14 of the 16 SEC teams were in action on Saturday in an electric day of college basketball action, and it was yet another day of dominance for the conference.
The SEC went a combined 13-1 on Saturday, and it wasn’t just the regular old dominance over mid-major programs you typically see in the non-conference. The SEC picked up three wins over the Big Ten (Tennessee over Illinois, Texas A&M over Purdue, and Auburn over Ohio State) two over the Big 12 (Florida over Arizona State and Oklahoma over Oklahoma State) and one each over the Big East (Alabama over Creighton) and the ACC thanks to Kentucky winning the rivalry game over Louisville.
The six other wins were a mixed bag: Georgia beat a fantastic mid-major program in Grand Canyon, while Mississippi State took down another strong mid-major team who made the tournament last year in McNeese.
Arkansas beat a 2-8 Central Arkansas team by 25 points, Ole Miss held Southern Miss to 18 second half points in a 29 point thrashing, and both Missouri and South Carolina picked up 27 and 20 point victories over Long Island and South Carolina Upstate, respectively.
The only loss for the SEC was LSU to a 9-2 SMU squad in the ACC. The Tigers are 8-2 on the year and rank No. 59 at KenPom currently which, almost unbelievably, puts them 14th out of 16 conference teams. Only Vanderbilt (No. 61) and South Carolina (No. 68) are lower.
That’s right, all 16 SEC teams are ranked inside the top 68 currently at KenPom, with five teams in the top 11, eight in the top 30, and 12 in the top 40.
KenPom ranks each college basketball conference using the NetRtg of a team expected to go .500 in conference play and evaluating how much better or worse that team is compared to an average team.
The SEC has a NetRtg of +19.89, far and away the best in the country and well ahead of the Big 12 (+16.65) and Big Ten (+16.56) who are in second and third.
One of College Sports Wire’s bold predictions before the season was that the SEC would tie or break the record for most teams from one conference in the NCAA Tournament, which was set by the Big East with 11 back in 2011. The conference is well on its way to doing so at this rate, although teams that finish at or below .500 in league play may have a tougher path even with strong peripherals and performances in the non conference slate.
The chances to continue this dominance keep coming for the SEC, with Texas hosting Arkansas Pine Bluff on Sunday – the third worst team in college basketball – before two big matchups against the ACC on Tuesday, first when North Carolina faces Florida in Charlotte and then when a ranked Clemson team goes to Colonial Life Arena to face the Gamecocks of South Carolina.