By: Spencer McCraw

Over the last three years, the Southeastern Conference – a college football powerhouse – has risen to become one of the premier basketball conferences in the nation. Gone are the days of domination by Kentucky and Florida, though. This is a new breed of basketball that emphasizes physicality and electric home courts. Let’s see who’s the cream of the crop. 

Alabama: Can the Tide ride this hot wave into March?

Let’s cut right to the chase: Brandon Miller is the best freshman in the country – and it’s not even close. Miller has carried the Crimson Tide to the no. 4 ranking in the country all while averaging 19.1 points and 8.5 rebounds. Enjoy him while you can Tide fans, because Brandon Miller will be in the NBA next year – currently projected as the third overall pick. 

Outside of Miller – though – ‘Bama still has a great squad full of top-100 recruits. Junior guard Mark Sears has been a great second option to Miller, as he is averaging 14.7 points per game.

Saturday’s game against Kentucky was a prime example of this one-two punch, as Miller went for 19 and Sears had 16. In that game, Alabama blew out a struggling Kentucky team 78-52 – bringing the Tide another impressive victory on top of their previous ones over Michigan State, UNC, Gonzaga and Houston. 

Nate Oats has built a powerhouse in Tuscaloosa, and they will look to continue their winning ways as they travel to no. 15 Arkansas on Wednesday and host LSU on Saturday. 

Tennessee: The national title contender that no one is talking about 

When people talk about the best teams in the country, the conversation always revolves around Kansas, UConn, Purdue, Alabama and Houston. For some reason, Tennessee is always left out of that conversation. 

In his eighth season as the head coach of the Volunteers, Rick Barnes has one of his best squads so far. Sitting at 13-2, no. 5 Tennessee has dominated thus far in SEC play. On Saturday, The Vols traveled to South Carolina and left victorious –  dismantling the Gamecocks by a score of 85-42. 

What makes this team so hard to beat isn’t their ability to put the ball in the basket – though they can do that pretty well, too. To put it simply, Tennessee’s defense is scary. According to KenPom, their defense is the best in the land – and results like Saturday show why. 

Tennessee’s defense will always be there for them, but when they settle into their offense they become a near-impossible team to beat. If they can continue to average 75 points per game while holding their opponents to only 52, they’re going to go far. Don’t be surprised when the Vols are playing deep into March. 

Auburn: THE BEST home court in America 

I know in my Big Ten overview I talked about how important the RAC is to Rutgers, but I think other than maybe Allen Fieldhouse for Kansas, Neville Arena might be the best home court in the country. Right now, Auburn holds a 27-game home winning streak – good for the third longest in CBB.

That home court advantage was extremely noticeable on Saturday when the no. 21 Tigers tore apart no. 15 Arkansas, 72-59. Junior guard Wendell Green had his way against the Razorbacks defense, going for 19 points and five assists. The energy from the home crowd empowered unlikely heroes on Saturday, as Allen Flanigan went for 18 points and 8 rebounds. 

Since taking over the program in the 2014-15 season, Bruce Pearl has quickly turned Auburn from a football school to a basketball school. This is a team that can compete for an SEC – and even a national title – every year.

If the Tigers can keep riding their home court, then they will always have a shot to compete at the end of the season. Mark my words: sooner or later Bruce Pearl WILL raise a banner at Neville Arena. 

Arkansas: Injuries have plagued a very promising team  

Coming into the season, Arkansas boasted the second best recruiting class in the nation, so there have been high expectations for this young team. Not only does Arkansas have a top recruiting class, but they also have three players that will get drafted in this NBA draft (two are projected in the top-10). 

However, Nick Smith – the projected seventh pick – has been battling a knee injury for the past month and will not return to the lineup until February. In games in which he played a full game, Smith is averaging 16 points per game. 

Sophomore Trevon Brazile is another player that the Razorbacks are greatly missing at the moment. Brazile was a little sporadic in his scoring, but, when he had it on, could go for 20 at a moment’s notice. An ACL injury has Brazile sidelined for the rest of the year. 

Ricky Council and Anthony Black – averaging 18.1 and 12.5 points per game, respectively –  are the two stars who are leading the team in the absences of Smith and Brazile. 

Even with these two injuries, Arkansas is still sitting at no. 15 and looking to compete in SEC play. Wednesday will be a massive test for the Razorbacks, as no. 4 Alabama comes into Fayetteville. 

Missouri: Hey, we’re ranked too!

After they got dismantled by Kansas on their home court, Dennis Gates and his Missouri Tigers had to take a good long look in the mirror and figure out what type of a team they wanted to be. Since that loss the Tigers have had some great wins at Illinois and against Kentucky. 

From the top down, this team is loaded with experience. There are only two underclassmen on the entire roster, and the rest are either fourth year Tigers or multiple time transfers.

More times than not in this era of college basketball, the fourth or fifth year transfer is FAR more valuable than a promising freshman, and the Missouri Tigers are a prime example of that. 

Seniors D’Moi Hodge and Kobe Brown are leading the offense, as they both provide 15 points per game. Thanks to contributions by these two, Dennis Gates – in his first season as the head coach of the Tigers – has turned around this program to now be sitting at no. 20.

Much like what’s going on at Kansas State with Jerome Tang, this Tigers team is an experienced group of guys – looking to go far with their young head coach. 

How do you win in this conference? Protect your home court, try to steal a road victory and prepare for the bloodbath that will occur at the SEC Tournament in Nashville. One of these five teams will make it out and will be poised to make a deep run in the Big Dance.