Southeastern Conference releases 2023-24 preseason basketball rankings
The SEC preseason basketball rankings are out, with the favorite to win the league tabbed on Tuesday afternoon as well as the preseason All-SEC teams.
Tennessee is the favorite to win it all this season, trailed closely by Texas A&M, Arkansas and Kentucky. The Vols are the favorite for the fifth time in program history and the first time since the 2020-21 season.
In addition to the complete predicted order of finish in the SEC, the league also announced its preseason All-SEC teams.
You can view the complete projected order of finish in the league below.
1. Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee has been a regular in the NCAA Tournament since Rick Barnes really got settled in, and the Volunteers are threatening to make some deeper runs. Last year’s team reached the Sweet 16 before being bounced, but there are plenty of parts back this year.
Guard Santiago Vescovi, a second-team preseason All-SEC selection, will key the charge, but there’s plenty of other talent to go alongside him. The real key for the Volunteers will be finding a way past that postseason hump. Each of the last two seasons has seen incremental improvement in that regard.
2. Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M probably hasn’t had quite the success it had hoped for with coach Buzz Williams, but the Aggies do appear to be trending in the right direction. Last season included an NCAA trip for the first time in the Williams era, in Year 4 (granted, one season was lost due to COVID-19). The goal this year will be to build on that.
Led by point guard Wade Taylor IV, a crafty veteran, the Aggies should have excellent leadership and experience in the backcourt. Throw in fellow scorer Tyrece Radford and Texas A&M could have one of the best backcourts in the conference.
3. Arkansas Razorbacks
The Razorbacks have recruited as well as anyone in the country under coach Eric Musselman, and that includes the transfer portal. That figures to be a big part of Musselman’s strategy again with the 2023-24 team, as the addition of elite Louisville scorer El Ellis immediately bolsters the backcourt.
Ellis will jump into an Arkansas squad with lofty expectations after making a run to the Sweet 16 a year ago. The goal will be to build on that, and Arkansas has the pieces to do it. The Hogs will also get Trevon Brazile back healthy this year, a huge addition to the frontcourt.
4. Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky has been a bit of an adventure under coach John Calipari the last couple seasons, and the Wildcats haven’t made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 campaign. Re-establishing Kentucky’s dominance atop the SEC will be a focus for the Wildcats going forward, but it won’t be easy with plenty of capable competition in the league.
And this year’s Wildcats will have plenty of new faces. Guard Antonio Reeves is back to lead the charge, and the addition of much ballyhooed freshman Zvonimir Ivišić will also help. But it may take Kentucky a little while to gel early in the season.
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama looked like one of the teams to beat last year before tripping up unexpectedly in the Sweet 16. But that’s the kind of team you can probably expect to see from coach Nate Oats going forward. The Crimson Tide should have plenty of talent as long as Oats is around.
Between guard Mark Sears and forward Grant Nelson, Alabama has a solid nucleus of older players to work with going into the year. Nelson was the premier transfer the Tide landed this offseason, but don’t sleep on the addition of Mohamed Wague in the frontcourt, either.
6. Auburn Tigers
Auburn might have as much known talent coming back as most of the top contenders in the league, with big man Johni Broome a huge piece for coach Bruce Pearl to work with. Throw in KD Johnson in the backcourt as a savvy, veteran presence and Auburn already has some pretty good pieces to work with this season.
The Tigers have reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in each of the last two years, and the goal will be to get past that point again. Auburn last did so in 2018-19, when it made a run to the Final Four. The Tigers will need some development on the bench, but they certainly have the front-line talent to get there again.
7. Mississippi State Bulldogs
The Bulldogs return their top five scorers from a year ago, though they were dealt a blow recently with the announcement that Tolu Smith will miss the non-conference slate due to injury. Still, it’s a veteran outfit that should begin the season a little quicker than most teams that need to get used to the lineup early on.
Jans did a nice coaching job in his first season, ekeing out an NCAA Tournament berth, even if it was a first-four game. The Bulldogs won 21 games and finished 8-10 in a very competitive SEC. Jans and company will likely be looking for improvement this winter with so much returning production.
8. Florida Gators
Florida is a team that has relied heavily on the transfer portal since coach Todd Golden took over, and that’ll once again be the case this winter. Florida is looking to the likes of Marshall transfer Micah Handlogten and Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel to make up for the loss of Colin Castleton in the frontcourt.
The backcourt is a little bit more steady, anchored by the return of highly talented sophomore Riley Kugel. He’ll be teaming up with a few transfers like Walter Clayton and Will Richard to try to get Florida back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years.
9. Missouri Tigers
Missouri was excellent a year ago, winning 11 games in conference play and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But now the Tigers will have to get used to life without do-it-all star Kobe Brown. He’s off to the professional ranks.
The Tigers might have to piece together the roster in some creative ways, but Gates will have options. Forward Noah Carter and guard Nick Honor return as two of the more seasoned players that the head coach can count on.
10. Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss made perhaps the splash hire of the offseason when it tabbed former Texas coach Chris Beard as its new head coach. Off-the-field concerns aside, Beard has a pretty well proven track record of taking teams to the NCAA Tournament. He’ll have some work to do in Oxford, though.
The Rebels shored up the frontcourt nicely with the addition of Western Kentucky forward Jamarion Sharp and Oklahoma State forward Moussa Cisse, two massive players physically. Returning forward Jaemyn Brakefield should help that unit be one of the best in the conference, while guard Allen Flanigan provides a wealth of experience after coming over from Auburn.
SEC Finish, 11-14
11. Vanderbilt
12. Georgia
13. LSU
14. South Carolina
Vanderbilt, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina are expected to round out the bottom of the league, according to the preseason predictions. All have varying reasons for optimism, but the SEC is as deep as it has ever been in basketball and once again figures to be a grind. Someone has to finish toward the bottom, and the arguments for these teams are stronger than those against. But that’s why they play the games, right?