Has the SEC turned into a basketball conference? No, not yet anyway, but it does appear the league will have several legit national title contenders heading into the upcoming season.
The latest evidence of that comes from Gary Parrish’s preseason top 25 poll over at CBSSports.com. In his rankings, Parrish currently has five SEC teams ranked among the top 19 teams in the nation and has elevated Kentucky to the No. 1 team in the nation following the addition of Stanford graduate transfer Reid Travis.
Here are the SEC teams are their rankings in Parrish’s CBS poll:
#1 — Kentucky
The Wildcats went 26-11 overall last season and 10-8 in the SEC and won the 2018 SEC Tournament. Kentucky was knocked out of the NCAA tourney in the Sweet Sixteen.
#4 — Tennessee
The Volunteers went 26-9 overall last season and 13-5 in the SEC and won a co-share of the SEC regular-season title with Auburn. Tennessee was knocked out of the NCAA tourney in the Second Round.
#10 — Auburn
The Tigers went 26-8 overall last season and 13-5 in the SEC and won a co-share of the SEC regular-season title with Tennessee. Auburn was knocked out of the NCAA tourney in the Second Round.
#15 — Mississippi State
The Bulldogs went 25-12 overall last season and 9-9 in the SEC. Mississippi State did not make it to the NCAA tourney but did make the semifinals of the NIT.
#19 — LSU
The Tigers went 18-15 overall last season and 8-10 in the SEC. LSU did not make it to the NCAA tourney and lost in the Second Round of the NIT. The Tigers also signed a top-five recruiting class.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
