Historically, the SEC has been dominated by a small number of teams in college basketball. But this season, it could be one of the hardest conferences to predict from a college basketball betting perspective. Continue reading for our breakdown of the SEC basketball futures markets, and what bettors can expect from some of the top teams in this conference.
SEC Conference Betting Odds
Team | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TENN | +290 | +225 | +280 | +300 | +270 |
TXAM | +550 | +600 | +450 | +500 | +600 |
UK | +650 | +650 | +325 | +350 | +550 |
AUBRN | +700 | +600 | +700 | +1000 | +600 |
ALA | +800 | +500 | +550 | +850 | +800 |
ARK | +800 | +1400 | +800 | +750 | +1000 |
FL | +800 | +1200 | +900 | +1000 | +900 |
MSPST | +1400 | +1400 | +1800 | +1500 | +1400 |
MISSR | +1700 | +5000 | +4000 | +3000 | +4000 |
MISS | +2500 | +3000 | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
LSU | +4000 | +6000 | +6000 | +4000 | +5000 |
GA | +9000 | +8000 | +12500 | +10000 | +9000 |
VAND | +10000 | +12500 | +12500 | +10000 | +21000 |
SC | +21000 | +15000 | +20000 | +25000 | +9000 |
SEC Basketball Futures Betting Outlook
There is no clear favorite to win the SEC this season. While Kentucky does have the shortest odds to win this conference, they are at plus money to win this league, while five other teams are also inside of +1000 to win the SEC. Those teams are Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Florida, and Alabama. All of these teams have had some sort of success in the recent past, and could very well claim this conference title in March of 2024.
Early in his tenure at Kentucky, John Calipari had run laps around the rest of the SEC, but the league has caught up with him over the last few years. Rick Barnes’ Tennessee teams and Nate Oats’ Alabama teams have been particularly troubling for Kentucky of late, and that should be the case again this year even if Alabama lost Brandon Miller to the NBA from last year’s top-seeded squad.
At longer odds, a team like Auburn could be worth taking a look at in SEC championship futures markets. The Tigers play a fast pace under Bruce Pearl, and that can get even the most talented teams in college basketball out of their rhythm.
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 eight. 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 thrice, 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 conference 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 the SEC Tournament
Wins | SEC Team | Last Yr won |
---|---|---|
31 | Kentucky | 2018 |
8 | Alabama | 2023 |
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 |