O'Gara: Ranking the SEC's 12 Final Four teams of the 21st century
For the first time in the 2020s, the SEC has a Final Four team.
Alabama got the conference its first Final Four team since, ironically enough, 2019 Auburn. It’s interesting to think that if you include 2017 South Carolina, the SEC’s 3 most recent Final Four teams all came from predominantly “football schools.”
Then again, it’s the SEC. There are a whole lot more “football schools” than traditional basketball schools in the SEC.
But that’s not what we’re discussing today. We’re talking about the SEC’s Final Four teams of the 21st century. Specifically, which were the best.
All of these teams were great in their own way. You don’t win 4 games in a row against NCAA Tournament teams without being excellent. But we’ve got to pick favorites because hey, rankings are what college sports are all about.
Here’s my ranking of the SEC’s 12 Final Four teams of the 21st century:
12. 2017 South Carolina
It was an excellent run for Frank Martin’s squad to the Final Four, where it beat a trio of top-4 seeds and it nearly knocked off runner-up Gonzaga. The Gamecocks absolutely took advantage of getting those opening weekend games in Greenville, SC and it helped that the Region opened up when No. 1 seed Villanova lost to 8-seed Wisconsin. Sindarius Thornwell and Co. shook off a 3-6 stretch heading into the NCAA Tournament — that’s why the 7-seed happened. This was a team that defended its tail off and got hot at the perfect time, but I would’ve taken everyone on this list to beat the Gamecocks at their peak.
11. 2006 LSU
I’ll never forget how unstoppable Tyrus Thomas was in the NCAA Tournament and how much I hated it that my Chicago Bulls became convinced that he’d be the face of the franchise because of that NCAA Tournament. Thomas and Glen “Big Baby” Davis were a force in March. There were questions about the SEC that year, and then LSU and Florida both made the Final Four. That team, which felt slighted to only get a 4-seed, deserves a ton of credit for beating 1-seed Duke with a senior JJ Redick, who was held to 3-for-18 shooting in the Sweet 16. But getting blown out by UCLA with a 45-point effort in the Final Four was a tough ending for the program’s first trip in 20 years.
10. 2014 Kentucky
A decade ago, John Calipari was a master at getting an incredibly talented team to play to its potential at the right time of year. What a concept, I know. That 2014 team was a preseason No. 1 who was a borderline Top-25 squad heading into the postseason. Then it won 5 consecutive NCAA Tournament games by single digits en route to the title game with late-game heroics galore. Aaron Harrison’s shot to beat Wisconsin in the Final Four was the stuff of legend, as was when he did it the previous week in the Elite Eight against Michigan. That team had incredible talent, but it gets knocked for double-digit pre-NCAA Tournament losses, as well as how much it played with fire in March.
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9. 2024 Alabama
If Alabama shocks the world and beats UConn as a 12-point underdog (via DraftKings Sportsbook), yes, this ranking will change. So that complicates things, but for now, I’ll give the Tide credit for being tougher than top-seed UNC. Plus, the way that Alabama beat Clemson — starting 1-for-13 from 3-point range and going 15-for-23 the rest of the way against a team that allowed 14 made threes in its first 3 games of the NCAA Tournament — was darn impressive. Nobody would’ve been surprised if this defensively flawed Alabama team bowed out in the Round of 32, which is why it isn’t higher on the list. Instead, it reminded us that 3 is more than 2.
8. 2011 Kentucky
When John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins went 1-and-done, the thought was that Calipari’s second team in Lexington would again need freshmen stars to maximize its potential. Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb — the original hope was that Enes Kanter would be part of that but he was ruled ineligible because he played professionally in Europe — all did that en route to becoming the Cats’ 3 leading scorers. Calipari’s first Final Four team at Kentucky won all 4 of its NCAA Tournament games by single digits, but it ran into the buzzsaw that was 2011 Kemba Walker in the semifinal.
7. 2000 Florida
We don’t talk enough about the raw deal the Gators got with a 5-seed after it was no worse than No. 12 in the AP Poll for the entire regular season. Nonetheless, that squad was the first real sense that this “Billy Donovan” guy knew what he was doing. After surviving that first-round scare against Butler — Mike Miller’s buzzer-beater in overtime was the difference — the high-powered Florida scoring attack beat its next 4 NCAA Tournament foes by an average of 12.5 points, including a stunning Sweet 16 win against top-seeded Duke with Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy. That team couldn’t hang with Tom Izzo’s “Flintstones” squad that beat all of its NCAA Tournament foes by double digits, including an ahead-of-its-time Florida squad.
6. 2019 Auburn
I know what you’re thinking — why have 2019 Auburn ahead of 2000 Florida when the former lost in the semifinals? Fair question. That 2019 Auburn team was a missed double-dribble call from playing in a national championship, and I thought the Tigers would’ve beaten Texas Tech. I truly believe that 2019 Auburn was much, much closer to being 2006 Florida than some realize. That Jared Harper/Bryce Brown combination was electric, and it speaks volumes that Auburn endured the season-ending Chuma Okeke injury in the middle of the blowout win against top-seed UNC in the Sweet 16 and still advanced to its first Final Four. Beating 3 consecutive blue bloods to do that (Kansas, UNC and Kentucky) was what made that run even more impressive. It’s easy to forget that Auburn fouled a 3-point shooter and nearly blew a late lead in the first round against New Mexico State. But I’ll bang the drum that 2019 Auburn was better than plenty of teams that played for a title.
