The SEC is going to top heavy this season as the sportsbooks only see five true contenders for the conference title. Kentucky is a comfortable favorite, and they are trailed by Tennessee and Arkansas as they only three teams under 4/1.
Alabama and Auburn are the only other teams under 20/1 and they will certainly take a game or two against the top three teams.
The bottom three teams in this conference, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Georgia, may make up the worst basement of any major conference.
In terms of the national championship picture, Kentucky (5th), Arkansas (8th), and Tennessee (15th) are all legitimate championship contenders in the bookmakers’ odds.
SEC Conference Betting Odds
| Team |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | +180 | +5000 | +900 | +8000 | +12000 |
| ARK | +350 | +35000 | +12500 | +50000 | +25000 |
| TENN | +350 | +350 | +250 | +250 | +500 |
| ALA | +800 | -500 | -500 | -400 | -600 |
| AUBRN | +1000 | +10000 | +4000 | +10000 | +14000 |
| FL | +1800 | +25000 | +7500 | +25000 | +25000 |
| TXAM | +2500 | +4000 | +1800 | +5000 | +1900 |
| MISSR | +8000 | +35000 | +20000 | +50000 | +25000 |
| GA | +10000 | +100000 | +50000 | +100000 | +25000 |
| MSPST | +100000 | +100000 | +75000 | +100000 | |
| VAND | +100000 | +100000 | +50000 | +100000 |
SEC Conference History
The Southeastern Conference, better known as the SEC, held its first men’s basketball tournament in 1933. In the inaugural tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs by a score of 46-27. This was the first of Kentucky’s 31 tournament championships.
To put the number of Kentucky’s SEC tournament wins into perspective, the team with the second-most SEC men’s basketball tournament championships is Alabama with seven. Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas A&M have yet to win one. South Carolina has played in two championship games while Texas A&M made it to the big game twice, leaving Missouri as the only SEC men’s basketball team to never make it to the finals.
Since 2010, the Wildcats have claimed six SEC Tournament championships including a run of four straight titles between 2015 and 2018. Their tournament championship run came to an end in 2019 when they fell to Tennessee in the semifinals. The Volunteers went on to lose to Auburn who won their second SEC tournament championship. As is the case with all SEC tournament winners, the Tigers earned an automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the Final Four for the first time in the school’s history.
For those who don’t know, the SEC is made up of 14 schools that play an 18-game schedule before the SEC single-elimination tournament begins. Tournament seeding is determined by the regular season standings. The bottom four seeds play in the opening round while the top four receive automatic byes into the quarterfinals. As mentioned, the tournament winner earns a spot in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
SEC tournament champions have gone on to win the NCAA tournament 11 times. Of those 11 championships, Kentucky has 8 while Florida has two thanks to back-to-back tournament wins in 2006 and 2007. Arkansas won the NCAA tournament in 1994. The last SEC team to make it to the finals was Kentucky in 2014. They lost to UConn.
Other College Basketball Conference Odds
- AAC Conference
- ACC Conference
- A-10 Conference
- Big East Conference
- Big 10 Conference
- Big 12 Conference
- Pac-12 Conference
- Mountain West Conference
- West Coast Conference
Win Count All-Time in Southeastern Tournament
| Wins | SEC Team | Last Yr won |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Kentucky | 2018 |
| 7 | Alabama | 2021 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 2022 |
| 4 | Florida | 2014 |
| 3 | Mississippi State | 2009 |
| 2 | Auburn | 2019 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 2013 |
| 2 | Vanderbilt | 2012 |
| 2 | Georgia | 2008 |
| 1 | Arkansas | 2000 |
| 1 | LSU | 1980 |
| 1 | Georgia Tech | 1938 |
