Joe Lunardi’s newest bracketology has been released, and the SEC’s rise continues.
Seven teams from the conference made his December 14 bracket, with another finding itself on the First Four Out line.
Here’s how the teams and seeds shake out:
- No. 2 Texas A&M
- No. 3 Kentucky
- No. 5 Florida
- No. 6 Tennessee
- No. 6 Arkansas
- No. 8 Alabama
- No. 9 Missouri
- First Four Out – Georgia
The SEC is tied with the Big 12 with the second-most teams from any conference, with the ACC leading the way with 11 teams.
The Pac-12 features the lowest amount from a power conference with only three teams included.
Lovell’s Analysis
You all know how much I love a good mid-December bracketology. It’s as close to the real thing as it gets.
But in all seriousness, it’s clear that the SEC is a much-improved league that’ll likely get at least seven teams into the NCAA Tournament.
That’s the number I told people when asked how many could make it, and it seems like that is probably the minimum at this point.
Teams around the league have done a great job in the non-conference thus far, and there are more huge games on the horizon before conference play gets started later this month.
And if the bracketology updates are a sign of what’s to come, we see more competitive games in the SEC this season than we’ve seen before.
If that happens, it should produce plenty of battle-tested teams that could make deep runs in March.