The SEC Tournament has undergone significant changes in the last five years. Previously dominated by Kentucky, who had won the championship four years in a row and 31 times in the tournament’s history, the conference has seen a much larger NCAA Tournament presence since then.
Six teams made the tournament each of the last two seasons, and at least eight will make it this year, with Vanderbilt having a chance to earn a bid and make the SEC a nine-bid league. This growth in competition has also led to a lack of repeat champions in the last four years, with five different teams competing in the championship game.
During Kentucky’s run of SEC Tournament dominance, the conference wasn’t sending many teams to the NCAA Tournament. However, the past few seasons have seen the SEC become one of the most competitive conferences, with athletes and coaches of the highest caliber. Alabama, better known for its football program, has won the SEC regular season title twice in the last three years and is set to play in the championship game for the second straight season. Teams like Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M, who previously struggled to make an impact, are now regulars in the tournament’s later stages.
Coaches and players have praised the conference’s competitiveness, with Alabama head coach Nate Oats saying that there are as many pros coming out of the SEC as any other league in the country. Mississippi State, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Auburn are all likely to make the NCAA Tournament this year, and each of these teams has had significant success in recent years.
Kentucky’s recent struggles have been notable, with the team losing 21 games to SEC foes in the last three seasons, including their last two losses to Vanderbilt. UK has made just one semifinal appearance in the last three SEC Tournaments, and eight different SEC programs have finished ahead of them in the standings in that span.
While the team’s SEC Tournament dominance has faded, the growth of the conference has made it more competitive than ever before.
Something has changed.
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