The Kentucky Wildcats have just one game left in the regular season before postseason play begins.
As wild as college basketball as a whole has been this year, the SEC standings are poised to end the season in a manner in which many expected them to. That's with Kentucky and the Texas A&M Aggies at the top, though who wins the league is still very much in play.
First, here's a look at the standings as of Thursday and heading into the weekend:
CONF | OVERALL | HOME | ROAD | NEUTRAL | PF | PA | STRK | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Texas A&M | 12-5 | 23-7 | 16-1 | 5-5 | 2-1 | 2285 | 1975 | W5 |
Kentucky | 12-5 | 22-8 | 16-0 | 4-7 | 2-1 | 2355 | 2028 | W1 |
Vanderbilt | 11-6 | 19-11 | 14-2 | 3-8 | 2-1 | 2324 | 2012 | W4 |
LSU | 11-6 | 18-12 | 15-3 | 3-7 | 0-2 | 2403 | 2303 | W2 |
South Carolina | 10-6 | 23-6 | 15-1 | 4-5 | 4-0 | 2217 | 2008 | L-1 |
Ole Miss | 9-8 | 19-11 | 12-2 | 6-7 | 1-2 | 2249 | 2165 | W1 |
Arkansas | 9-8 | 16-14 | 13-3 | 3-8 | 0-3 | 2379 | 2246 | W4 |
Georgia | 8-8 | 15-12 | 13-4 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 1875 | 1847 | W1 |
Alabama | 8-9 | 17-12 | 10-4 | 5-6 | 2-2 | 1936 | 1942 | L-1 |
Florida | 8-9 | 17-13 | 12-4 | 3-8 | 2-1 | 2213 | 2058 | L-4 |
Mississippi State | 6-11 | 13-16 | 9-5 | 2-9 | 2-2 | 2175 | 2111 | L-1 |
Tennessee | 6-11 | 13-17 | 12-3 | 1-11 | 0-3 | 2255 | 2265 | L-3 |
Auburn | 5-12 | 11-18 | 8-7 | 2-10 | 1-1 | 2067 | 2245 | L-2 |
Missouri | 3-14 | 10-20 | 10-6 | 0-11 | 0-3 | 2054 | 2180 | L-4 |
As long as the South Carolina Gamecocks can win at home Thursday night vs the Georgia Bulldogs, SC will remain in the running for a share of the league title along with four other clubs. The LSU Tigers, Vanderbilt Commodores, Aggies and Wildcats are also in the running for the league title heading into Saturday, though it's likely the winner comes from UK or A&M.
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For any of the other three teams to win a share of the title, UK must lose at home to LSU while A&M loses at home to Vandy. Neither of those is likely to happen, though given how wild this season has been, it wouldn't be a total shock either.
For the Cats, all they need to do is beat the Tigers in Rupp Arena to win at least a share of the SEC regular-season crown. To win the title outright and earn the SEC Tournament No. 1 seed, they'll need a win and a loss by the Aggies at home to the Dores.
If both the Cats and Aggies win Saturday, both teams clinch a share of the title, but A&M gets the No. 1 seed while UK is No. 2 in the tournament. This is the most likely scenario to happen.
But if UK loses at home to LSU, that opens the door for A LOT of madness to take place. As Matt Smith points out, the Cats could then go from being the No. 3 seed down to a 5 seed with only a single-round bye, not the double-bye the top four seeds get.
If South Carolina beats Georgia tomorrow, here are the SEC Tournament seed scenarios for Saturday: pic.twitter.com/jbDLE7oefc
— Matt Smith (@MattSmithCFB) March 3, 2016
The above scenario is assuming SC beats Georgia tonight. If the Gamecocks lose, UK clinches a double-bye.
Either way, it would very much behoove the Cats to win Saturday, or else begin a possible slide that helps lead to them being ousted from the SEC Tournament before the title game even tips off. If the Cats can just win Saturday, they'll at least clinch a share of the SEC. Amazingly, they've not shared a league title since the 2000-01 season with Florida, per Big Blue History.
Go Cats...and Go Dores?
Go Vandy **Chokes back vomit** https://t.co/SqmDJjBcVW
— The Real Big Game (@Round_Daddy) March 2, 2016