The 2024-25 SEC Basketball Preview
The first of more to come! With college basketball around the corner, let's dive deeper into the conferences. We start with the SEC:
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Introduction
As a fun way to prepare for this upcoming college basketball season, I’ll review the nation’s top conferences before doing deep dives on the less-heralded conferences as we move closer to the start of the season. We start with the SEC!
All of my college basketball-related content can be found here. Let the rankings begin!
Rankings
1. Tennessee
The reigning SEC champions have a clear path to defend their title. After being eliminated in the Elite Eight, they’ll want to come back strong despite losing All-SEC big man Jonas Aidoo while also seeing the SEC Player of the Year in Dalton Knecht leave the program for the NBA.
The Vols built an upperclassmen-heavy team that got three impact transfers in Igor Milicic, Jr., Chaz Lanier, and Darlinstone Dubar while keeping All-SEC leading guard Zakai Zeigler on board. Coach Barnes, who’s entering his tenth season in Knoxville, has proven to be a winning program for years. The continuity of his playing style, with keeping Zeigler on the team being the most vital part of it, gives them the nod to win the most conference games this season.
2. Auburn
The most essential part of Auburn’s top-2 ranking is the combination of keeping Johni Broome, who’s arguably one of the top big men in the country, alongside adding a dynamic leading guard in JP Pegues. Coach Pearle has had a habit of stacking undersized guards throughout the years, where they get a floor general who can carry the scoring load in the 6’3” standout from Furman a year ago.
Key rotational pieces such as Chad Baker-Mazara, Dylan Cardwell, and Denver Jones remain on the roster, giving them good continuity to repeat what they did a year earlier. Barring injuries, we could see incoming freshmen Jahki Howard and Tahaad Pettiford finding spot minutes for the senior-heavy Tigers. Their heavy non-conference schedule with games against Duke, Houston, Purdue, and the Maui Invitational will prepare the Tigers well for conference play.
3. Arkansas
After fifteen years spent in Lexington, KY, Calipari made the inner-conference move to Arkansas where the all-time great built up a new roster. The Hogs returning Trevon Brazile, while adding top transfers in Johnell Davis and Jonas Aidoo gives them a core of guys who played winning basketball.
With Adou Thiero, Zvonimir Ivisic, and DJ Wagner following Coach Calipari to Fayetteville, this team’s depth is what will carry them throughout the season. With highly regarded recruits in Karter Knox, Boogie Fland, and Billy Richmond, it might take a few games for the coaching staff to figure out what’s the best starting and closing five. The logjam at guard with a high-usage senior in Johnell Davis might hurt DJ Wagner and Boogie Fland’s minutes and on-ball touches, while Brazile will be the clear starter over Knox who’ll likely play in the second unit.
Arkansas has the firepower on paper to compete for the top spots. Despite recent struggles in the NCAA Tournament, Coach Calipari built up a situation to get himself past the first weekend and compete for an Elite 8 spot in his first season.
4. Alabama
On paper, Alabama has the most impressive roster in the SEC. They return key pieces from last year’s Final Four run, including Mark Sears who’s a leading candidate to win National Player of the Year. The quality of their frontcourt got bumped up by adding Cliff Omoruyi while keeping Grant Nelson on board for another year.
Latrell Wrightsell and Chris Youngblood are essential transfers that will keep the first seven names at the highest level possible. However, the defensive struggles this team had are the other side of the coin most people decline to recognize. Coach Oats is an offensive mastermind, who was outscoring teams in the months when it mattered the most.
However, with the top of the conference getting better combined with the defensive struggles this team was facing, it will put extra pressure on the returning players to keep the same standards. A roster logjam might be an issue, as incoming freshmen Derrion Reid, Aiden Sherrell, Labaron Philon, and Naas Cunningham expect playing minutes while returning Jarin Stevenson is set for a breakout season.
In terms of depth, Alabama is the best team on paper. However, Coach Oats has a lot of mouths to feed while dealing with defensive struggles that might expose them throughout conference play. Alabama will have another deep run in the tournament, but against their inner-conference peers, the same magic as they had last season will be hard to accomplish.
5. Kentucky
In his first year leading BBN, Mark Pope has strengthened its roster with key additions via the transfer portal. Kerr Krissa will likely lead this team that surrounded itself with high-end shooters such as Koby Brea and Jaxson Robinson, who’s set for a breakout season as the only one familiar with Coach Pope’s system.
