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 weekend of hoops.
A warning for Duke
That all-No. 1 seed SEC multiverse is dependent on whether Duke can maintain it’s strong season, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey had to enjoy seeing what happened to the Blue Devils on Saturday.
Duke’s 16-game win streak came to an end after a valiant effort from Clemson in front of its home crowd to give the Tigers another signature win to boost their tournament resume. It was only the first conference loss for the Blue Devils, but it should serve as a warning: they can’t afford many of those if they want a No. 1 seed. It’s been well documented how the ACC isn’t what it usually is this year, giving Duke the easiest path toward a top spot.
But after Saturday’s loss, Duke doesn’t have any remaining Quad 1 opportunities in ACC play until the season finale against North Carolina, which is far from an impressive win at this point. It does have the matchup with Illinois on Feb. 22, but that team isn’t a strong looking as it was a few weeks ago. At the moment, Duke doesn’t have to worry about it’s spot, but any more conference losses and that security will fade away.
Arizona stays hot, sets up Big 12 showdown
In a matchup of the hottest teams in the Big 12, it’s the McKale magic that has Arizona continuing to raise its stock. The Wildcats won their sixth straight and avenged their only conference loss by taking down Texas Tech to move to 11-1 in the Big 12.
Tommy Lloyd continues a remarkable turnaround in Tucson with Arizona 13-1 since it fell into a 4-5 to start the campaign, and the Wildcats have become a team no one would like to play right now. Its last four games were all Quad 1 opportunities, and it capitalized on it to win seven of its last eight in such games.
Now No. 7 in the NET rankings, Arizona will host Houston on Saturday in what is a potential game of the year contender. Both teams have separated themselves as the Big 12’s elite, and it will be a solid measuring stick for whether these teams are national title worthy. Both the Wildcats and Cougars each have games it can’t look over prior to their meeting, but expect a magical environment inside the McKale Center on Saturday afternoon.
The curious case of Oregon
The two halves Oregon played on Saturday against Michigan State perfectly encapsulated how the season has gone for the Ducks. A near perfect start got them a 14-point lead on the road at halftime, but in the second half they fell apart to lose by 12 to the Spartans.
After starting the season with nine consecutive wins and then a 15-2 record, Oregon has struggled in the Big Ten are now on a five-game losing skid, are 5-8 in the conference and suddenly inching closer toward living on the bubble. It doesn’t make sense; to start the season, Oregon beat Texas A&M and Alabama and their seven Quad 1 victories are tied for third-most in the country. But those victories can only take it so far if it continues to lose.
In the first USA TODAY Sports Bracketology less than a month ago, Oregon was a No. 3 seed. Now, it’s a projected No. 8 and continuing to slide. The Ducks are in dangerous territory, just one game ahead of the cutline for the Big Ten tournament. The schedule does seem to get easier now, but Oregon will have to quickly put it together if it doesn’t want to waste all of those quality wins.
The Indiana job
There was plenty of hype for Indiana heading into season thanks to a highly regarded transfer haul, but once it was clear the Hoosiers weren’t going to able to succeed, it made sense for Mike Woodson to step away from his dismal tenure.
So who does Indiana get next?
It was too coincidental Indiana played Michigan on Saturday, going against the Wolverines’ new coach and former Indiana student Dusty May. After Michigan beat Indiana, May was asked about rumors of his interest in the Hoosiers’ coaching job and gave a not-so strong commitment to staying in Ann Arbor. But even if there is mutual interest in May returning to Bloomington, is it worth it?
Indiana has one of the most passionate fanbases in the country, filling up Assembly Hall no matter the record. That comes with high expectations and plenty of scrutiny for a place that hasn’t recaptured success, last appearing in the Final Four more than 20 years ago. Could May finally bring glory back? He has the track record to prove it, but it’ll be an uphill battle. It might be worth staying at Michigan − as crazy as it might seem − and let it be a warning for anyone else throwing their name in the ring: it’s not a job for the weak.
Watch out for this potential first time NCAA Tournament team
The reclassification process to Division I means no matter how good you are to start, you’ll have to wait a few years to make the tournament. After finally finishing the transition, UC San Diego is playing its best ball and trending toward making its first Division I tournament.
In a Big West clash against UC Irvine, the Tritons went up north and used a strong second half effort to get revenge on the Anteaters for an 18-point win. Now UC San Diego and UC Irvine are tied at the top of the Big West, and the Tritons have a compelling case to get the auto bid − and maybe even at large spot. UC San Diego is 2-1 in Quad 1 games and has a surprising NET ranking of 50. The resume is a strong one, and the Tritons could be punching a ticket to the big dance.