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2008 SEC Tournament Preview and Predictions
The SEC is composed of 12 teams split up into two divisions, the East and the West. The SEC Tournament will feature all 12 of these teams when the tournament gets under way March 13th until a champion is crowned on March 16th. The tournament takes place in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The top two teams of each division will get a free pass to day two of the tournament, while the other 8 teams will be required to make a difficult 4 game run in 4 days. Tennessee and Mississippi State both have a bye locked up as they have secured their division titles. Tennessee will get the #1 seed, as they are 27-3 overall and spent a short time as the #1 team in the country. While Arkansas has 2nd locked up in the West, Kentucky holds a very slim one game lead over Vanderbilt with just one game left to play. Kentucky will either have to beat Florida at home or Vanderbilt will have to lose at Alabama in their final games, or it will come down to a tie breaker.The SEC has 5 teams, possibly 6, looking at an invite to the tournament. Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State are all in no matter how they finish out the season. Kentucky, Arkansas, and Florida all have shots at making it to the dance. Arkansas should get in with a last place win against Auburn at home. Kentucky and Florida will square off in the final game of the regular season, and this could have a big impact for both teams’ chances. Florida will need the win more as they have the worse RPI and SOS (Strength of Schedule). Kentucky looked like it had no chance before it pulled together its current 10 wins in its last 12 games. They will still likely need to beat Florida at home or have an impressive showing in the Tournament. So lets take a look at the team we think will win the SEC tournament, and who will help themselves the most in their chances of making it to the big dance.
Winner: Tennessee Volunteers
The Volunteers looked like they were the best team in the country after they went into Memphis and dethroned the current #1 team in the country, but were stunned the following game at Vanderbilt. With only two losses in conference play, they both came on the road against good teams. The Volunteers are not only our pick to win the SEC tournament, but one of the few teams we think can win it all in 2008. They have the scoring trio of Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, and Tyler Smith all averaging over 10 points a game. What really makes this team special is that they can play 9 deep and never miss a beat. This should be a fresh and hungry team ready to show college basketball they are the best in the league.
Big Mover: Kentucky Wildcats
While they have much better shots at making it compared to Florida and Arkansas, they need to keep winning if they want a decent seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are one of the hottest teams behind Tennessee in the conference, and if they are able to beat Florida they will secure the 2 spot in the east and be on the opposite side of Tennessee in the bracket. This is a bigger factor than people might realize. They could miss out on playing Vanderbilt as well who will likely meet up with Tennessee in the semi-finals. We like Kentucky to win all the way to the SEC title game and raise their ranking from a very low seed to a much more respectable 5-7 seed.
For all your conference tournament and NCAA Tournament betting needs go to Sportsbook.com. It’s fast and easy to get going and will have you ready to get going on this year’s action. Be sure to check out some of our featured articles on the top teams in the NCAA and their odds to win it all found at Sportsbook.com. Also, continue to check back for more NCAA Tournament help.
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