Versatility is the name of the game with this team. Andrew Carr gives them offensive versatility in the frontcourt, adding a perimeter-oriented option to the duo of fives with Brandon Garrison and Amari Williams whose game complements that playing style less. On top of that, Otega Oweh is a dynamic scorer who can keep the pace up while coming off the bench, while the Wildcats have a lockdown perimeter defender in Lamont Butler, Jr.
A lot of exciting pieces, but not any individual game-changers themselves. Kentucky will transition to a system team under Coach Pope, and winning cultures in that style often take time. Regardless, the amount of talent here is undeniable, making them the best team, with the senior heaviness being the deciding factor here.
6. Texas A&M
The substance will always prevail over flash in my basketball philosophy. That automatically makes me lean toward tough, gritty teams as the Aggies. They once again will be around the best six or seven programs in the SEC.
Texas A&M brought back most of its scoring from last season, where their undeniable star Wade Taylor IV is ready to steal the show as a potential SEC Player of the Year. Their other veterans Henry Coleman, and Andersson Garcia will complete the dynamic three that will carry Buzz Williams’ squad through the season.
Zhuric Phelps gives them another dynamic scorer with plus-size that can complement and take away pressure from Taylor IV, while Pharrel Payne can continue to be a useful piece after coming off a decent year in Minnesota.
The continuity of the program on top of on-court quality pieces is the deciding factor in the Aggies’ ranking.
7. Texas
Welcome to the SEC! Texas has a tough task in their debut season. They are one of the winners of the 2024 recruiting class, adding one of the top players in the country in Tre Johnson, who has the runway to start as the three for Coach Terry. The other lines are where I see challenges for the Longhorns to overcome.
Tramon Mark is a highly regarded transfer who has had a good year at a losing Arkansas team. The same applies to Arthur Kaluma, who filled the stat sheets at Kansas State, and also had a disappointing season. With a scoring guard Jordan Pope, who needs the ball in his hands to succeed, Rodney Terry has a lot of mouths to feed to make the big NIL spending lead to a good first year in the SEC.
While it’s certain that Texas will yet again be dancing in March, the usage-dependent additions alongside Dylan Disu leaving the program will put more pressure on Kadin Shedrick to seamlessly fill his spot. Overall, the talent level is hard to overcome, and a highly-regarded coach in Coach Terry will make this a fun and competitive basketball team that can improve on last year’s second-round exit.
8. Florida
Coach Golden has done a good job in the transfer portal, adding frontcourt depth in Sam Alexis from Chattanooga, while bringing in a big fish in Alijah Martin who can complement Walter Clayton, Jr. next season.
With both Alex Condon and Will Richard returning, the Gators put themselves in a position to compete in the SEC. However, with very little depth as Micah Handlogten will likely redshirt his season and Oliver Rioux is far from ready to play minutes, that puts extra pressure on Rueben Chinyelu to contribute in the minutes Alex Condon sits.
Comparable to last year, Florida will yet again be reliant on the production coming from Richard and Clayton Jr., with spurts of Alijah Martin being the third option on this team. While the whole SEC got stronger, Florida’s make-or-break will be the frontcourt. The amount of talent on this roster as a whole puts them in the first half of names regardless.
9. South Carolina
South Carolina has had a fantastic season under Coach Paris who’s entering his third year in Columbia, SC. They bring back their star freshman in Collin Murray-Boyles, while plus-sized junior guard Zachary Davis will have a bigger role this upcoming season.
With lessening depth in the frontcourt, Alabama transfer Nick Pringle brings much-needed experience, while seven-footer Jordan Butler will be a developmental piece for them as he comes over Missouri.
Myles Stute and Jacobi Wright will be the other starters looking to complement the production coming from Murray-Boyles, who’ll be a dark horse for the All-SEC First Team. Overall, the talent level is lower than in the aforementioned programs, where Coach Paris again has to show that he can take the most out of the available players, as he did last year. I expect the Gamecocks to be competitive in the early stages of conference play, while eventually falling in the rankings as we get closer to March.
