Let’s call it what it is.

Will Wade’s wiretapping suspension didn’t exactly shine a bright light on what’s been an impressive year of SEC hoops. But the good news for the SEC is that a week of basketball has the ability to make us shift our attention from that whole deal.

The action in Nashville could have a variety of outcomes that help or hurt the SEC’s attempt to rise the ranks of the elite college basketball conferences.

Here are 3 ways the SEC would benefit this week in Nashville:

1. Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss win; SEC makes more history

The bubble is loaded with SEC teams this year. Those 3 seem to be the ones firmly on it and in need of at least 1 win this week, or perhaps more.

The thing that people tend to forget when they look at the bubble heading into conference tournament weekend is how many automatic bids are going to screw up the field. Like, if a mid-major team like Nevada loses the Mountain West Tournament, it isn’t missing the field. The SEC would benefit from some chalk-y mid-major tournament champions, but that rarely happens.

Alabama, Florida and Ole Miss will all likely approach the weekend knowing what’s at stake. Really, they hold the key to the SEC matching last year’s record-setting number of NCAA Tournament teams (8). Obviously the more wins from that trio, the more likely that feat is accomplished.

Who knows? Maybe the SEC will tie with the ACC and Big Ten for the most teams in the field. That would certainly send as loud a  message about SEC hoops as possible heading into the madness.

2. The LSU thing

I’ve gone back and forth on this. Initially, I thought probably what most did. That is, LSU winning the SEC Tournament would sort of epitomize the conference’s rise in hoops. You’d have a football-focused school add a seminal moment to this out-of-nowhere season. Perfect, right?

Well, let’s say LSU does complete the sweep and win the SEC Tournament without Wade. Here’s how the internet would react to that.

“So that banner is never going up.”

(He sat out the regular-season finale, but on a side note, can you picture the field day the internet would have if Javonte Smart won SEC Tournament MVP? Goodness, those jokes would write themselves.)

And you know what? They probably aren’t very far off. LSU winning now would be viewed as a program that cheated to have this season. I understand we’re still waiting on the FBI wiretap recordings to be confirmed, but let’s be honest. It would turn into a back and forth between LSU fans and SEC/outside fan bases about whether the program deserves to keep the conference title.

You know, like what we had Thursday:

I’d say more of that probably isn’t the best look for the conference. Just a thought.

3. And yes, Kentucky losing would still help the SEC

I say “still” because this was the same thing last year when it first looked like the SEC was on the up and up. And then Kentucky proceeded to win the SEC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and ultimately outlast the rest of the conference in the NCAA Tournament.

Just like football with Alabama vs. the rest of the SEC, Kentucky losing is how the narrative changes. It’s amazing to think that the Wildcats have only missed 1 SEC Tournament Championship since John Calipari took over in Lexington. That’s it. I mean, look at the breakdown of SEC Championship appearances since 2010:

  • Kentucky: 8
  • Florida: 3
  • Arkansas: 2
  • MSU: 1
  • Ole Miss: 1
  • Tennessee: 1
  • Texas A&M: 1
  • Vanderbilt: 1

It really has been “Kentucky and everyone else” when it comes to the SEC Tournament. And yeah, an impressive South Carolina run here, an impressive Florida squad there serve as reminders that Kentucky isn’t the only SEC team who’s had success in the NCAA Tournament this decade. But still.

What happens this week will begin to shape the evolving sentiment following the SEC’s rise in the college basketball world. If Kentucky blows past the field and makes it 5 straight, nobody is going to sit there and pat the SEC on the back. That’s not how opinions are changed.

Someone has to slay the giant. Maybe that’s Tennessee, who handed the Cats the ultimate dose of revenge in the grudge match. Perhaps a team like Alabama, who already beat Kentucky this year and has fared well against the nation’s elite, is capable of finally putting it all together and making a run.

Eventually, someone is going to end Kentucky’s streak. Probably.

If it happened this year, those “S-E-C! S-E-C!” chants would be more appropriate than ever.