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The SEC, through eight weeks of this season, once again rates as the sport’s best conference, according to KenPom.com, even though there’s only one SEC school in KenPom’s top 10. What that suggests is that whatever the league might lack in true national-championship contenders is offset by depth and the fact that there are zero SEC teams outside of KenPom’s top 90.
No other conference checks that box.
So who will win the SEC?
We did a Dribble Handoff on the subject the week before Christmas. Six people delivered four different answers with Florida getting the most votes.
I went with Alabama.
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Regardless of whether that’ll prove right or wrong, the Crimson Tide certainly looked the part during Monday night’s 102-78 beatdown of Yale inside Coleman Coliseum — and that they did it without the services of their best player, Labaron Philon, was especially impressive. The sophomore guard, who is averaging a team-high 21.9 points, missed the game with a leg injury that Alabama coach Nate Oats said he suffered in the previous contest against Kennesaw State.
“I think it’s pretty likely he plays Saturday [against Kentucky] — but I don’t want to say for sure,” Oats said. “It’s definitely not super-serious, but he couldn’t play in the game now.”
Alabama is No. 15 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Michigan remains No. 1 for the 21st consecutive day. As Oats noted, next up for the Crimson Tide is Saturday’s SEC opener against Kentucky. Both teams will enter on winning streaks — Kentucky’s is four games long, Alabama’s is three.
The Wildcats are 21st in the Top 25 And 1.
Alabama-Kentucky will tip at noon ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings