Greg Sankey reveals how much has been wagered on SEC games through academic year

On3 imageby:Simon Gibbs03/12/22

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Ever since sports betting has been legalized in many states throughout the U.S., the SEC has been one of the industry’s largest beneficiaries, according to commissioner Greg Sankey.

Sankey, in a recent appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, explained that the SEC has amassed an incredible amount of attention through the sports gambling space, with the total amount wagered on conference games turning in an incredible number.

“We’ve actually looked through statistics of what’s been wagered on Southeastern Conference games and it’s enormous,” Sankey said. “Nearly $2 billion through the fall.”

That number, of course, would exclude the greater part of SEC basketball season, as Finebaum said that the near-$2 billion total was only what was measured through the fall season.

Bruce Pearl makes case for Texas A&M’s NCAA bid following SEC Tournament upset

Texas A&M pulled off a massive upset on Friday in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, defeating the top seeded Auburn Tigers. The Aggies now advance to Saturday’s semifinals, and face off against Arkansas.

Following the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl told reporters that he hopes that Texas A&M’s win was enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. Pearl certainly believes that the Aggies belong in the field.

“Congratulations to Texas A&M,” Pearl said. “I hope for Texas A&M and for our conference that that’s enough to get them in the tournament. They just beat one of the best teams in the country and beat us from start to finish, and should not leave any doubt as to whether or not they belong.”

Texas A&M defeated Auburn 67-62. Friday was not the first matchup between the two teams, as the Tigers came out with a victory on Feb. 12 over the Aggies. Texas A&M finished the regular season at 20-11 overall and 9-9 against SEC opponents. The Aggies finished tied for fifth in the SEC, holding the eighth seed in the SEC Tournament.

Regardless, Pearl believes that Texas A&M looks like an NCAA Tournament caliber team.

“They finished fifth in the league, and they finished fifth in the toughest league in the country, and so I’m not sure — I know that whatever coaches have to say doesn’t hold any weight when it comes to tournament time,” added Pearl.

“I’ve just been doing this for 40 years, and I know what teams look like who deserve to be in, and that team does.”