The SEC Tournament gets rolling from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday evening.
There are just 2 games on the docket for Day 1 of the conference tournament. Arkansas and Georgia are in action against Vanderbilt and Missouri, respectively, and they’ll need to string some wins together this week if they want their season to extend. Florida and South Carolina await the winners of Wednesday’s games. Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn, and Alabama are off until Friday.
Here’s a look at the slate for the opening day of the event, followed by 3 betting picks:
(All times Eastern; spread and totals via FanDuel)
21+ and present in NC. Gambling problem? Call 877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov.
PRE-REGISTER!Game 1: 7 p.m. – No. 12 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt (SEC Network)
Arkansas (15-16, 6-12 SEC) comes into the tournament having lost 3 of its last 4, but the Razorbacks have been better down the stretch. They took Kentucky to the brink at Rupp Arena, beat LSU, and then took Alabama to overtime. Vanderbilt (9-22, 4-14) beat Arkansas on Feb. 27 in what was the only regular-season meeting between the two this year. Ezra Manjon scored a team-high 22 points in the 85-82 win for the Commodores.
Spread: Arkansas -5.5
Total: 148.5
Game 2: 9:30 p.m. – No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 14 Missouri (SEC Network)
Georgia (16-15, 6-12 SEC) could still be in consideration for the NIT if it can string a couple of wins together at the conference tournament. This isn’t exactly a team trending in the right direction, though. Georgia dropped 10 of its final 12 games to close out the regular season. But a Day 1 victory at the SEC tourney is possible because the Bulldogs’ opponent, Missouri, hasn’t won an SEC game since March 10, 2023. The Tigers went 8-5 in the nonconference and then lost all 18 league games.
Spread: Georgia -2.5
Total: 146.5
Here are 3 best bets for Wednesday’s SEC Tournament action:
Player prop
Tyrin Lawrence over 15.5 points (via DraftKings).
During Vanderbilt’s 85-82 win over Arkansas, free throws were huge. The Commodores took 32 shots from the charity stripe while Arkansas took 31. That wasn’t unfamiliar for the Hogs, who average the second-most free throw attempts per game of any D1 team and give up the 14th-most attempts. Lawrence (ninth in the SEC in free throw attempts) scored 10 of his 21 points from the line in the first meeting and consistently hurt the Razorbacks inside. While Arkansas has been playing better, the Hogs have also given up 226 free throw attempts in their last 7 games. Should that continue, Lawrence shouldn’t need more than a few makes from the field to clear the points here.
New Customers: Bet $5, Get $300 if Your Bet Wins! DraftKings States: AZ, CO, CT, DC, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TN, VT, VA, WV, WY
GET THE APPPlayer prop
Russel Tchewa over 17.5 points + rebounds (via DraftKings).
Missouri is one of the worst rebounding teams in the country, and gives up a ton of offensive rebounds. Tchewa feasted in the first meeting between these two teams — a 75-68 Georgia win in which Tchewa had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and made 8 of his 9 free throws. The 7-foot, 275-pound big man is coming off back-to-back double-doubles. He has also cleared 30 minutes in 7 consecutive games. Wednesday’s matchup with the Tigers provides an opportunity to keep his run of strong performances rolling.
Pick
Georgia -2.5.
Is Georgia motivated by a potential NIT bid? It’s possible. Alternatively, Missouri has very little to play for at the tail end of a season everyone wants to forget. The Tigers are riddled with defensive issues, including the aforementioned rebounding deficiency. Georgia isn’t exactly lighting it up on the offensive end, but the Bulldogs did shoot 43% from the 3-point line in the first meeting and had 4 scorers in double-digits. DraftKings currently has Georgia -2.5 priced at -108.
Related: Sports betting in North Carolina is now legal! Here’s how you can sign up with one of Saturday Down South’s top-ranked North Carolina sportsbooks so you don’t miss out on the action during March Madness!Â
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
