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 | Odds |
---|---|
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.
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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.