SEC Basketball: What to watch for entering the final day of 2021-22 regular season
By Matt Melton
As we enter the final day of the 2021-22 SEC Basketball regular season, there are a few key things still to be decided within the conference on Saturday as we lead up to the SEC Tournament next week. What should you be watching for entering Saturday?
What to watch for entering the final day of 2021-22 SEC Basketball regular season
Can Auburn win the outright SEC regular season title?
The Tigers clinched at-least a share of the 2021-22 SEC Basketball regular season championship with Wednesday night’s 81-68 overtime win at Mississippi State. How can Auburn win the outright SEC regular season title Saturday, as well as secure the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament? It’s simple – win.
Auburn will host South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of an 81-66 Tigers road win back in early-January. A game that presents some favorable matchups for the Tigers, Auburn should take care of business on their homecourt, but if they don’t, they will lose the No. 1 seed for next week.
How will the 1-4 seeds be decided?
The top four seeds in the SEC Tournament will be some form of Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas, with Auburn currently holding a one-game lead over the other three for the SEC’s No. 1 seed. If the Tigers were to somehow lose Saturday however, then the winner of Tennessee/Arkansas will be the No. 1 seed, with Auburn falling to the No. 2 seed.
The clearest path is simply for both Auburn and Kentucky to win, meaning that the Tigers get No. 1 and the Wildcats get No. 3, while the winner of Tennessee/Arkansas gets No. 2 and the loser gets No. 4. If Kentucky loses to Florida, the Wildcats then get the No. 4 seed, with the Tennessee/Arkansas loser getting No. 3.
How will the 5-10 seeds be decided?
There is also a big logjam in the SEC standings from seeds 5-10 including 9-8 teams Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina, as well as 8-9 teams LSU, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State.
3 keys for Florida to defeat No. 7 Kentucky. dark. Next
Current No. 5 seed Alabama’s path is the clearest of the group, meaning that the Crimson Tide can simply secure the No. 5 seed with a win Saturday at LSU, as well as Texas A&M hosting Mississippi State where the loser will get the No. 10 seed. The remaining seeds in between will be decided through a various amount of results Saturday, some of which depends on if LSU, Florida, and South Carolina can pull off upsets.