How far will the Wildcats go in the SEC Tournament?

The SEC Tournament will tip off on Wednesday, and the Kentucky Wildcats will be looking to win their fifth straight conference championship title. In the preseason, everyone though the SEC title race would come down to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Auburn. Auburn has been supplanted by LSU, but the race is just as close as everyone predicted.

LSU won the regular season outright, but the tournament may have a different story. Coach Will Wade has been suspended indefinitely and it is doubtful that Javonte Smart will see the court again this season. Both are sitting due to their potential involvement in the current FBI investigation, as Coach Wade was caught on wiretap discussing the “offer” he made to Smart and his family.

That seems to open up the path for Kentucky or Tennessee to win the conference tournament, but it will be no easy task. The Wildcats do not play until Friday, and they will be waiting for the winner of the second round match-up between Ole Miss and Alabama. If they are successful in that quarterfinal match-up, they will likely have a rubber match against Tennessee to advance to the finals.

One of Kentucky’s SEC losses this season came in the conference opener to Alabama. While revenge may be on the mind of the Wildcats should that scenario happen, it is clear that Alabama has what it takes to pull the upset. The same can be said for Ole Miss, who Kentucky narrowly defeated in the last week of regular season play.

A semifinal against Tennessee could very well be for a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so that would be a pressure-packed, marquee match-up even before the Wildcats get to the finals. LSU will likely be waiting there, and they still have a dangerous roster even without Smart.

So how far do you think the Kentucky Wildcats will make it in the SEC Tournament? Will they be one and done looking ahead to the big dance, or will they bring home UK’s 33rd conference tournament title?