5. 2014 Florida
It’s a forgotten Donovan team in some ways because it didn’t play in a title game. But we forget this team:
- A) Was the first team to go 18-0 in SEC play
- B) Swept the regular season and conference tournament titles
- C) Earned the No. 1 overall seed
- D) Won 30 consecutive games entering the Final Four
- E) All the above
It’s “E.” It’s always “E.”
If Florida doesn’t face UConn again, it wins it all. Period. UConn might’ve been a Cinderella as a 7-seed, but think about this. The Huskies handed Florida their only 2 post-November losses. Florida made a single 3-pointer against UConn in the Final Four. Meanwhile, Shabazz Napier did his best Kemba Walker imitation and helped the Huskies knock off Florida as 7-point underdogs. Patric Young could only do so much. Still, though. Winning 36 games and dominating the SEC in a year in which it put 2 teams in the Final Four deserves to be remembered as one of the best SEC teams ever that didn’t win it all.
4. 2006 Florida
Fun fact: In 2006, I remember being a sophomore in high school in the suburbs of Chicago and watching Florida for the first time all year in the SEC Tournament. I was hooked. Joakim Noah became my guy — I was a Bulls fan so that worked out — and Florida became my team. I picked the Gators to win it all as a 3-seed even though they stumbled to a 7-6 finish to the regular season before winning the SEC Tournament. And to me, that group personified unselfishness. The only reason they aren’t even higher is because we saw a better version of them. That 2005-06 Florida starting 5 was 4 sophomores and the only non-future NBA player, sharpshooter Lee Humphrey, was a junior. A team that entered March at just 8-6 in SEC play still had some soul-searching to do, but boy, did it ever get that figured out.
3. 2015 Kentucky
I’m admitting that I might’ve underrated Kentucky. It had all the makings of being the first undefeated Division I national champion since 1975-76 Indiana. But the only reason I didn’t put the Cats even higher is I think both 2012 Kentucky and 2007 Florida would’ve tapped into 2015 Kentucky’s weakness because they had a big guy who could stretch the floor. That’s splitting hairs when we’re talking about the No. 1 team in America in adjusted deficiency, but that’s what we’re here to do. Still, a 38-win team with 9 future NBA players (4 lottery picks) was historically good. It’s wild to think that 2015 Kentucky only attempted 5 3-pointers in that Final Four loss to Wisconsin. That team had Devin Booker and Karl Anthony-Towns. Wild. Kentucky fans will always be haunted by Sam Dekker.
2. 2012 Kentucky
I have a unique perspective on the SEC’s most recent national champ. I was there for the “Watford for the win” game at Indiana, and I was there for the Sweet 16 revenge that the Cats got on IU in the Georgia Dome. In 3 months, that team got so much better. There was a much clearer offensive identity, which was fueled by Anthony Davis becoming Anthony Davis. But what made that team so good was that Davis actually had a bad offensive night in the title game, and yet, that was never in doubt. Doron Lamb became a lockdown shooter, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was a force driving to the basket and Terrence Jones had the throwback mid-range game that could take over at a moment’s notice. That run through the NCAA Tournament was pure dominance. They were significantly better than anyone who took the floor because they could beat you in a variety of ways.
1. 2007 Florida
There’s a reason why nobody has repeated since 2006-07 Florida. It’s extremely hard. Returning your top 6 players doesn’t happen in a normal year, much less when you get extremely hot in March and win a title. That’s as unique as it gets. Florida had to grind through certain parts of the regular season. It lost 3 games by double digits to unranked conference foes in the final 2 weeks of the regular season. but it worked through that and played like the team we saw in the previous NCAA Tournament. It didn’t matter that Florida faced UCLA in a rematch, or that Greg Oden’s Ohio State squad awaited in the national championship. Donovan’s squad wouldn’t be denied. Sure, you could argue that 2015 Kentucky was more dominant for the majority of the season, but the mental toughness that 2007 Florida showed as the defending champs will stand the test of time.
2012 KY team was the best of this list.
Could we do a similar article of the best regular season teams of the 21st century so us UTjr fans get a chance to participate in the discussion?
You will sit on your hands in the corner and like it.
South Carolina is a football school? I knew I was tired last night, but I didn’t think I’d sleep so hard that I’d wake up in an alternate reality…
Not a bad shot.
we wish we were, but traditionally (way back) we were always a basketball school. More money has been wasted on that football program. Only the congressional waste matches it.
In 2017 the ‘cocks best player got the flu the day prior to the final 4, and had to play Gonzaga whilst getting an iv off and on. I contend if not for that, we would have won it all in 2017. The team was red hot, and full of confidence. Plenty of teams like this have won it all out of nowhere. #12? you totally discount the circumstances. Look at who we beat in the tourney that year- when healthy- and by how much.
Nice list .. Florida and Kentucky are tied on final 4 appearances with Florida having one more natty ( throw in a runner up appearance in 2000 also).
07 Florida team des to be the number one team . Anything less than a natty would have been viewed as negative after the 06 title.
Pulling for bama to pull one huge upset to keep that gators as the only back to back champs this century!