November has arrived, which means college hoops can’t be far behind. With that in mind, SEC roundball expert Al Blanton and I settled in for a quick conversation to preview the SEC season.

The fun starts Tuesday, when 8 SEC teams open, including the blockbuster: No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Michigan State.

1. Let’s jump right in: Who is your SEC Tourney champ pick?

Joe: Kentucky. It’s the obvious pick, and sometimes those don’t pan out. But Florida won’t have the depth to do well in the SEC Tournament (but will be fine otherwise). Somebody like LSU will come out of nowhere, but I’ll take my chances with Kentucky in March.

Al: Kentucky has won 4 out of the past 5 SEC tournaments and should be angry that Tennessee bounced the Cats in last year’s semis. That’s why the Wildcats ought to be the odds-on favorite to bring the ‘ship back to Lexington. And it’s why I won’t argue with Kentucky winning it for the 32nd time in school history.

2. Who will win SEC Player of the Year?

Joe: Isaiah Joe. Yeah, there’s the element of “who’s the best player on the best team,” … but Florida and Kentucky each will spread the wealth around. Meanwhile, Arkansas will have to go to Joe early and often, and they’ll probably overachieve a little, largely because of his 3-point binges. It’s a long shot, but I’ll gamble on the guy.

Al: I’m going to go with Reggie Perry at Mississippi State. Last year, he averaged 9.7 points per game and should be expected to carry much more of an offensive load this year. Gone are Eric Holman, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters, a trio that combined for nearly 40 points per game, and Perry should pick up much of that scoring load.

Joe: I love that we both left Kerry Blackshear, Ashton Hagans, Anthony Edwards, etc., completely hanging on this. Probably a sign that we’re both expecting some big surprises this season.

3. Who will win SEC Freshman of the Year?

Joe: Scottie Lewis, Florida. Way too many people are sleeping on him in favor of Anthony Edwards. Lewis is a next-level athlete and unlike Edwards, he will have a handful of competent teammates around him. Kid might be the best athlete in the league.

Al: Anthony Edwards. I’m buying the hype. I think he’s going to be as advertised. I expect Edwards to get his bearings in November and December and absolutely explode during conference play. The only thing I’ll wish at the end of it is that I got to see him stay in college for at least 1 more year. Unfortunately, that won’t happen. If I had a mulligan on this pick, I’d say Trendon Watford at LSU.

Joe: I do want to stipulate that I’m not pretending that Edwards won’t be really, really good. But carrying the team doesn’t always work out for a big-name freshman (Collin Sexton did it, but Skal Labissiere, Michael Porter and Ben Simmons jump to mind). Now, I can at least point to this admission when Edwards turns out to be Zion 2.0 or whatever.

4. How many SEC teams will make the Big Dance? Any in the Final Four?

Joe: It was 7 last year, and I’d say 7 go this year. UK, UF, UT, LSU, Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas. Final Four seasons? That’s a lot to bite off, but if UK or Florida aren’t in there, the year feels a little like a failure for the SEC.

Al: I think 6 or 7. Overall the conference will likely sag his year. Tennessee, LSU and Auburn won’t be quite as strong, Kentucky will be Kentucky again, and Florida could be a team that makes a bona fide run in March. But the rest of the SEC is a toss up. I think Alabama is a bubble team again and will probably squeak in the tournament. The other representative is anyone’s guess.

5. Who is the Auburn or South Carolina this year: the team that looks awful in midseason, but makes a deep run in March?

Joe: Maybe Alabama. New coach, transition period, but a physical, veteran team that could pound on some people in March.

Al: I want to say LSU, but that wouldn’t be surprising. So I’ll go with Arkansas. Honestly, I think the Hogs are going to surprise some folks this year. Do they have the capability of making a deep run? Probably not, but I never would have considered UMBC or Loyola-Chicago, either. Bizarre things happen in March.

Joe: I like that we both bought in on coaches in their first year at new spots … which brings us to:

6. Which SEC head coach is most likely to not be coaching his team a year from now?

Joe: Cuonzo Martin feels like a fair possibility, as does Ben Howland. Frank Martin could well leave for greener pastures. Calipari feels relatively settled, but who knows? And there’s always the elephant in the room with LSU …

Al: The logical choices are Cuonzo Martin or Kermit Davis. I just don’t feel like Martin is going to be able to raise Mizzou this season, but I also question whether Davis is a lifer in Oxford.

Joe: I like that Kermit Davis thought — not so much that he fails at Ole Miss, but that he just realizes it’s a really hard place to win basketball games and he could be a beloved “name the arena after him” coach someplace else.

7. Does the shoe scandal have any real impact on college basketball in 2020? In the SEC?

Joe: Not in the SEC, and maybe not anywhere. After the Will Wade flip-flop, I believe anything happens when I see it, and not a minute before.

Al: Things have been awfully quiet lately, and I wonder if it stays that way for awhile. It’s hard for me to say what kind of real impact it will have, but I get the sense that it won’t be as massive as we originally thought.

8. What’s your boldest prediction for this SEC season?

Joe: Anthony Edwards sits out the entire month of March. Between the run of guys deciding not to play in the NIT (hello, Ben Simmons), the grind of the SEC schedule, and the hopelessness of UGA’s season, I can see a nagging ankle twist that ends up turning into a very un-hurried return as UGA plays out the year.

Al: I think Georgia could be a surprise team. Tom Crean, who is no dummy, had a good recruiting year. which could pay significant dividends despite Georgia’s getting almost no love in preseason polls.

Joe: Audacious. See, Crean is the reason I’m fully off the UGA bandwagon. I will entirely agree with your assessment of Edwards’ ability, but will argue until the end of time that Crean does not deserve that “no dummy” tag you kindly applied to him. I guess we’ll see soon enough.