2023 SEC Tournament preview, odds, predictions: Alabama favored to win

Few conferences in college basketball have been more confounding this year than the SEC, which features a handful of legitimate title contenders and many question marks up and down the standings.

Unsurprisingly, Alabama is favored to win this week’s SEC Tournament (+155) after cruising to a regular-season title. Three other teams – Tennessee (+360), Kentucky (+400), and Texas A&M (+600) – are priced shorter than 12/1, with oddsmakers clearly seeing this is a four-team race to cut down the nets in Nashville.

Here are the odds to win the 2023 SEC Tournament, courtesy of FanDuel, and our best bet to win it:

2023 SEC Tournament betting odds

(via FanDuel)

Alabama was the No. 1 team in the country for much of this season, and the Crimson Tide are the rightful favorites to win this tournament after losing just two conference games all year long.

Nate Oats’ group ranks third in adjusted defensive efficiency and sits in the top three in opponent 2-point percentage (41.9%) and 3-point percentage (28.4%) – a key reason why it won 16 of 17 conference games before dropping a mostly meaningless road tilt at Texas A&M.

The only loss in that stretch came against Tennessee, which flexed its own defensive muscle in that game behind the nation’s top-ranked unit on that end.

The Volunteers’ offense isn’t as efficient or 3-point happy as the Crimson Tide’s, but they’re among the nation’s best at moving the ball and crashing the offensive glass.

That wasn’t enough to keep Rick Barnes’ crew from dropping six of its last 10 games entering this week’s tournament.

Conversely, Kentucky shook off a tough start to win 11 of its last 15 games – including two wins against the Vols – behind the resurgent play of reigning Wooden Award winner Oscar Tshiebwe.

And then there’s Texas A&M, which quietly finished second in the standings with a 15-3 conference record despite ranking fifth in the SEC in adjusted net efficiency.

The Aggies also have a relatively favorable draw in the tournament, avoiding Alabama or Tennessee until a potential championship showdown.

SEC Tournament prediction

Arkansas may not look imposing as a No. 10 seed, but the Razorbacks have the fifth-shortest odds on the board for a reason.

Eric Musselman’s squad boasts a top-20 defense for the third straight season, with this team particularly adept at forcing turnovers and limiting easy looks from deep.

If freshman guard Nick Smith – who’s averaging 19.5 points in his eight games with more than 20 minutes – can stay healthy and hot from deep, the Hogs could absolutely win four games in four days.

Missouri only needs to win three games but is priced as a clear afterthought despite its top-four seed.

The Tigers’ defensive issues are real, but they’re lethal from long range and rank second in the nation in steal rate (14.8%).

That’s a terrifying combination for opponents and an attractive profile for a tournament long shot.

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SEC Tournament pick

I’m usually not one to bet teams at such a short price during conference tournament season. That’s how much faith I have in Alabama to take care of business this week.

The Crimson Tide are still vying for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they’ve looked like the best team in the country for much of this season. That loss to Tennessee was a clear wake-up call for this group, which subsequently smacked Georgia by 49 points before coasting through the rest of the regular season.

Brandon Miller is playing some of his best basketball over the last few weeks, and I’d expect this team to be ready for a potential rematch with the Vols in the semifinals. I’ll be sprinkling a few bucks on Arkansas as a dark horse, but ‘Bama is the only team worth betting on its side of the bracket.