2009 Southeastern Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 50th annual SEC Tournament begins on Thursday, March 12th, as all 12 teams in the league compete for one automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The top two seeds from both divisions, the East and the West, have earned byes to the quarterfinal round on Friday. The other eight teams will all be in action on Thursday in Tampa.

Last season, Georgia made an improbable run to the title, as it defeated Arkansas in the championship bout. Ironically, those two teams are both seeded sixth this year, disappointing for the players and coaches. LSU and Auburn, who met in the regular season finale, a game won by Auburn, are seeded first and second, respectively, in the West. The SEC regular season champion, LSU captured its only league tourney title back in 1980 and is six games below .500 all-time in the event. As for Auburn, it is considered by many to be the conference's hottest team, having won seven of its last eight outings. Tennessee is the East's top seed, while South Carolina has earned the second seed. USC is the only member of the conference that has never won this event. The Vols, meanwhile, have four titles, but the most recent came way back in 1979. Kentucky has won this event 25 times, more than the rest of the league combined.

The first of four first-round games pits the Ole Miss Rebels (W-5) against the Kentucky Wildcats (E-4). Ole Miss captured its only SEC Tournament title back in 1981 and is 23-45 all-time in the event. Head coach Andy Kennedy has done a tremendous job this season, as his Rebels are painfully young and inexperienced. Injuries have been an issue, but David Huertas, the league's fifth-leading scorer at 18.2 ppg, has been a consistent performer. As for Kentucky, it is 110-21 all-time in this tournament and last captured the crown in 2004. The Wildcats are led by explosive guard Jodie Meeks, who leads the SEC with 24.7 ppg. Meeks is a 40.8 percent shooter from three-point range and has taken over many games this season at the offensive end. He gets a great deal of help from Patrick Patterson, who ranks fourth in the league in scoring (18.4 ppg) and third in rebounding (9.2 rpg).

First-round action continues with a meeting between Mississippi State (W-3) and Georgia. Thanks to last season's miraculous run, Georgia now has two SEC titles to its credit, but the club is still 37-46 all-time at this event. The Bulldogs are last in the league in scoring, as they are netting only 65.1 ppg, and they are the only SEC team with a negative scoring margin. Georgia is last in the conference in both field goal percentage and assist/turnover margin, but the club did play its best ball late in the regular season. As for Mississippi State, it is an even worse 21-46 overall in this tournament, but the Bulldogs have two tourney titles as well. They are led by defensive standout Jarvis Varnado, who has 143 blocks to his credit, 59 more than any other player in the league. Varnado is fourth in the SEC in rebounding (9.0 rpg), while MSU ranks seventh in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

Vanderbilt (E-5) and Alabama (W-4) are slated to clash in the first round. Alabama is second to Kentucky in SEC Tournament titles, as the Crimson Tide have captured the crown six times, although the program hasn't won the championship since 1991. Fresh off an amazing win over Tennessee on the road in the regular season finale, expect Alabama to play with a renewed sense of confidence. The Tide is led by Alonzo Gee and his 14.8 ppg, good for 13th place among league scoring leaders. As for Vanderbilt, it earned its only title way back in 1951 and is 29-46 all-time in this event. A.J. Ogilvy tops the roster with 15.7 ppg and 7.1 rpg from his center position. The Commodores are the second-worst scoring team in the conference with 70.3 ppg, but they are second-best in scoring defense (65.0 ppg). They are limiting opponents to 39.6 percent field goal efficiency.

The fourth and final first-round game pits Florida, the East's second seed, against Arkansas. Florida won its three titles in consecutive years from 2005 through 2007. The Gators are second in the SEC with a scoring margin of +9.9, just two-tenths of a point behind LSU. They are second in the conference in field goal percentage (.481) but they are last in the 12-team league in field goal percentage defense (.448). Nick Calathes, just a sophomore, is clearly the best player on the UF roster, as he is scoring 17.7 ppg while leading the conference in assists (6.4 apg). As for Arkansas, it is allowing more points (73.8 ppg) than any other team in the league. Michael Washington leads the Razorbacks with 15.5 ppg, and he is pulling down 9.5 rpg to rank second in the conference.

LSU awaits the winner of Ole Miss and Kentucky in the quarterfinal round. The Tigers captured their lone SEC tourney title nearly 30 years ago. LSU is led by the duo of Marcus Thornton and Tasmin Mitchell, the second and eighth- leading scorers in the league, respectively. Thornton is netting 20.9 ppg, while Mitchell provides 16.4 ppg. Thanks largely to their efforts, LSU leads the conference in scoring margin and rebounding margin. The Tigers are also second in assist/turnover ratio, and despite a couple of disappointing losses at the end of the regular season, the team is battle-tested and poised for a significant NCAA Tournament run. It can be argued that LSU is the only SEC team that is a lock for an at-large bid to the "Big Dance" regardless of the outcome of this event.

The second quarterfinal game features South Carolina against either Georgia or Mississippi State. South Carolina is led by a pair of outstanding guards in Devan Downey and Zam Fredrick. Downey is scoring 20.2 ppg to rank third in the conference, and he is third in assists as well (4.6 apg). As for Fredrick, he contributes 15.5 ppg, tying him for 10th on the SEC's scoring chart. The Gamecocks are the top scoring team in the league, as they are generating 79.1 ppg despite the fact that they are shooting only 63.5 percent from the foul line. They are tops in three-point shooting percentage (.380) and first in steals as well, while ranking last in both assists and rebounding margin.

Tennessee suffered a crushing loss to Alabama on a buzzer beater in the regular season finale. The Vols may get a chance to avenge that defeat, as they will take on either the Crimson Tide or Vanderbilt in the quarterfinal round. Both Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism must be productive for the team to advance in this tournament. Smith is scoring 17.1 ppg to place seventh in the league, and he provides 6.0 rpg as well. As for Chism, who is netting 13.3 ppg, he is ripping down 8.1 rpg to place fifth in the SEC. The Vols are second in the conference in scoring offense (78.3 ppg) but next-to-last in scoring defense (72.6 ppg). Furthermore, they are the worst three-point shooting team in the SEC.

Finally, Auburn will close out the quarterfinal round with a game against either Florida or Arkansas. Auburn is the league's top defensive team, holding opponents to 64.2 ppg. Unfortunately, the Tigers are a poor free-throw shooting team (.602), and they struggle from three-point range as well (.328). Auburn lacks the type of player that has proven capable of dominating a game at the offensive end of the floor. What the Tigers do have, however, is a solid collection of scorers who also play strong defense. Keep an eye on rugged forward Korvotney Barber, as he leads the conference in rebounding with 9.8 rpg.