The SEC Regular Season has come to an end and as the regular season ends the postseason begins this week with the SEC Tournament. This final week of games had a massive impact as it shifted the seeding for the SEC Tournament, shifted which teams were in or out of the NCAA Tournament field and adjusted overall seed lines for the NCAA Tournament.
As we head into postseason play, here is how we see each team stacking up against one another.
South Carolina's struggles have been on full display this entire season and the fanbase is just ready for it to be over. The Gamecocks dropped a pair of games this week to Georgia and Tennessee which is as expected. This offseason, South Carolina will need to make the necessary investment if they want to turn this ship around.
This week brought another two losses for LSU and to be fair its hard to expect anything else at this point. The Tigers' injuries continue to stack up and for a program that is set to pour a ton of resources into the team this offseason, the Tigers are just ready to get to the offseason. The Tigers freshmen have given the team a ton to look forward to which is the bright spot to continue watching if the team plays in the NIT or another postseason tournament.
After showing some momentum in the middle of the year, Texas has completely fallen apart losing 7 of their last 10. The Longhorns are on the brink of missing the NCAA Tournament which will bring wholesale changes for the program. Rodney Terry may be coaching for his job in the SEC Tournament and even a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament may end his tenure.
This week was the perfect end to the regular season for Porter Moser as the Sooners upset 15th ranked Missouri and won on the road at Texas to split the season series. The Sooners now put themselves back on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and a win over Georgia could practically punch their ticket to the tournament. Porter Moser has saved his job with how the team ended the season which gives him a chance to improve this group next season.
This week was disappointing for Vanderbilt as the Commodores dropped a pair of games losing to Arkansas and Georgia. The Commodores are still locked into the NCAA Tournament field but, the SEC Tournament becomes even more important. This team has had a Cinderella season compared to their preseason projection but, they need to beat Texas to open the SEC Tournament otherwise it could all be for not.
Mississippi State has set off alarm bells during this final stretch of the season losing four of their last five while their lone win came against LSU. This week saw the Bulldogs drop games to Texas and Arkansas which are team's the Bulldogs should be able to handle. The SEC Tournament could serve as a chance to get on track but, Mississippi State is trending in the wrong direction to end the year.
The Arkansas Razorbacks couldn't have asked for a better week between the wins they picked up and some of the other losses around the Country. The Razorbacks picked up two key wins beating Vanderbilt and Mississippi State which lands them in Joe Lunardi's last four byes. The Razorbacks draw South Carolina to open the SEC Tournament which could spell trouble as they lost to the Gamecocks but, Arkansas needs to win this game.
If you're a Georgia Basketball fan, you have to feel like Mike White has his team rounding into form at the perfect time. Wins over South Carolina and Vanderbilt mark four in a row for the Bulldogs which has them fully off of the bubble. The key for Georgia during this stretch has been Silas Demary Jr who has taken his game to another level taking a ton of pressure off of Asa Newell.
The Rebels started the week with a massive win over Tennessee but, the way the Rebels lost to Tennessee was disappointing. Chris Beard has done an incredible job turning around Ole Miss but, now comes the point where it's up to how far can he take this team. The Rebels have the defensive identity to make them a threat against anyone in the Country but, the offense will need to be clicking to give this team a shot.
When Missouri beat Alabama, they looked like a Top 3 team in the SEC and since that point everything has trended in the wrong direction. Over their last five games Missouri has only beaten South Carolina which is telling given their losses came to team's everyone viewed Missouri as better than. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers need to win a game in the SEC Tournament to get the momentum back in their favor.
This week was massive for Kentucky as they had the chance to get back into a rhythm against LSU before picking up a massive win over Missouri. The Wildcats seem to be finding a rhythm which is perfect with postseason play arriving. The SEC Tournament will give this group a chance to build true momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament.
This week was massive for the Texas A&M Aggies as they snapped their four game losing streak with a massive win over Auburn before they capped the season off with a win over LSU. The defense started to round back into form for Texas A&M this week which is important the rest of the way. Texas A&M's style gives them a chance against any opponent but, the SEC Tournament will be tougher for the team than the NCAA Tournament will be.
It wasn't the perfect week for the Tennessee Volunteers as they dropped a tough game against Ole Miss before beating South Carolina. The past two weeks we haven't seen the dominant version of Tennessee which made them the biggest threat but, this extended break before their first SEC Tournament game could be just what this team needs.
While the week started with Alabama losing to Florida, it felt like the win over Auburn was exactly what everyone needed to see from Alabama. The Tide had an answer when Mark Sears didn't have his best game and Sears stepped up when the team needed him most to win the game. The Crimson Tide have the experience from their deep run last March and if the team can find stops late on defense they'll be a tough out.
Dropping Auburn after their first bad week of the season may be an overreaction but, the concerns are there. The SEC Tournament will be fascinating for this team and how they'll handle the emotional swing that they went through this week. In the end Auburn may be the best team in the SEC and in the Country but, there's currently a cause for concern.
It was the perfect week for the Florida Gators as they closed the season with a win on the road in Tuscaloosa and a win over Ole Miss. On any given night any of Alex Condon, Walter Clayton Jr, Alijah Martin, or Will Richard could single handedly beat any team which makes them incredibly scary this time of year. The return of Micah Handlogten is starting to show its impact and as he rounds into form this team only gets deeper and tougher to beat.