It is common practice for college basketball coaches to tout their conferences in trying to snag as many NCAA tournament bids as possible.
A new wrinkle has been added to that routine this season in the Southeastern Conference, as the East division coaches have been all about building up their side. East teams accounted for the league’s four NCAA tournament bids last season, and they comprise the five SEC teams currently in the top 50 of the Ratings Percentage Index rankings.
“Every league usually has some team that’s having a rebuilding season, but our division doesn’t have that,” Georgia’s Mark Fox said this week. “Maybe we haven’t always been consistent, but I think we’ve got six good teams, and I think there will be a lot of nights where we’re going to beat up on each other. I think we all saw that coming in.”
Kentucky was 15th in the RPI as of Thursday, while Florida was 17th, Tennessee 18th, Vanderbilt 23rd and Georgia 46th. Ole Miss, the highest-ranked team in the West, was 83rd and dropping after an 0-4 league start, while South Carolina, the lowest-ranked team in the East, was 95th and rising following its 3-1 conference opening.
Fox praised the East without mentioning the West, but Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl had no problem discussing the potential detriment that could be caused by the league’s weaker half.
“The RPIs in the East are strong for the most part, and I think that will serve us well,” Pearl said. “The RPIs in the West aren’t, and if the West is successful as far as their win-loss record, it will take the RPI of the league down and it will make how many teams we get in challenging. That’s just the reality of it.
“That’s not to say that the East should beat the West, but if you can beat an East team, you’re going to help your RPI, and if you don’t beat a West team, you’re really going to hurt your RPI.”
Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi State struggled in nonconference play but are the three West teams with the best chance of cracking the East stranglehold. Arkansas defeated Tennessee to open league play, while Bama’s Crimson Tide have wins over South Carolina and Kentucky.
Mississippi State was a disaster before league play and has an RPI of 191st, but the Bulldogs may have the most talent in the West with Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney back together.
“I think the Kentuckys and Floridas are the teams that give you your dominance throughout the years,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “I know our situation. In our 12 years or whatever it’s been, I know we’re 45-45 against the East, and in the SEC tournament we’re 10-8 against them, and in the last four years we’re 6-4 and in the last two years we’re 5-1.
“We have been very competitive against the East, but there is no question there is a trend this year that they’re really good.”
In seven of the past eight seasons, the East champion has won at least 12 games, including Kentucky with a 14-2 conference record last year. The exception was two seasons ago, when Tennessee and South Carolina each finished 10-6.
With Kentucky already 2-2 following Tuesday night’s loss in Tuscaloosa, a repeat of ’09 in the East seems much more likely than what transpired last year.
“There are probably not any dominant teams in our league maybe like Kentucky was a year ago,” Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings said. “I expect it to be a battle to the end of the 16-game schedule for the conference championship. Certainly winning on the road in this league is difficult, and we’re all finding that out.”
Said Pearl: “I don’t know that there is a stronger division anywhere in college basketball, and to have to play all these teams twice is going to be a terrific challenge.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.