Last year, Alabama was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, and seven other SEC programs made it to the Big Dance. The Crimson Tide didn’t end up living up to their lofty expectations in March Madness, bowing out to eventual runner-up San Diego State. Now, Alabama is expected to take a step back in 2023-24, which isn’t surprising considering the Tide need to replace SEC Player of the Year Brandon Miller. But Nate Oats’ team isn’t going to be a pushover either. Alabama is a program that can now be counted on to have good guard play every year, and the team added a big-time transfer in Grant Nelson, who stuck out like a sore thumb playing for North Dakota State last season.
Tennessee is the SEC team that enters the 2023-24 season with the most hype. The Vols are +300 favorites to be SEC regular-season champs as they return a bulk of last year’s contributors — which is something considering they finished the year as KenPom’s sixth-ranked team. Kentucky is right behind with John Calipari’s team being +400 to win the conference. The Wildcats have a star-studded freshman class with four five-star recruits — including D.J. Wagner, the son of 2001 McDonald’s All-American Dajuan Wagner. Then Texas A&M sits at +450 to be the SEC regular-season champion, with the Aggies another group that returns most of last season’s key contributors.
Arkansas, Florida, Auburn and Mississippi State are also expected to be good teams this season. The Gators have the potential to really sneak up on people, as Todd Golden is a rising star on the sideline who brought in a good crop of transfers after a disappointing first season in Gainesville. Things get a bit more questionable when you start talking about Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU. And Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina are looking like the bottom dwellers this season.
It should, however, be noted that at least six SEC teams have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five years. SEC teams continue to hire better and better coaches, and the amount of on-court talent is on par with any other conference in basketball. So this conference season should be an absolute gauntlet for everyone. And a few legitimate contenders could easily emerge.