SEC Conference Basketball Odds: Can Anyone Knock Off Kentucky?
Wildcats Solid Favorites to Win SEC title
The Southeastern Conference may be thought of as a football-first conference, but they can play some basketball in the south. The SEC Conference basketball odds have Kentucky winning but nothing will be handed to the Wildcats. Tennessee and Arkansas have solid teams, while Alabama and Auburn aren’t far behind.
The Jeff Sagarin college basketball ratings have the SEC as the third-toughest in the nation. With seven teams in his top 40, it looks to be another strong season for the Southeastern Conference.
The Big Three
While there are six or seven teams that have a chance to win the SEC, the three favorites are favorites for a reason. They’ll be tough to beat and nobody will be tougher to beat than Kentucky.
Kentucky (+170): The Wildcats are favored in the SEC Conference basketball odds and you can’t say it isn’t justified. The Wildcats did lose some talent but you can say that about Kentucky every year. The Wildcats also bring in some major talent each season. This year it was Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston and Ugonna Onyenso.
Kentucky returns Oscar Tshiebwe and that’s reason enough to like the Wildcats. Players who score 17.4 points and grab 15.1 rebounds per game are few and far between. He’ll have help from fellow returnees Sahvir Wheeler (10.1 ppg) and Jacob Toppin (6.2 ppg).
Tennessee (+325): The Volunteers look to defend their SEC tournament victory but they’ll have to do so with Kennedy Chandler. But Santiago Vescovi (13.3 ppg), Josiah-Jordan James (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Zakai Zeigler (8.8 ppg) are all back. Tennessee is in good shape in the guard department.
The Vols need some help for Olivier Nkamhoua up front. Enter Julian Phillips, a 6-foot-8 freshman, who was a McDonald’s All-American and can shoot the 3-pointer. Tennessee has the pieces to make a serious run at the SEC title.
Arkansas (+325): The Razorbacks are one of the favorites in the SEC Conference basketball odds and their fate will be determined by a heralded freshman class. Anthony Black, Nick Smith and Jordan Walsh were all considered in the top 20. Arkansas is credited with having one of the three best recruiting classes in the country. Smith could be the best NBA prospect playing college basketball this season. Check out the current college basketball player stats.
The Razorbacks will need help after losing their top four scorers from a year ago, along with their leading rebounder. Arkansas lost three players who played more than 30 minutes a game. If the freshmen live up to advance billing, the Razorbacks could be a very good team.
Best of the Rest
Alabama (+800): The Crimson Tide will get the ball to Jahvon Quinerly often this season and he’ll play a big role in determining the team’s fate. The only returning player from Alabama’s top four scorers a year ago, Quinerly has to pick up his shooting a bit. The Tide had a strong recruiting class with Brandon Miller and Jaden Bradley both ranked in the top 25. Alabama had arguably one of the top five or six recruiting classes in the country. The NCAAB odds of +800 is probably where the Tide should be.
Auburn (+800): The SEC Conference basketball odds have Auburn at +800 but that might be a tall order. The Tigers have to replace leading scorer Jabari Smith and rebound/block leader Walker Kessler. That’s not to say there aren’t some talented returners. K. D. Johnson (12.3 ppg) and Wendell Green Jr. (12.0 ppg, 5.1 apg) return in the backcourt. The Tigers need Jaylin Williams to return to his 2020-21 form when he scored 10.9 points per game and grabbed 4.7 rebounds.
Florida (+1800): The SEC Conference basketball odds have the Gators at +1800, although that’s probably asking a bit much. The Gators return leading scorer and rebounder Colin Castleton and fifth-leading scorer Myreon Jones. Florida went the transfer route this season and how soon the new players blend in will determine the fate of the Gators. Kyle Lofton 12.8 ppg, 5.9 (apg) at St. Bonaventure, Will Richard (12.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg) at Belmont and LSU transfer Alex Fudge are the best of the bunch.
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