Lunardi: If I needed to wager a mortgage cost right now, with out seeing a minute of any sport, Kentucky could be my decide for the nationwide championship. The Wildcats have the Participant of the Yr favourite together with different confirmed veterans. In addition they have the standard rapid contributors coming in (however not too many in order to require a prolonged acclimation interval). And, in fact, they’ve the “chip on their shoulder” issue based mostly on final season’s ignominious NCAA event exit.

Gasaway: Begin with the truth that Kentucky is the primary males’s workforce in 40 years to have a returning Wood Award winner. That is a superb jumping-off level for any rotation, and Tshiebwe initiatives to wreak havoc on the SEC as soon as once more together with his rebounding and putbacks. One query shall be outdoors capturing. Calipari’s incoming transfers, Fredrick and Reeves, are anticipated to assist there, and so they had higher — returning Wildcats made simply 20 3s final 12 months.

Borzello: I believe the Wildcats shall be within the Last 4 and nationwide championship dialog come March — though they have been additionally in that blend final season, earlier than some late-season struggles and finally, in fact, the stunning upset by the hands of the Peacocks. However Tshiebwe is a game-changer on the inside and Wheeler is likely one of the finest level guards within the nation. Above all, I believe Toppin’s efficiency shall be key. He was a standout on the workforce’s preseason journey to the Bahamas, with a mixture of size, explosiveness and inside-outside scoring potential unmatched by anybody else on the roster. If he hits his potential.

Medcalf: I believe Calipari understands the stakes round this season and can do all the things in his energy to achieve the Last 4. I additionally suppose Tshiebwe will seize one other Wood Award and observe Ralph Sampson as the one two-time winner. And he has sufficient of a supporting forged to get the Wildcats again to the place their fan base believes they belong yearly. However I am nonetheless involved about their 3-point capturing. Kentucky hasn’t hit greater than 36% of its 3-pointers since 2016. Three of the previous 4 nationwide champions all topped 39%. Does Kentucky have the shooters to win all of it? We’ll discover out.

Arkansas is stacked with three top-15 freshmen, together with projected prime 5 draft decide Nick Smith Jr. How a lot of a problem does this current to Eric Musselman, who beforehand used transfer-heavy rosters to achieve back-to-back Elite Eights?

FULL highlights from our exhibition win over Rogers State pic.twitter.com/9DovTRVP6j

— #10 Arkansas Razorbacks Males’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) October 25, 2022

Gasaway: Musselman’s been the maestro of transfers all the best way again to his days at Nevada. Now he’ll need to muddle by with elite recruits. Poor Musselman! No, truly. Arkansas shall be fascinating to observe. This roster, together with transfers Ricky Council IV (Wichita State) and Trevon Brazile (Missouri), is each extremely gifted and (virtually) all new. It reminds one a little bit of Kentucky rosters of yore, when Calipari was churning by one-and-dones. If Musselman will get the extent of D that final 12 months’s band of veterans performed, this group actually shall be particular.

Borzello: Affect transfers are completely different from five-star recruits, particularly when all three — Smith Jr., Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh — are projected first-round picks. However Musselman has been capable of combine and match all types of rosters, and I believe he’ll discover a manner with this ultra-talented group as nicely. Brazile may be the breakout participant on this workforce. The Missouri switch completed final season on a tear and has been earmarked for giant issues within the frontcourt this season. Apart from chemistry, the factor to observe early on in Fayetteville shall be 3-point capturing. Who on this roster can constantly make pictures?

Medcalf: I imply, Auburn had a bunch of gifted younger gamers, together with Jabari Smith Jr. final season, and seemed prefer it had Last 4 plans till it bumped into that miraculous Miami squad. I might see the identical for Arkansas, and a attainable Elite Eight repeat. However it would most likely take extra time for this group to determine it out than it did final season. And that is high-quality. As others have talked about, the presence of Council IV and Brazile will assist. It is necessary to notice too that not all prime 10 NBA prospects are created equal. However, all the things that is been stated up to now about Nick Smith Jr. means that he is the actual deal and able to main this workforce on a run.

Lunardi: A very powerful factor to recollect is that it barely issues how the Razorbacks look in November, and even December. The school season is so (too?) for much longer now that there’s loads of time for a number of variations of a workforce to emerge. Given the youth, Arkansas could also be a sliver overrated as we begin the 12 months, however finally underseeded come Choice Sunday. That did not cease the Hogs in both of the previous two NCAA tourneys — or Nevada underneath Musselman in 2018.

Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee all carried out nicely final season, however have additionally misplaced vital expertise. Are any of them positioned to vie for the SEC championship this season?

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Santiago Vescovi talks about his participation in Tennessee’s “VOLeaders” program this summer time and attending to journey to completely different international locations for neighborhood service.

