College basketball weekend roundup: All No. 1 seeds from the SEC? It’s possible

[ad_1]

Unless you’re in the Southeast, you’re probably getting tired of how deep SEC basketball is.

If that annoys you, wait until you hear this: four SEC No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

Is that even possible? It’s never happened since seeding began in 1979. The most is three, done by the ACC’s Virginia, Duke and North Carolina in 2019. But all of the top seeds hailing from the same conference? It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds.

In the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology, Auburn, Alabama and Florida were the slated as No. 1 seeds. Given how elite Auburn has been, they are comfortable in holding a top seed. Alabama escaped Arkansas and Florida got arguably the best win of the season, handling Auburn in the raucous Neville Arena to end the Tigers’ 14-game win streak.

But there are fellow conference teams lurking right behind for a No. 1 spot. Tennessee, which looked like it was starting to spiral, has won three straight, including a complete dominance over Florida when it was missing two starters. Then there’s Texas A&M, winners of four of its last five and coming off a tough road victory over Missouri.

The resumes for all of the five aforementioned SEC teams are No. 1 seed worthy. Auburn is No. 1 in the NET rankings, with Tennessee at No. 4, Florida at No. 5, Alabama at No. 6 and Texas A&M at No. 13. All of the possible contenders have at least five Quad 1 victories with plenty of chances to add more.

All five No. 1 seed contenders comprise the top of the SEC, and at this rate, one of them will have to be the No. 5 in the SEC tournament and play in the second round in Nashville. But that team will have a chance of hearing their name called at the top of one region come Selection Sunday, as well as three other conference members.

Of course, all of this hinges on whether the lone non-ACC projected No. 1 seed can keep its spot (more on that later), but the impossible is plausible in what is continuing to be a remarkable year in the SEC, and it leads the top storylines from the past…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-basketball-weekend-roundup-no-111113827.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-10 11:11:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.