two losses.

Florida looks to be the class of the SEC this season; there is hope in Gainesville that the Gators will return to the Final Four after three years away. They return all five of their starters, and they have a tremendous freshman class that looks to make a large splash early on.

The SEC West looks to be wide open this season, with Mississippi State being the only team that is really set, and even the Bulldogs have questions that need to be addresses before the season really gets underway. Ole Miss may challenge for the crown, but they have more question marks than Mississippi State does at this point. Arkansas still looks to be a year away from seriously contending for the SEC crown, and Alabama is looking to finish in about the middle of the pack once again.

There is not that much separation between the top conferences this coming season, with nearly every conference having a team that has Final Four talent and dreams. Here is how our rankings of the conferences stack up for the beginning of this season:

ACC - The ACC looks to be the top conference going into the season. They have the defending champion Duke Blue Devils leading their conference and North Carolina looks to be running on all cylinders once again. When one adds in dark horse teams such as North Carolina State, it should be obvious that the ACC is the class of college basketball right now. [Update: Obviously with only Duke in the Top 25, ACC B-ball is NOT #1 at the moment. Still, they have won 5 of the last 10 NCAA Championships and more NCAA Tournament games in the past 20 years than any other conference. So, we'll leave them be for now.]

Big Ten - The Big Ten comes in second on our list, with Michigan State leading the way for the conference. This conference looks to have much more parody than the ACC, with Ohio State, Minnesota, Purdue, and Wisconsin all looking poised to make their move to the top of the conference. A conference this deep deserves to be ranked number two.



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Big East - It may come as a shock to some that the Big East is only number three, but they just do not have the depth of talent that the ACC or Big Ten have this season. Pittsburgh and Syracuse are the best this league offers this season, but the middle of the league is just as good as some of the upper echelons of the weaker leagues.

SEC - The SEC is looking to make its move this season, and return to the top of the basketball tier. With teams like Florida and Kentucky loading up for this season, it should be a very competitive run to the SEC and NCAA Championships.

Big 12 - The Big 12 is in the same boat as the SEC. They have a few great teams, but not many good teams past them. Texas is a perennial underachiever, and I would not recommend getting too excited about them. Kansas State and Missouri are both great teams that should compete for the Big 12 title as well Final Four appearances.

Pac-10 - The Pac-10 looks to be at the bottom of the basketball tier this season. UCLA is in an odd slump, and Arizona and California are both down as well. The Pac-10 may have to live with only having one or two teams in the NCAA Tournament this season.

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New this season -- all SEC basketball teams ranked together, 1-12; not separated by East/West Divisions. The idea is to fix the unbalanced division situation we had last year when Miss. State went 9-7 in the SEC and still got a first round bye (and #2 seeding) in the SEC B-ball tournament ahead of teams in the East with a better record.

1. Kentucky Wildcats - The cream of the crop. Not just in the SEC, but nationally. UK is loaded as has become usual in the Calipari era. Terrence Jones should be player of the year in the SEC and Anthony Davis -- freshman of the year. All in all, 4 players will be first or second team All-SEC. Look for the Cats to win the SEC handily and challenge for the national title.

2. Vanderbilt Commodores - This may be the year for the Dores. All 5 starters from last year are back. John Jenkins should be 1st team all - SEC and Jeffery Taylor -- second team all-SEC. Vanderbilt is always disciplined and well coached. If they can toughen up their defense, especially in March and April -- look out!

3. Alabama Crimson Tide - We're picking Alabama to come in 3rd in the SEC. Last season the Crimson Tide showed improvement; this year we expect to see them in March Madness. JaMychal Green will be an All-SEC player and lead the way.

4. Florida Gators - Made it to the "Great 8" in the NCAA Tourny. For this year, they have lost last year's SEC Player of the Year -- Chandler Parsons; but remain loaded, especially at guard (Erving Walker). Look for another trip to the NCAA Tournament and if they can develop some of their big, inside players -- they could make a run.

5. Mississippi State Bulldogs - MSU was a big disappointment last year. But, the talent is still there and we think they put it together well enough to get an NCAA bid. Dee Bost should be a second team all-SEC player.

6. Arkansas Razorbacks - UA has a new coach in Mike Anderson. Look for them to be decent; middle of the pack; probably get an NIT bid at the end of the season.

7. Georgia Bulldogs - Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, the two leading scorers from last year's team are gone. There are some talented new players but, it will be a rebuilding year.

8. Ole Miss Rebels - The Rebs lost two of their top scorers from last year's team but picked up Jalen Kendrick. Ole Miss will be competitive but not so much at the top of the league.

9. LSU Tigers - LSU will be better this year. Of course last year they were the worst team in the SEC. This year, they maybe move up to #9 or so.

10. Tennessee Volunteers - Crazy year last year. In December the Vols looked like one of the best teams in the country. By the end of the year their coach was fired and they had lost to Michigan by 30 points in the first round of the NCAA tourney. New coach Cuonzo Martin will have to rebuild. Sort of sounds like the Vols' football program....

11. Auburn Tigers - Suffered through a tough year in Tony Barbee's first season as coach last season. Unfortunately, we expect another rough year. But, things should improve when Noel Johnson becomes eligible in December.

12. South Carolina Gamecocks - Things have been bad in Columbia for a while and will get even worse this year. Look for Darren Horn to send out his resume soon.

For the best seats to the every SEC basketball game, including tickets to the Final Four, visit GoTickets.com.

OTHER SEC BASKETBALL PAGES

SEC Basketball Blog

SEC BASKETBALL COACHES BIOGRAPHIES

SEC BASKETBALL PLAYERS BIOGRAPHIES

NCAA BASKETBALL ARTICLES

NBA BASKETBALL ARTICLES

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2011 SEC BASKETBALL

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