The NCAA Tournament rolls on Saturday with the Final Four. But you may have noticed the SEC flamed out with just one team advancing as far as the Sweet 16 (Texas A&M).

There’s hope that with the influx of big-name coaches and a push from commissioner Greg Sankey, the conference is on the verge of becoming much more competitive in hoops.

But even as the quality of the product admittedly lags — in the SEC but also across college basketball — the tournament format is so enjoyable. We decided to borrow a page from the second-biggest college sport and create a fictional SEC tournament bracket for the 2016 football season.

We’ve based the seeds on our most recent power rankings, which we released after National Signing Day.

1. Alabama
2. Tennessee
3. Ole Miss
4. LSU
5. Georgia
6. Florida
7. Auburn
8. Arkansas
9. Texas A&M
10. Mississippi State
11. Missouri
12. Vanderbilt
13. Kentucky
14. South Carolina

Following the format of the SEC basketball tournament, a lower-seeded team could play as many as five games. The top four get byes until the quarterfinals, so ostensibly most teams will play a maximum of three games. This would still be pretty unrealistic to impliment, especially at the conference level. But perhaps we’ll see something similar in the future for an expanded College Football Playoff.

In our fictitious ’16 SEC football tournament, the four SEC East teams that did not make a bowl game in 2015 meet in the play-in round to determine which of them deserves inclusion in the big-boy tournament…

PLAY-IN ROUND

In Birmingham (Legion Field)

No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Kentucky

These two teams have been the dregs of the SEC since James Franklin traded Nashville for Happy Valley. Still, they’re intriguing dregs in ’16. The offensive coordinator change at UK could (finally) put the Wildcats in position to take advantage of the talent Mark Stoops has brought to Lexington. And Derek Mason has the Commodores defense in a good spot, so more stability and healthy on the other side presumably means more progress. Right now we trust Vandy’s defense just a little more, but it’s close.

Vanderbilt 21, Kentucky 20

No. 11 Missouri vs. No. 14 South Carolina

True freshman quarterback Brandon McIlwain improves throughout the season and Will Muschamp makes good on his word to allow offensive coordinator Kurt Roper more system flexibility. But the Gamecocks don’t have the playmakers to penetrate a Mizzou defense that remains very good. The Tigers take advantage of a few short fields to eek out this win despite a lack of production on offense.

Missouri 17, South Carolina 14

FIRST ROUND

In Jacksonville (EverBank Field)

No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Texas A&M

This pairing seems fitting, as the Razorbacks and Aggies have played two thrilling overtime, neutral-site contests in their most recent meetings. Both these teams are playing with new starting quarterbacks. But the deciding factor in this one could be which team is better able to plug its hole on defense: Texas A&M vs. the run or Arkansas vs. the pass. On paper, this is a coin toss. But coach Bret Bielema finally finds a way to break through against a pestering opponent, this time holding on to a late lead with a new cast of effective running backs.

Arkansas 28, Texas A&M 27

No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt

The ‘Dores played the ‘Dawgs surprisingly tough in ’15 thanks to that stout defense. But with Nick Chubb’s return to health and a quarterback takeover by Jacob Eason, UGA is explosive enough to poke an occasional hole in that unit. Vanderbilt’s offense is moving in a good direction, but the line still can’t contain an all-new Georgia front. That makes the difference here.

Georgia 24, Vanderbilt 10

In Charlotte (Bank of America Stadium)

No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 10 Mississippi State

The Tigers, not the Bulldogs, occupied the bottom rung in the SEC West standings last season. So Mississippi State fans are sure to roll their eyes at this one. Even assuming the team’s murky quarterback situations are equal — let’s say John Franklin III and Nick Fitzgerald are the starters — Auburn has a slight edge in talent across the rest of the rosters. We like coach Dan Mullen. But we think Auburn’s running game is going to get back its effectiveness in 2015, and if Carl Lawson stays healthy, that Tigers defensive front could be trouble for a Bulldogs offensive line that struggled last season.

Auburn 27, Mississippi State 21

No. 6 Florida vs. No. 11 Missouri

There are some parallels with these two programs. Will either quarterback — we’re assuming Luke Del Rio and Drew Lock — find plays against good defenses? Which of these fractured offensive lines will get it together in 2016? And which team will find a collection of playmakers in the passing game? It could be J’Mon Moore, Nate Brown and Chris Black catching passes for Mizzou and Antonio Callaway, DeAndre Goolsby and Tyrie Cleveland catching passes for Florida. There are a lot of uncertainties there this spring. But we think Florida’s offense has a better chance to succeed in ’16.

