The SEC Tournament has finally made it to the semi-finals, where the biggest teams in the league and the sport are. As the NCAA Tournament currently projects, 13 different SEC teams are in the tournament with the conference ranking as one of the best in the KenPom era.
Even No. 16 seed South Carolina got some heralded wins and might've been a tournament team if it was in the ACC. But the focus is on the top. Auburn finally gets going as the consensus favorite to win the SEC tournament at +155, followed close behind by Florida (+210), Alabama (+449) and Tennessee (+550).
Not only are these the top SEC teams but all four rank in the top six nationally, per KenPom. There's a decent chance your National Champion is in that group. Johni Broome is battling with Cooper Flagg for the John R. Wooden Award and Auburn is fighting Duke for title favorites but there is no question: The SEC is the best conference this year. Now, we get to watch these teams play for an SEC crown before we kick off March Madness.
Here are our top picks for today’s SEC Tournament games Texas vs. Tennessee.
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Friday’s Best SEC Tournament Bets: Texas vs. Tennessee
Texas vs. Tennessee
Location: Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN
Line: Tennessee -10.0 | Total: 135.5
Texas has been fighting for its life to make the NCAA Tournament but has pulled off two upsets to earn a battle against Tennessee. A double-overtime victory is what has gotten them here after an impressive double-digit scoring effort by six different Longhorns and going 44% from deep. Texas faced off against Tennessee once back in January, dropping the game 74-70 at home.
Now they go up against the best defense in the league. The Volunteers have pure effort running through their blood with the best near-proximity shooting defense, best second-chance conversion percentage defense and the second-best perimeter shooting defense.
Zakai Zeigler is a facilitating god but he also is a feisty defender backed by Igor Milicic and Felix Okpara down low. But Tennessee is known for its defense. It's their offense that has been a bit of a surprise.
Ranking 24th overall, Rick Barnes' squad is in this position to challenge for a No. 1 seed from their perimeter shooting and offensive rebounding rate. This gives them a top-50 field goal attempt rate with a 33rd-ranked mid-range percentage.
Texas will try to counter with their athleticism and perimeter shooting, which has shown its ability to get hot but I think fatigue will show its ugly head against Tennessee today. They are physical and won't allow anything free, which is going to be tough for a team playing in their third straight game after a double-overtime outing against another physical squad in Texas A&M.
It's tough laying so many points but it's hard to imagine Tennessee's defense doing anything but dominating here. The Vols should slow down this game and eliminate Texas.
Prediction: Tennessee 75, Texas 62
Best Bet: Tennessee -9.5 (-115 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
