Top offshore sportsbooks favor the Kentucky Wildcats to win the 2022 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. That notwithstanding, the days when the conference was dominated by Kentucky are gone.
The SEC has seen a steady growth in talent across the whole league. The upshot of this growth in talent has been the development of quite a solid conference that has been represented by six or more teams in each NCAA tournament since 2016.
As a matter of fact, the SEC is the second-best conference in the country this year according to KenPom’s metrics. There are arguably six teams with a realistic shot to cut down the nets in Tampa. MyBookie.ag, one of the best online sportsbooks, lists Kentucky as the favorite, but Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU, and Alabama all have the potential to beat any team, anywhere, any time. Every other school has +4000 odds or higher at top offshore sportsbooks, but these long-shots do not have enough firepower to win three or four games in a row against the SEC’s top teams in as many days.
2022 SEC NCAA Basketball Betting Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Kentucky Wildcats | +138 |
| Auburn Tigers | +184 |
| Tennessee Volunteers | +300 |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | +640 |
| LSU Tigers | +920 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | +1475 |
| Florida Gators | +3600 |
| Mississippi State Bulldogs | +3600 |
| Texas A&m Aggies | +6000 |
| Vanderbilt Commodores | +7500 |
| South Carolina Gamecocks | +9000 |
| Ole Miss Rebels | +11000 |
| Missouri Tigers | +18000 |
| Georgia Bulldogs | +22000 |
SEC Conference Preview
Kentucky owns the best chance to win the conference tournament following an impressive about-face from last season’s 9-16 record. The Wildcats have not been consistent against the elite teams in the country.
Auburn is listed by top offshore sportsbooks as a near co-favorite. This is not surprising since the Tigers won the regular-season title and were ranked #1 in the AP Poll for a while. Tennessee, Arkansas, and LSU have become NCAA Tournament regulars in recent years. They have continued that trend this year. Each team won over 20 games.
These teams have a high level defense. They rank in the top 20 in KenPom’s efficiency. One would not be surprised to see any of them make a deep run later in the month. After they won the regular-season title and the SEC Tournament last year, Alabama took a step backward this year. The Crimson Tide had a 19-12 (9-9) record with impressive wins over Gonzaga and Houston, but they had some baffling losses to Iona, Missouri, Georgia, and Texas A&M.
SEC Conference Auburn Tigers Preview
Since 2010, the Auburn Tigers have won the conference tournament five times. They have struggled in some road games, but keep in mind that most of those games took place against some of the nation’s top defenses.
With the leading shot-blocker in the country, Walker Kessler, the SEC regular season champions have had the best interior defense all season long. The Tigers are also topnotch offensively. They are second in the SEC in efficiency (22nd nationally). They have four players averaging more than 11.5 ppg.
Their leader is arguably the top shot-maker in the country. Jabari Smith can make shots from anywhere. He can use his size to shoot over defenders. If his shooting is off, players such as Wendell Green, KD Johnson, Zep Jasper, and Kessler have demonstrated they are realiable when they need to be.
Other than Auburn, the LSU Tigers have the best odds to win the SEC tournament. LSU has been one of the country’s strongest defenses all year long. They currently ranks No. 5 in KenPom’s defensive efficiency.
The Tigers are fierce on the perimeter. They lead the SEC in turnover rate and opposing three-point percentage. At one point, LSU lost six out of seven games, but that was while starting point guard Xavier Pinson was out with an injury.