Florida 24, Missouri 17

SECOND ROUND

In Orlando (Citrus Bowl)

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 Arkansas

Dan Enos is an asset to the Razorbacks as a coordinator. But the wholesale offensive transition that Arkansas faces won’t be enough to help the team overcome a fierce Tide pass rush and an opportunistic Bama secondary. It’s hard to pinpoint who it will be, but one of Alabama’s players that fits into those two groups is going to make a huge play to break open this game. And perhaps Blake Barnett will be tossing the ball around pretty good as Lane Kiffin schemes to take advantage of Arkansas’ linebackers and safeties in coverage.

Alabama 31, Arkansas 13

No. 4 LSU vs. No. 5 Georgia

Another matchup with parallel storylines. LSU nearly jettisoned Les Miles and Georgia did shed Mark Richt after nearly identical regular seasons. Both teams lost three games — mostly against ranked SEC opponents, mostly within the division. Both teams are looking to get less conservative and predictable on offense. This game features a marquee individual matchup between Leonard Fournette and Nick Chubb, and perhaps we’ll get the kind of performance we didn’t last year for Fournette-Derrick Henry. LSU’s revamped defense, led by imported Wisconsin coordinator Dave Aranda, makes the difference in this one as Miles extracts some leftover Alabama revenge against new UGA coach Kirby Smart.

LSU 27, Georgia 20

In Nashville (Nissan Stadium)

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Auburn

If you’re a fan of no-huddle spread offenses that utilize the power running game, this is your dream matchup in 2016. Both of these teams should feature strong defensive lines. But I’m trusting Tennessee’s back seven and Joshua Dobbs ahead of Auburn’s back seven and whomever the Tigers start at quarterback. This Vols team should be a legitimate contender for a College Football Playoff spot, assuming Butch Jones is the right man for the job.

Tennessee 35, Auburn 24

No. 3 Ole Miss vs. No. 6 Florida

The Gators demolished the Rebels last year in what was sort of a bizarre performance, considering the context of the rest of the season. Ole Miss beat Alabama and LSU, two teams that both beat Florida. So we’re just going to exclude what happened last season from our thinking here. Can a still-talented Gators secondary do enough to corral Chad Kelly and a deep group of Rebels receivers? Florida’s defense remains talented. But we don’t anticipate coach Jim McElwain’s offense is ready to get into a shootout with one of the most explosive pass offenses in the SEC. Expect more points from Ole Miss in this fictional version of the matchup.

Ole Miss 28, Florida 17

SEMIFINALS

In New Orleans (Superdome)

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 LSU

The Tigers haven’t beaten the Tide since 2011, and three out of the last five meetings weren’t close. We’ve already seen Bama shut down Leonard Fournette; LSU has to hope its running game doesn’t get mauled like it did last year, but can’t expect its backfield to win them this game. Alabama also won this matchup last year by exploiting a weaker than usual LSU defense. This one should be closer as the Tigers return to form on that side of the ball — plus there’s a bit of a home-field advantage at the Superdome. But Saban and the overall balance of his team prevails.

Alabama 21, LSU 17

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Ole Miss

This game potentially pits the conference’s best running game against the best passing game. Both these teams have established starting quarterbacks. We like Tennessee’s defense as the difference-maker in this matchup. Even though the Rebels are bullish about the team’s running game, the Vols defense should be able to make this a one-dimensional Ole Miss team. And there are enough pass rushers on Team 120 to disrupt Chad Kelly, who was prone to interceptions in 2015. He’ll throw two here as the Vols advance.

Tennessee 28, Ole Miss 27

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

In Atlanta

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Tennessee

Joshua Dobbs vs. Blake Barnett, potentially. Tennessee’s run offense vs. Alabama’s run defense. Strength vs. strength. But Nick Saban vs. Butch Jones? We’ll take the Tide in that matchup. These two teams played a tremendous game in ’15. Arguably, Tennessee matched Alabama play for play better than Ole Miss, which benefitted from a few huge plays. By no means will Alabama walk over this UT team like the Tide did to Florida this season. But in the last seven years, Alabama has won more national championships than it hasn’t. So until proven otherwise, we’re playing the odds here. Calvin Ridley gets loose for two scores and the Tide rolls.

Alabama 31, Tennessee 28