9 SEC teams in the Kenpom top 50. Only 5 ACC teams in top 50. Average rank of 9 best SEC teams is 35. Average rank of 9 best ACC teams is 34.6. Don't let anyone claim that the SEC is top heavy, especially not someone whose team is in the ACC.
Quality of the SEC, per Kenpom
- Thread starter capnmonkey
- Start date
While true, this overlooks that all 5 of those ACC teams are in the top 14 and only one SEC team is in the top 30. SEC has 5 teams ranked 39-49. We have a good collection of decent teams. Nobody outside of Kentucky has a prayer of making noise in the tournament. We're clearly the bottom tier of power conferences, along with the Pac-12.
Tennessee didn't have a prayer last year either. Don't be surprised if someone surprises you. Somebody does it every year, and it is just as likely to be an SEC team as anyone else.
True that no one else is expected to make noise, but it shouldn't be shocking if another team or two squeaks their way into the Sweet 16.
Respectfully disagree here. On a normal season, you'd be right. Teams ranked from #5-#15 are usually miles ahead of teams #30-#50. This year, however, I would argue there is little to no difference between the groupings.
Do you really think that teams like UNC, Wichita State, and Louisville are 100% shoe-ins to beat teams like TAMU, Seton Hall, and Georgetown?
College basketball has as much parity this year as ever, outside of the top 4-5 teams. To say nobody outside of Kentucky has a "prayer" of making noise is to ignore the relative lack of difference that exists this year between the middling / decent teams.
SEC is better than people give it credit to be. That said, there aren't the challenges at the top that there are in the ACC and to a lesser extent the Big 12.
Conference ratings are problematic at best...there aren't any really tried and true measures for it IMHO.
To me, the biggest factor (intangible) is that despite these "ratings", we all know that the story for UK is different. We typically get a performance above the level of performance many of those teams normally put out, i.e. the Super Bowl effect. But the same can be said for Dook, UNC*** and KU. Besides, conference play is pretty tough, and rankings and ratings often don't matter.
Conference ratings are problematic at best...there aren't any really tried and true measures for it IMHO.
To me, the biggest factor (intangible) is that despite these "ratings", we all know that the story for UK is different. We typically get a performance above the level of performance many of those teams normally put out, i.e. the Super Bowl effect. But the same can be said for Dook, UNC*** and KU. Besides, conference play is pretty tough, and rankings and ratings often don't matter.
Tennessee was in Pomeroy's top 10-15 before the tourney last year (not a member of his site, so I can't access specific dates), and finished #7 after the tournament.
I actually agree with you that someone else from the SEC is likely to pull an upset and make it to the Sweet 16, but I don't know if UT last year is a good comparison. That was a team that Pomeroy loved (and the BPI) way more than any non-UK SEC team this year.
Two of those 30-50 SEC teams came within inches of knocking off mighty Kentucky, but you think they aren't capable of making noise in the tournament against a top 15 or 20 team? Please. They are as capable of making noise as the #8 or #12 team are of being knocked out early.
Georgia, that I mentioned above, is a great comparison to UT last year. BPI loves them, but the polls don't.
If you remember, UT kept climbing in Kenpom last season, but the polls ignored them. We knew they were good, but the rest of the country was shocked.
You my friend are dead wrong . The SEC has 4 teams who all could make elite 8 runs . Will they ? who knows but there aren't many more talented teams then LSU and Arkansas . I said we would get 5 teams in the dance and that is coming to fruition .
This post was edited on 1/29 11:30 AM by caneintally
Didn't someone just post on here that the SEC was the most successful conference in
NCAA tourney play over the last 20 years. I could be wrong on the time frame but I
know the SEC is tougher year and year out than the media gives it credit for. Heard
it last year and SEC ends up being half the Final Four. It hasn't been many years
since Tennessee went to the Elite 8 and was 2 points away from a Final Four so
there has been some success.
This post was edited on 1/29 8:44 AM by Big Foot 275
NCAA tourney play over the last 20 years. I could be wrong on the time frame but I
know the SEC is tougher year and year out than the media gives it credit for. Heard
it last year and SEC ends up being half the Final Four. It hasn't been many years
since Tennessee went to the Elite 8 and was 2 points away from a Final Four so
there has been some success.
This post was edited on 1/29 8:44 AM by Big Foot 275
There is no denying that the SEC is down and has been down for a bit. We need Florida and Tennessee to be good again and they will be. Florida most assuredly but over time I think Tennessee will be as well. It would be nice to have Arkansas become relevant again as well. They are having a decent year this year and LSU looks to be good again next year with their recruiting class. Just hope the coach at LSU can do something with his talent. He is like a Rick Barnes clone.
The SEC absolutely has been very successful in terms of Final Fours and championships. But we're typically a very top-heavy conference. Yes, you heard that the SEC was garbage last year. But what you heard was "It's Kentucky, Florida, and the rest is crap." And, aside from Tennessee making a good run to the sweet 16, that was pretty much true. It's not a knock on Kentucky or Florida - the best program historically and recently and a top 10 program recently - that the rest of the conference is weaker than most other power conferences. In the 90s, this wasn't true. Lately, it is. We're still a power conference, I'm not saying we're the A-10. But get past the top couple of teams and the SEC is undeniably weaker than other conferences.
There has been a LOT of factual info posted the last week or so about the SEC not being as bad as some have been saying, including a lot of people on this board, and those posters haven't really responded to it. Seems it's not the garbage dump they were claiming. We are not saying it's the best league by any means, just not UK and a bunch of HS teams.
The SEC is not bad,the problem is that several SEC teams lost OOC games that they should not have lost.When you get past UK there are about 5 or 6 (maybe a couple more) teams that are about equal,they will beat up on each other.When you get the one or two upsets that always happen in league play you have a bunch of decent teams with several losses while there are other teams across the country with 3 or 4 losses total.
In some ways the SEC is their own worst enemy.
the SEC is the 3rd best conference as i don't care what people say we are better then the Big East . It is a joke that the BE will get 7 teams in the dance as teams like Xavier and Butler are not better then UT , Ole miss ect but perception is reality sadly.
If the SEC wants respect, win games. They don't win games. "Well yeah we lost a lot of games but we're still just as good!" is a loser's argument.
Out of the big 6 conferences, we are ranked 4th according to Kenpom
1) Big 12
2) Big East
3) ACC
4) SEC
5) Big 10
6) Pac 12
It's not great, but it's not bad either. It's middle of the pack.
1) Big 12
2) Big East
3) ACC
4) SEC
5) Big 10
6) Pac 12
It's not great, but it's not bad either. It's middle of the pack.
It's really hard to say until the only team team that we know is any good (us) plays these other teams that we think might be good.
Putting a scare in us put TAMU and Ole Miss on the map (and on the fridge of the bracket). The road to conference respect goes through Kentucky. I personally don't really care. I'd just assume blow them all out and people say our conference sucks.
My guess is that if we get five teams in, somebody makes a Tennessee-like run again this year.
Putting a scare in us put TAMU and Ole Miss on the map (and on the fridge of the bracket). The road to conference respect goes through Kentucky. I personally don't really care. I'd just assume blow them all out and people say our conference sucks.
My guess is that if we get five teams in, somebody makes a Tennessee-like run again this year.