Leave it to the entertaining and outspoken Charles Barkley to blurt out what many are already thinking about next month’s Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament in Nashville.
The former Auburn standout and current NBA analyst returned to school Wednesday night for the top-ranked Tigers’ 106-76 thrashing of Ole Miss, and he was a guest of the ESPN2 broadcast when the topic of the SEC tournament came up. Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee would be the SEC tourney’s top four seeds if the regular season ended today, with the Tigers and Crimson Tide also projected as NCAA tournament No. 1 seeds, and the Gators and Volunteers pegged as No. 2 seeds.
“Do you want to play three hard games in three days?” Barkley said. “I don’t think it’s the worst thing if you lose early. We won the SEC tournament last year and got bounced right away.
“I’m not sure we should go crazy trying to win three games in three days in the SEC tournament.”
The SEC is producing a regular season of unprecedented success, with 14 of its 16 members residing in the top 50 of the NET rankings and with 13 currently projected in the NCAA tournament’s field of 68, according to longtime ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi. Yet if recent history is any indication, winning the SEC tournament does not guarantee a deep NCAA run.