SEC Tournament odds, picks and bracket: Alabama aims for top overall seed against Texas A&M

When the 2023 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament opens on Wednesday, everybody will be trying to knock off Alabama. The Crimson Tide not only finished with the best conference record, going 16-2, they also have the best player in the conference in freshman Brandon Miller. Miller was voted as the top player in the conference by both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press, despite having his season marred by controversy away from the court.

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Alabama, which is ranked No. 4 nationally, opens as the favorite (+150) to continue its dominant SEC season and win the tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Tennessee, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, opens with the second-best odds (+300) thanks to a suffocating defense that was one of the nation’s best during the regular season. Kentucky (+400), Texas A&M (+500) and Auburn (+1200) round out the top five in the pre-tournament odds.

Eight or nine SEC teams could end up making the NCAA tournament, with Alabama, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri looking safe to make the field. Mississippi State, Arkansas and Auburn are also in the projected field. Arkansas and Auburn play each other in the 7-10 matchup on Thursday night in what could be one of the most important games of the second round.

Vanderbilt has also played its way into the tournament bubble after closing the regular season by winning eight out of its final nine games, a stretch that included wins over Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as fellow bubble teams Mississippi State and Auburn.

2023 SEC Tournament schedule

Wednesday, March 8

Game 1: No. 13 Ole Miss 67, No. 12 South Carolina 61
Game 2: No. 14 LSU 72, No. 11 Georgia 69

Thursday, March 9

Game 3: No. 9 Mississippi State 69, No. 8 Florida 68
Game 4: No. 5 Tennessee 70, No. 13 Ole Miss 55
Game 5: No. 10 Arkansas 76, No. 7 Auburn 73
Game 6: No. 6 Vanderbilt 77 No. 14 LSU 68

Friday, March 10

Game 7: No. 1 Alabama 72, No. 9 Mississippi State 49
Game 8: No. 4 Missouri 79, No. 5 Tennessee 71
Game 9: No. 2 Texas A&M 67,  No. 10 Arkansas 61
Game 10: No. 6 Vanderbilt 80, No. 3 Kentucky 73

Saturday, March 11

Game 11: No. 1 Alabama 72, No. 4 Missouri 61
Game 12: No. 2 Texas A&M 87, No. 6 Vanderbilt 75

Sunday, March 12

Championship: 1. Alabama 82, No. 2 Texas A&M 63

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SEC Tournament odds

All odds from BetMGM and update live.

SEC Tournament expert picks

SEC Tournament projections

Austin Mock’s college basketball model factors in a plethora of metrics, adjusts them for opponent and home/away, and takes into account injuries. He then uses those metrics and simulates the conference tournaments 100,000 times.

Key: Win% is the percent chance a team has of winning the conference tournament according to Austin’s model.

NBA Draft prospects

• Alabama — F Brandon Miller | Potential top 5 pick
• Arkansas — G Nick Smith Jr. | Potential top 10 pick
• Kentucky — G Cason Wallace | Potential Lottery pick
• Arkansas — G Anthony Black | Potential Lottery pick
• South Carolina — F G.G. Jackson | Mid-first round
• Alabama — F Noah Clowney | Late first round
• Tennessee — F Julian Phillips | Late first/early second round
• Arkansas — G/F Ricky Council IV | Second round
• Arkansas — G/F Jordan Walsh | Potential second round
• Florida — C Colin Castleton | Potential second round

 (Photo of Brandon Miller: Bryan Lynn / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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