Alabama

College Basketball Betting: Alabama Seeking Back-to-Back SEC Titles

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2024

College Basketball Betting: Alabama Seeking Back-to-Back SEC Titles

The NCAA Tournament is right around the corner, which means teams across the college basketball landscape have a couple of weeks remaining to win their respective conferences. The SEC is among the conferences that will have an interesting conclusion to the regular season, with the Alabama Crimson Tide and South Carolina Gamecocks both pacing the pack with 9-2 conference records.

Other teams looking to make a late-season push for the conference crown for the regular season are the Tennessee Volunteers, Auburn Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats, and Florida Gators. Ahead of the SEC tournament, let’s take a look at the odds for the SEC conferece regular-season winner on FanDuel Sportsbook.

SEC Basketball Odds

2023-2024 SEC Conference Regular Season Winner
Alabama	+125
Tennessee	+270
Auburn	+280
South Carolina	+650
Kentucky	+5000
Florida	+6000

Alabama (+125)

After securing the SEC regular-season winner crown in the 2022-2023 campaign, Alabama is looking to achieve the same for the 2023-2024 season. The Crimson Tide own a 17-7 record on the season, including an 11-2 record in their last 13 games.

While being ranked at No. 15 in the AP Top 25, Alabama is sitting at No. 6 in KenPom’s ratings. Nate Oats’ squad is getting hot at a perfect time, and Alabama will face conference opponents the rest of the way. Only two of their remaining seven games in the regular season are against ranked teams, too.

Despite not having the best record in the conference right now, the Crimson Tide are a well-rounded team that has four players who are producing 11-plus points per game. The leader of the team is undoubtedly senior guard Mark Sears, who is tallying 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

What makes Alabama such a lethal team in the SEC is the fact it leads all of college basketball with 90.3 points per game on the eighth-highest effective field-goal percentage (57.2%) in the nation. The Crimson Tide can score with the best of them, and there’s a decent chance they won’t suffer another loss in the regular season.

Tennessee (+270)

Entering the final stretch, Tennessee has a 17-6 overall record and the fourth-best conference record in the SEC at 7-3. The Volunteers recently defeated Kentucky on the road, and they have won 13 of their last 16 contests.

Tennessee is a team that is predicated on moving the ball around, logging the 23rd-most assists per game (17.0) in college basketball. While the Volunteers have three players averaging at least 11 points per game, senior guard Dalton Knecht paces the team with 20.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

A recent 85-69 road defeat to the Texas A&M Aggies certainly doesn’t help Tennessee’s case of earning the SEC regular-season crown. At the same time, the Vols are No. 8 in the AP Top 25 rankings and No. 7 in the KenPom ratings.

To conclude the regular season, Tennessee is currently slated to face four straight ranked SEC opponents (Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina, and Kentucky). Catching the likes of Alabama, South Carolina, and Auburn is going to be easier said than done given the team’s remaining schedule.

Auburn (+280)

Only Tennessee is ranked above Auburn in the AP Top 25 poll among SEC squads while they have the highest rating (No. 5) in the conference in KenPom’s ratings. The Tigers are registering a 19-5 record and recently took down a talented Alabama team at home by the score of 99-81.

Auburn also paces the conference in assists per game (17.8) and is a deep team with the fourth-most bench points per game (35.62) in the country. The only two players posting more than 10 points per game on the team are forwards Johni Broome (16 PPG) and Jaylin Williams (13 PPG).

One blemish on Auburn’s resume right now is the fact it has lost three of its last six games. In their final seven games of the season, the Tigers are set to take on three different ranked opponents in the SEC (South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee).

Just two years ago, Auburn won the SEC regular-season title with a 28-6 record and a 15-3 conference record. The Tigers have the third-best conference record (8-3) in the SEC right now, so it can’t afford many more losses in the last couple of weeks if they want to surpass the top teams in the SEC.

Looking for more college basketball betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook to check out all of the upcoming college basketball odds.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.

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Alabama

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

Published

7 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

The United States and Israel-led attacks on Iran are having an impact in Central Alabama.

The military actions that began Saturday targets the military forces of Iran and the nation’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

In Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex have stepped up security so that all entry points will have a 100 percent ID check, the bases said on social media. The Trusted Traveler Program is suspended, which allowed Department of Defense identification holders to vouch for passengers.

Visitors without base access will have to go through the visitor center to get a pass.

Central Alabama residents react to the Iran attacks

For Travis Jackson of Montgomery, the attacks bring back memories, bad memories. He served one tour in Iraq from 2007-2008 with the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the service and has worked the last 10 years as a community activist and diversity, equality and inclusion coordinator.

“I had a flashback of being overseas again,” he said when he first heard news of the attack. “The first thing I thought of was corporate greed. Of yet again seeing what has transpired throughout the years of any war overseas.”

He feels the attacks are a mistake.

“It’s going to be detrimental to the economy, notably with the increase in oil prices,” he said.

Removing the current regime in Iran and establishing a more western friendly country could improve hopes for a more stable Middle East, said Amy Stephens of Elmore County.

“I don’t know if there will ever be peace there,” Stephens said. “But Iran has been the causing trouble over there for almost 50 years.”

