The Dagger will be previewing this week's eight marquee conference tournaments. Here's our look at the Southeastern Conference tournament:
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Dates: March 11-15
Site: Nashville, Tenn. (Bridgestone Arena)
Top four seeds: 1. Kentucky 2. Arkansas 3. Georgia 4. LSU
Draw: Click here http://ift.tt/1xbzrX4
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Best draw: Arkansas beat Vanderbilt and split with Tennessee in the regular season and figures to be able to get by whichever one of those teams it faces in its first game. It also split with Ole Miss and handled Georgia, its two most likely semifinal opponents. The point is there is no reason to think the Hogs can’t navigate this road to a championship game against Kentucky.
Worst draw: There is little reason to think Florida is capable of a deep run here regardless of where it ended up in the bracket, but the Gators draw a pesky Alabama team that has played in a lot of close games this season, including a two-point Florida win in their regular season matchup. If Florida wins, it gets Kentucky, which had little trouble with the Gators in the regular season and would probably like to dispatch a program that has been to four consecutive Elite Eights.
Three players to watch:
• Bobby Portis, F, Arkansas — The conference Player of the Year averaged 18 points and nine rebounds. He made at least 50 percent of his shots in 14 of 18 league games.
• Jordan Mickey, F, LSU — A first-team all-conference pick by the league’s coaches and a member of the All-Defensive team. He leads the nation in blocked shots per game but has been dealing with a shoulder injury of late.
• Karl Anthony-Towns, F, Kentucky — He has come on strong down the stretch of the regular season and now has some thinking he might be the first overall pick in this year’s NBA draft
Bubble implications: Texas A&M and Ole Miss need wins here to bolster their resumes, maybe multiple wins. There is nothing exciting about the Aggies total body of work. Nothing real ugly, but nothing to boast about either, that kind of resume can easily get passed over for others with more to chew on. Ole Miss didn’t help itself by losing at home to Vanderbilt to close the regular season. LSU has been wildly inconsistent but can occasionally play at a tantalizingly high level. A win or two for each of these teams goes along way.
Projected champ: What you thought we would go out on a limb? Come on, no one has beaten Kentucky yet and the Wildcats seem to be getting better the more they play. Only one of their final seven games was decided by a single-digit margin of victory. There might be hope that this team loses focus for a day not really valuing the conference title as it looks toward its shot at history and a national title in the NCAA Tournament, but this team has found ways to win all season in games when it wasn’t at its best.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
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