College basketball preview: Scouting the SEC

Here's a look at how the upcoming men's basketball season is shaping up in the SEC:

OVERVIEW

You may have heard this before: The Southeastern Conference is fighting for respect nationally for its men’s basketball teams. But could this actually be the year multiple teams in the league step up to not only challenge Kentucky but earn respectable NCAA Tournament bids? The league boasts three teams in the coaches’ preseason top 25, including two programs (Kentucky and Florida) in the top 10. Five other teams received votes in the poll. The team with the fewest votes of that group (South Carolina) is coming off a Final Four appearance. The SEC placed five teams in the tournament a year ago, and three of those squads reached the Elite Eight. Could the league set a record with seven tournament bids this year? It’s possible.

TEAM TO BEAT

Kentucky has won at least a share of the SEC title in three straight seasons and five of John Calipari’s eight seasons in Lexington, so the Wildcats remain the favorite by default. But with Calipari welcoming his youngest roster yet to UK, there are legitimate reasons to doubt whether Kentucky can continue that streak. The Wildcats will not have played a true road game when league play starts, and the quality of competition is up across the league. It should be no surprise if this UK team drops several league games like the 2011 or 2014 teams did before eventually figuring things out in time for postseason play.

NEXT IN LINE

Florida enters the season ranked seventh in the coaches’ poll. Coach Mike White must replace three of his top five scorers from last season’s Elite Eight squad, but All-SEC guard KeVaughn Allen is back and transfers Egor Koulechov (Rice) and Jalen Hudson (Virginia Tech) should be immediate contributors. NCAA Tournament hero Chris Chiozza will need to take on a larger role. A top-20 recruiting class should help depth. How quickly senior center John Egbunu can return from an ACL injury could be key in Florida’s hopes of winning the league.

ASCENDING

A Missouri program that finished with the worst record in the SEC a season ago now has the league’s best player in freshman forward Michael Porter, the early favorite to go No. 1 in the 2018 NBA Draft. If Porter’s presence were not enough to boost the Tigers’ hopes, new coach Cuonzo Martin also welcomes five-star recruit Jontay Porter and four-star prospects Jeremiah Tilmon and Blake Harris. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament last season, Alabama is ranked 25th in the preseason coaches poll thanks in large part to a No. 8-ranked recruiting class highlighted by five-star guard Collin Sexton.

DESCENDING

After a magical run to the Final Four, South Carolina must replace its top three players. Had guard P.J. Dozier not declared for the NBA draft (where he went unselected), it would be easier to see Frank Martin’s team making a return to postseason play. Arkansas finished third in the league a season ago but has to replace leading scorer Dusty Hannahs and leading rebounder Moses Kingsley. The Razorbacks could still make the tournament, but teams below them in the standings have closed the gap.

THREE TO KNOW

It’s not often one needs to look somewhere other than Kentucky for the best freshmen in the SEC, but there actually might be two newcomers on other teams better than any of Calipari’s latest batch of McDonald’s All-Americans. Porter could be the best player in the country and was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2017 by Rivals and ESPN. Sexton (No. 5) was also ranked higher than any Kentucky freshman in the 247Sports Composite. Texas A&M forward Robert Williams turned down the draft after his freshman season but will look to build on second-team All-SEC honors to lead the Aggies toward a title challenge.

NCAA BOUND

Kentucky, Florida, Texas A&M, Alabama, Missouri, Vanderbilt

NIT BOUND

Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi State

Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonHale_CJ.