10. Ole Miss
Malik Dia is one of the best transfers in the SEC. The 6-foot-9 bulky forward fits the toughness of the conference while looking to be one of the impact-makers on an upperclassmen-heavy roster.
Dre Davis who came over from Seton Hall will pair well with Matthew Murrell, who’s back for another year. Despite the experience, their highly-regarded freshman recruit John Bol will likely play spot minutes to add offensive versatility to Ole Miss’ frontcourt, as veteran forward Jaemyn Brakefield lacks the size to play as a full-five for the majority of the minutes.
They are comparable to Kentucky in how the roster is shaped and built, with the versatility of the roster without real standout names being how they positioned themself in the league. Dia might become Newcomer of the Year.
11. Mississippi State
Adding in Florida-standout Riley Kugel has turned things around for Mississippi State. Coach Jans may have lost a program-changer in Tolu Smith, who left the program for the NBA, but the remaining impact makers from last year all return to Oktibbeha County.
Josh Hubbard is one of the best defenders in the conference, fitting seamlessly with Kugel’s great offensive creativity. On top of that, Cameron Matthews returns, strengthening the Bulldogs’ team defense. The shooting of RJ Melendez and Shawn Jones, Jr. will be deciding factors in how much his Mississippi State offense can improve throughout the season.
12. Oklahoma
Welcome to the SEC! Oklahoma will struggle in their SEC debut season while having lost both Milos Uzan, who stays in the Big 12 to play for Houston, and Otega Oweh who’ll be a Kentucky Wildcat. More offensive creativity is lost with Javian McCollum transferring to Georgia Tech.
Despite decent additions such as Kobe Elvis, while keeping their frontcourt intact with Sam Godwin and Jalon Moore, the Sooners look to rebuild their roster for upcoming seasons. In college basketball, guard play will determine how good a team’s outlook is to play winning basketball, and losing the amount of talent on that end without better replacements makes it an uphill battle for Oklahoma to have a winning conference record.
The frontcourt minutes returning is the other side of the coin, as Elvis’ leadership alongside Moore will be positive to look forward to. The ultimate X-factor: Jeremiah Fears!
13. Georgia
Somto Cyril, Savo Drezgic, and Asa Newell helped Georgia to establish a great incoming freshman class. With valuable experience in Dakota Leffew and Tyrin Lawrence, it’s up to them to help Georgia develop into becoming a contender in the SEC in the next few years.
As of now, the whole conference’s senior-heavy build-up doesn’t match with Georgia, which mostly has underclassmen on its roster. Newell is the most intriguing scoring option, as he’s a walking mismatch problem the Bulldogs will be keen on using, with an uber-athletic big man in Somto Cyril while adding one of the most dynamic guards in the European youth scene in Drezgic. Many pieces for Coach White to build a team around, but that will take time.
14. LSU
It’s a pity that a respected program such as LSU has been bottom feeders for a couple of years now. Cam Carter and Tyrell Ward will carry the majority of the scoring load, alongside Jalen Reed who should have a good year for them.
This team isn’t built to compete for a top-half finish. The most exciting part of the Tigers is Vyctorious Miller, who can earn a starting role further on in the season. This will be a season of investment for Coach McMahon, who will have to work to gradually improve and eventually battle for the top spots a few seasons from now.
15. Missouri
After a winless season, Missouri has a lot to make up for. That will happen gradually, as they get themselves a better group of players to work with. Annor Boateng is one of the better freshman signings in the conference. On top of that, Tony Perkins, Mark Mitchell, and Josh Gray give them three legitimate starters that will make Dennis Gates’ team a better one right out of the gates.
Despite serious quality additions, I am hesitant to raise expectations for them, taking on a “don’t tell me, show me” approach.
16. Vanderbilt
Coach Byington takes over the program has over ten newcomers to build a new core with. Kijani Wright and AJ Hoggard are the two notable transfers who will carry this team, with former JUCO standout Jason Edwards being one of the more underrated pickups in the conference, after he had a successful season at UAB in the AAC.
For first-year coaches, building up a winning culture and determining which pieces to use for the longer term is essential to land commitments from the transfer portal and the recruiting scene. The, for now, roster filled with upperclassmen is a part of the long-term process, which for Vandy will start this season.
Finalizing Summary
To summarize the piece, here’s the list for my 2024-25 SEC Basketball Preview:
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