Ray Roberts of Prattville served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. He served in an ordinance company with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was a sergeant when he left the service and now works as a draftsman at a Montgomery manufacturing plant.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” Roberts said of the attacks. “President Trump had said they were coming. When he says something like that, he means it. I am glad we are working with Israel so it’s not just the United States. I wonder if Europe and some of the other Gulf nations will join the attacks.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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Alabama

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Published

19 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey was honored for her lifelong dedication to youth and community service during the 12th annual Black Warrior Council Boy Scouts of America Circle of Honor awards luncheon.

The ceremony, which was held Feb. 27 at the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa, serves as a fundraiser for the council’s scouting program.

The Circle of Honor award is presented to people in west central Alabama whose livelihood and actions reflect the same values of the Black Warrior Boy Scouts. Recipients have also shown advocacy for youth and leadership in the community.

Past recipients of the award include Terry Saban, Nick Saban, former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, scientist and philanthropist Thomas Joiner, pharmacist and retailer James I. Harrison Jr., civic leader Mary Ann Phelps and more.

Cathy Randall, a Tuscaloosa businesswoman, educator and philanthropist, presented Ivey with the award. Randall was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2025 along with her late husband, Pettus.

Ivey said she was grateful to receive the honor by the Black Warrior Council and highlighted the importance of public service.

“I’m proud to have dedicated my life to public service, there’s no more noble calling than to uplift and empower lives,” said Ivey during the Feb. 27 ceremony.

Ivey thanked the scouting organizations, including the Black Warrior Council for its contributions to educational opportunities, economic development, and public safety.

“In particular, I’m proud of the work done by our Scouting organizations like the Black Warrior Council, who lay a foundation for successful future in both our young people and our state, thank you for all you do to build a stronger Alabama by changing lives and preparing our future leaders,” said Ivey, a native of Camden in Wilcox County.

Ivey is wrapping up her second term as governor after a long career spent primarily in government.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, Ivey worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as reading clerk for the Alabama House of Representatives under then-Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and she served as assistant director at the Alabama Development Office.

In 2002, Ivey was elected to the first of two terms as Alabama’s treasurer and in 2010, she was elected to the first of two terms as lieutenant governor. On April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th governor after the resignation of Robert Bentley. She filled out the rest of Bentley’s term before winning the gubernatorial election in 2018 and she was re-elected in 2022.

She will leave office at the end of this year.

She is the first Republican woman to serve as Alabama’s governor but she’s the second woman to hold the state’s top executive office. Tuscaloosa County native Lurleen B. Wallace, a Democrat, became Alabama’s first female governor in 1966.

Circle of Honor luncheon raises nearly $200,000

Also during the ceremony, retired DCH Health System administrator Sammy Watson, who served as the event’s emcee, announced that the council had raised $197,000 through the luncheon that day.

Proceeds from the lunch will be used to expand Boy Scouts programs, making them available to over 3,000 young people in west central Alabama.

The Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s leading outdoor education and character development program. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@usatodayco.com. To support her work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.

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Alabama

Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. steps down after 13 years on the bench

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. steps down after 13 years on the bench

SELMA, Ala. (WSFA) – After more than a decade serving Alabama’s fourth judicial circuit, Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. is stepping away from full-time service, closing a chapter that spans nearly four decades in the legal profession.

Pettaway was elected to the bench in 2012 and served in several counties including Dallas, Wilcox, Perry, Hale and Bibb counties, the largest geographical circuit in the state.

Now, he says, it was simply time.

“I never wanted to serve in that capacity forever,” Pettaway said “And plus, I wanted to also make room for some younger, brighter minds to come forward.”

Before becoming a judge, Pettaway practiced law in Selma for nearly 30 years after being licensed in 1985. During that time, he handled cases that helped shape Alabama law; something he says he didn’t fully appreciate until colleagues reflected on his impact.

“I handled several cases which actually affected and changed the direction of the state of the law in our state,” he added. “And I didn’t realize I did all that.”

Friends and fellow legal professionals once presented him with research showing his involvement in Alabama Supreme Court cases that made significant changes in state law; a moment he describes as both surprising and humbling.

During his time on the bench, Pettaway says one of his priorities was maintaining professionalism and respect within the legal system.

He often referenced the Alabama State Bar’s Lawyer’s Creed — a pledge attorneys take promising to treat even their opponents with civility and understanding.

“In that creed, you are promising that you’re gonna treat even your opponents with civility and with kindness and understanding.”

Pettaway says he believes the legal profession — and society at large — must continue working toward a culture rooted in respect and service.

Although stepping away from full-time duties, Pettaway says he is not completely leaving the legal field. He has transitioned to retired active status and plans to assist with cases when needed, while also returning to private practice.

He says this new chapter is about balance.

After decades shaping courtrooms across five counties, Pettaway says he is focused on health, perspective and trusting the next generation to carry the bench forward.

Governor Kay Ivey has appointed former Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jones to serve the remainder of Pettaway’s six-year term.

Jones previously served as senior chief trial attorney under District Attorney Robert Turner Jr. and has also led the Fourth Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force.

The transition marks a new era for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, while closing a significant chapter in its recent history.

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