SEC Tournament 2012: Predicting Every Game in the Tournament

Chris StephensJun 7, 2018

The college basketball regular season has come to an end, and now it's time for conference tournaments, where unexplainable things can and will happen, especially in the Southeastern Conference.

The most recent example of this was in 2008 when Georgia came into the tournament as a No. 6 seed out of the East, making a run through the tournament that could be considered as one of the best in SEC Tournament history.

During that tournament, the Bulldogs won four games in three days. After a tornado ripped through downtown Atlanta prior to their quarterfinal game, causing damage to the Georgia Dome, the Bulldogs and Kentucky were forced to play the final game of the quarterfinals on Saturday morning at Georgia Tech—much to the unhappiness of both teams, since the winner would have to play their semifinal game later that night.

However, Georgia overcame the fatigue after beating Kentucky (60-56), by going on to beat West No. 1 seed Mississippi State (64-60) and West No. 2 seed Arkansas in the finals (66-57).

Although I don't believe the SEC will see something like that happen again, there are still a few upsets waiting in the wings this year.

Here's a look at my predictions for the entire SEC Tournament.

Opening Round

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There are some intriguing matchups in the opening round of the SEC Tournament.

Game 1: No. 8 LSU vs No. 9 Arkansas

The first game of the tournament features the Tigers (17-13, 7-9) against the Razorbacks (18-13, 6-10). Both teams need to make a run in the tournament to even be considered for the Big Dance, which will be a tall order against some of the other teams in the league.

The teams split their regular-season meetings, with each winning on their home floor. The biggest difference here is that the Razorbacks come into this game struggling, losing eight of their last 11 games. With Arkansas unable to get back on track, LSU will win this game by double-digits.

Game 2: No. 5 Alabama vs No. 12 South Carolina

The next game of the tournament features the Crimson Tide (20-10, 9-7) against the Gamecocks (10-20, 2-14). Ironically, one of South Carolina's two SEC wins came against Alabama, 56-54.

However, Alabama's NCAA Tournament life hangs in the balance on this game. If the Tide lose, they're relegated to the NIT, while a win will move them off the bubble and into the Big Dance. I'm predicting they get the job done and win by 20 points.

Game 3: No. 7 Ole Miss vs No. 10 Auburn

This is the most intriguing first-round matchup for me. Ole Miss (18-12, 8-8) comes in on a three-game winning streak, including a win over Alabama. Auburn (15-15, 5-11), on the other hand, has lost three of its last four.

Although it seems like Ole Miss is the easy winner here, I'm not so sure. The teams split their regular-season meetings, and it seems that the Tigers seem to know how to play the Rebels pretty well. I believe Auburn pulls the upset here, winning by less than five points.

Game 4: No. 6 Mississippi State vs No. 11 Georgia

This is another matchup that is very intriguing. Georgia (14-16, 5-11) beat Mississippi State (21-10, 8-8) in overtime Feb. 11. Although the game went to overtime, Georgia controlled the game throughout, just let things slip a little at the end of the second half.

This time around, I believe Georgia will again pull the upset, putting Mississippi State's chances of making the Big Dance in serious doubt.

Quarterfinals

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Game 5: No. 8 LSU vs No. 1 Kentucky

Is this game really a question? There's no doubt in my mind that the top seeded team in not only the conference, but the country, will win by big points over the No. 8-seeded Tigers.

Kentucky (30-1, 16-0) has dominated teams all year long with their only loss of the year coming against Indiana by one point. Kentucky rolls in this one.

Game 6: No. 5 Alabama vs No. 4 Florida

All Florida (22-9, 10-6) had to do on Sunday was beat Kentucky and it had the No. 2 seed for the SEC Tournament. Seems simple enough, right? Well, it didn't happen, and the Gators were forced into the No. 4 seed, even though they're locks for the NCAA Tournament.

Now that they're the No. 4 seed, the Gators have to take care of business against Alabama in the quarterfinals to get their rematch with Kentucky in the semifinals. Honestly, I don't see any real reason why Florida won't win this one.

Game 7: No. 10 Auburn vs No. 2 Tennessee

Tennessee (18-13, 10-6) is coming off a streak where it won nine of its last 11 games, including a 15-point win over Auburn in late January.

Although Tennessee has the No. 2 seed in the tournament, it would still behoove them to win in the quarterfinals as 18 wins is no guarantee to get into the Big Dance. With that said, Tennessee should win easily and move onto the semifinals.

Game 8: No. 11 Georgia vs No. 3 Vanderbilt

The Bulldogs dropped both games this year to the Commodores (21-10, 10-6). Vanderbilt is considered a lock to get into the tournament this year. In this one, I believe it's Vanderbilt's size that will get them the victory.

Semifinals

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Game 9: No. 4 Florida vs. No. 1 Kentucky

This year, Kentucky has had no problem dismantling every team in the SEC. The Wildcats won all of their SEC games by an average of more than 16 points. Against Florida, they won by 35 total points in two games, which is not good news for the Gators.

I really don't see anything changing as Kentucky will continue to roll in this one, although the Gators might close it to single digits.

Game 10: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt lost by seven to Tennessee on Saturday, but won by 18 on Jan. 24. These two teams actually match up well; their only issue is consistency. Both teams have to learn how to be more consistent.

However, I believe Saturday's game was a fluke for the Commodores, and they should win by double digits in this one.