Medcalf: He is reached the NCAA event in 4 consecutive seasons. He is received a minimum of 26 video games in three of these 4 seasons. His title is Rick Barnes, probably the most underrated coaches in school basketball. That is why it must be Tennessee. Who could be shocked if the Vols received the league crown? Not me. Santiago Vescovi is certainly one of 5 seniors on this roster, and Barnes additionally has Julian Phillips, a top-15 recruit. He wins with groups which can be constructed like this one, and I think he’ll win with this crew, too.

Gasaway: I am selecting Tennessee too. No workforce from the highest tier of final season’s standings is returning as many possession minutes because the Volunteers. This rotation appears prefer it hits the candy spot for mixing expertise (Vescovi, Josiah-Jordan James, Zakai Zeigler, Olivier Nkamhoua) and new expertise (Phillips, Indiana State switch Tyreke Key). I will not be in any respect shocked if Tennessee finishes the season ranked No. 1 nationally for adjusted protection at KenPom. Plus, the rubber band impact might favor a workforce that completed useless final in SEC play final 12 months for 2-point accuracy.

Borzello: I too have Tennessee picked the very best of that trio coming into the season, though I nonetheless consider the Vols are a step behind Kentucky and Arkansas for the championship. Barnes’ workforce was enjoying extremely nicely down the stretch final season, trying each little bit of a Last 4 contender, and brings again a number of key items from that group. If Phillips can present some dynamism on the offensive finish, the Vols might need the scoring essential to make a run.

Yet one more factor: I believe Alabama might need the very best ceiling of this trio — if all the things falls proper for the Crimson Tide. That features Jahvon Quinerly coming again wholesome, Nimari Burnett regaining his highschool kind, elite freshman Brandon Miller dwelling as much as the hype and the opposite newcomers making an impression.

Lunardi: I do not suppose Tennessee will win the SEC in 2022-23, however the Vols completely can. They have been solely a sport off the tempo final season, and return loads of expertise. The actual challenge in Knoxville is to switch regular-season success to the NCAA event, the place Tennessee has come up a superb bit in need of projections in its 4 journeys underneath Barnes.

Who or what are we not speaking almost sufficient about throughout the SEC?

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Texas A&M protects its homecourt with an enormous win over Oregon, sending the Aggies to the following spherical of the NIT.

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Borzello: I believe it is price noting the entire uncertainty throughout a lot of the league coming into the season. Certain, school basketball is itself an unsure sport to foretell — however throw six teaching modifications into the combo, and that is what we face with the SEC. Matt McMahon (LSU), Lamont Paris (South Carolina), Todd Golden (Florida), Chris Jans (Mississippi State), Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Mike White (Georgia) are all taking on at new jobs, and solely certainly one of them (White) has expertise as a high-major head coach. How does McMahon do with nearly a completely new roster? What ought to the expectations for South Carolina be with a first-round decide (G.G. Jackson) on its roster? Can Golden’s model of basketball translate to Gainesville?

Gasaway: Texas A&M was the one Division I workforce ranked within the prime 40 nationally for power of file (SOR) final March that did not hear its title known as on Choice Sunday. The Aggies have been robbed, presumably as a result of they recorded SEC event wins over Florida, Auburn and Arkansas on the eleventh hour when the committee was dealing with its deadline. Now Buzz Williams is bringing again Henry Coleman III, Tyrece Radford, Wade Taylor IV, Manny Obaseki and Andre Gordon. A&M will or a minimum of must be on a mission.

Lunardi: All due respect, Texas A&M wasn’t robbed of something final March (and this from the man who had the Aggies as his “final workforce in”). Each sport counts, so any sincere analysis of the 2021-22 season should additionally embrace A&M’s eight-game SEC shedding streak and “we instructed you so” nonconference schedule. This 12 months’s nonleague slate is somewhat bit higher, however not a lot that we may be certain the Aggies have been actually being attentive to what harm them probably the most. This was a problem for years within the SEC — lengthy since solved, however apparently the memo by no means made it to Faculty Station.

Medcalf: I imply, we’ve not actually talked about G.G. Jackson, who decommitted from North Carolina, reclassified into the category of 2022 and dedicated to South Carolina this summer time. That is the brand new NIL world. A top-10 recruit may be swayed by his personal ambitions and the potential payoff for attending a college that lacks the pedigree of the powerhouse packages that wished him. I do not suppose Jackson solely went to South Carolina because of NIL. But when the Tar Heels can lose a prime participant to a rival like this, it may possibly occur to anybody on this new period. Additionally, I am excited to see how Lamont Paris makes use of the NBA prospect within the first season on campus for each of them.

SEC 2022-23 convention champion predictions