SEC Tournament: Breaking Down the Tournament's 5 Biggest Storylines

NCAA conference tournaments are less than a week away, and a lot is still up in the air throughout all of college basketball.

Beginning on Thursday, March 10th, the SEC Tournament, which is being played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, is going to be making a lot of noise around the country.

These tournament games are going to be the last opportunity for each team to boost its respective tournament résumé and end the season on a good note.

Will the SEC West Make Any Noise?

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 10: Steve Tchiengang #33 of the Vanderbilt Commodores and JaMychal Green #1 of the Alabama Crimson Tide exchange words at Memorial Gym on February 10, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt won 81-77. (Photo by Grant Halverson/

It is no secret that the power within the SEC lies in the Eastern division. Many analysts, when speaking of the SEC East this year, have referred to it as a miniature Big East.

Currently, all five of the projected SEC teams to make the field of 68 come from the Eastern division: Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Georgia.

To show how weak the West is compared to the East this year, the top team in the West, Alabama, is currently on the bubble and needs to boost its tournament résumé if it plans to meet its hopes of making the tourney.

Even reigning conference tournament runner-up Mississippi State has had a down year to this point, not living up to the team's expectations.

How Will the Teams on the Bubble Fare?

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 29: Mark Fox the Head Coach of the Georgia Bulldogs gives instructions to his team during the SEC game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on January 29, 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky won 66-60. (Photo by Andy Lyon

Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee are all considered to be on the bubble. Let's examine each of these teams' tournament résumés.

Georgia currently has an RPI of 35 and a strength of schedule of 27. The Bulldogs don't have a single bad loss, but they've only notched two key wins, one at home over Kentucky and one in Knoxville over Tennessee.

Georgia's record of 1-7 vs. the RPI top 25 is not that strong, but it has been able to accumulate seven road wins to this point, while a ranked Kentucky team only has three.

SEC West-leading Alabama currently sports an RPI of 87 and a strength of schedule of 156. However, included on their résumé are bad losses to Providence, St. Peter's, Arkansas and Iowa.

While those losses are weighing against the Tide's hopes to make the field, their quality wins and overall conference record bode well for Bama. Those quality wins include beating Kentucky at home and then outdueling the Vols by five points in their own gym back in February. Their conference record, an impressive 11-4, is second best in the conference and only includes losses against Florida, Vandy, Ole Miss and Arkansas.

Tennessee has some big quality wins in beating Villanova, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt but also has some horrific losses against Oakland, Charleston, and the University of Southern California. Tennessee's combined RPI of 33 and SOS of 2 definitely give them high hopes of making the field of 68.

Depending on how these three teams fare in the SEC Tournament, they could either hurt or dramatically help their NCAA tournament résumés.

Who Will Win Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Honors?

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 12: John Jenkins #23 of the Vanderbilt Commodores reacts after making a three-point basket against the Kentucky Wildcats at Memorial Gym on February 12, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The current front runners to bring home conference tourney MVP honors are two of the conference's top players in Vanderbilt's John Jenkins and Florida's Chandler Parsons (as long as he stays healthy).

Then there is Kentucky's talented freshman duo of Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones, who could each potentially be lottery picks in the next NBA draft.

Other studs to keep in mind would be preseason SEC Player of the Year Trey Thompkins of Georgia or Tennessee's talented shooting guard Scotty Hopson.

Or could someone come out of nowhere to dominate the conference tourney?

What Team Is Going to Win the Tournament, Bringing Momentum into the Big Dance?

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

OKLAHOMA CITY - MARCH 18: Kenny Boynton #1 of the Florida Gators pushes the ball up court in overtime against the BYU Cougars during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men�s basketball tournament at Ford Center on March 18, 2010 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Florida Gators have to be the consensus favorite as they are the No. 1 seed in the tough SEC East. They have proven themselves multiple times over the year, and as a result Billy Donovan is the leading candidate for SEC Coach of the Year.

Not far behind are Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Vanderbilt definitely has the experience to win the tournament, but do they have enough scoring away from their potential SEC Player of the Year candidate, John Jenkins?

As for Kentucky, no one is doubting the talent on the team, but do they have the experience to handle a four-day tournament (did not seem to matter last year)?

The third tier is composed of the bubble teams. Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama have all shown they can win the big game, but will they be able to string together a couple of big wins in a row?

Will the Referees Play a Pivotal Role in Determining the Outcome?

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

"over the back"

The SEC referee crew has already made national headlines by appearing on ESPN's Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption, criticizing their call at the end of the Tennessee vs. Georgia game in Athens.

They missed an obvious over-the-back foul on Tennessee's Brian Williams, in which Williams tied himself up with Georgia's Chris Barnes before throwing up a put-back buzzer-beater to knock off the Dawgs.

Listen to the announcers at 33 seconds into the video and again at 53 seconds. Yeah, I thought it was as well.