We’ve got great value, an excellent dark horse, and a true stinker to fade.
With rosters finalized, recruiting classes signed, and portal/pro deadlines passed, we finally have a (general) notion of what teams are going to look like and what squads will be trotting out on the hardcourt this fall.
Conference opponents (if not schedules) are now also known, and the vast majority of programs have finalized their non-conference slate. All that in hands, we finally have enough data points for Vegas to project winners of the SEC. Here are those odds via Caesar’s, and we’ll go over a few in particular:
Take The Money and Run
Florida + $650 — This was an iffier prospect until about three weeks ago, when the Gators decided to throw open the piggy bank doors and let every shekel come rolling out to compensate UF’s deep, talented, game-changing frontcourt. Guard play aside, which you must have for a tourney run, bigs are what wins titles in this overcorrecting zeitgeist. No one has an answer for what UF is doing either. And signing four of the five returning forwards and centers doesn’t suggest that anyone in this conference can catch up. And even the ones who can match schematically are having a world of problems keeping up with a growing talent deficiency in the paint.
Not the Worst Dark Horse
Auburn +$17500 — But, if signing quality bigs, controlling the post, an interior pivot to the Euro game, and making life miserable at the rim are the new meta, then the Tigers got on the ground floor of this cottage industry. Whether Stephen Pearl can actually coach or manage a program remain TBD, but from a roster standpoint, and at least a vision of what Auburn will look like going forward, you do like what you see out of Opelika — at least enough to get in at 17.5 to 1, amirite?
Throwing Good Money After Bad
LSU +4000 — Strong Ass Will Wade earned his reputation off riding Shaka’s talent to a Final Four, and then pasting midmjors with purchased talent. But take a real look at that postseason CV: 5–8, and the bulk of those wins were attained during that one Final Four Run. He’ll get you headlines, the wrong kinds of publicity, just enough wins, and plenty of NCAA scrutiny, but that’s a terrible track record for Wade and especially at those odds. He’s not built to last.
