Possible Sleepers: The most dangerous “sleeper” in the SEC right now would easily have to be Vanderbilt. Luke Cornett and co. have been scorching lately, winning five of their last six. The only loss, Kentucky. At Kentucky, where the ‘Dores led by 19 early and continued to lead until late in the second half when Malik Monk started doing Malik Monk things. The Commodores ended their season knocking off Florida for the second time this season, something nobody else in the league could do. SEC teams, especially Florida and Kentucky, better watch out for the Commodores as they seem to be hitting their stride at just the right time. Vandy will face Texas A&M Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
Georgia is my other sleeper in this tourney. The Bulldogs have been in more close games with tough opponents than anyone I can think of; will they secure those wins when their back is against the wall? If Yante Maten comes back for the tourney and is at least 80 percent healthy, which I doubt, you better watch out, Kentucky. The Bulldogs will face Tennessee on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET which should be a good one as UGA narrowly escaped the Vols 76-75 in their last matchup.
Team to beat: No surprise here, Kentucky. The Wildcats won the SEC regular season crown once again making that number 48, 38 more than any other SEC team. The Wildcats seem to be finding their groove a little bit as of late, winning their last 8 matchups. The Cats can be a serious problem not only for all the SEC teams but the NCAA as a whole. The Wildcats face the winner of Tennessee and Georgia on Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
Players to watch: Malik Monk (UK), JJ Frazier (UGA), Robert Williams (A&M), Sindarius Thornwell (USC), Sebastian Saiz (Ole Miss), and Luke Kornett (Vandy).
Final predicition: I would assume we will see a round three tiebreaker between Florida and Kentucky on Sunday but Georgia or Tennessee can really give UK a scare and Vandy has proven they can beat Florida. That being said I still think we see Kentucky/Florida in the final game as the Wildcats knock off Florida 83-77 for another SEC crown and Monk being named the tourney MVP.