As the leaves change colors, the air gets crisper and the college football regular season reaches its midway point, the start of the upcoming college basketball season looms.
If preseason projections are to be believed, the 2024-25 season will end with a couple of old rivals on top of the SEC.
Fresh off its first-ever Final Four appearance, Alabama has been picked to win the SEC in the conference’s preseason poll, with Auburn just behind it at No. 2.
REQUIRED READING: College basketball rankings: SEC men’s teams in top 25 of preseason AP poll
Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas A&M round out the top five.
Kentucky, entering its first season under coach Mark Pope after John Calipari left for Arkansas, is No. 8 while newcomers Texas and Oklahoma are No. 7 and No. 15, respectively. Vanderbilt and new coach Mark Byington have been picked to finish last in the reconfigured 16-team conference.
Coach Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide are returning three of their top five scorers from last season’s Final Four team, a group led by preseason SEC Player of the Year Mark Sears. That core will be joined by high-impact transfers like Cliff Omoruyi (Rutgers) and Chris Youngblood (South Florida), as well as the nation’s No. 2 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings. That four-player high school recruiting haul is highlighted by five-star small forward Derrion Reid, the No. 17 player overall in the class.
Along with Sears, Auburn’s Johni Broome, Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler, Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV earned preseason first-team all-conference honors.
Here’s a look at the full preseason SEC basketball poll, as well as the three all-conference teams:
REQUIRED READING: Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Shea Ralph receives contract extension
SEC basketball preseason poll 2024-25
- Alabama
- Auburn
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Texas A&M
- Florida
- Texas
- Kentucky
- Ole Miss
- Mississippi State
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Missouri
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Vanderbilt
REQUIRED READING: Tennessee linebacker Keenan Pili out for season with ACL injury
First team all-SEC
- Mark Sears, Alabama
- Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
- Johni Broome, Auburn
- Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
- Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Second team all-SEC
- Grant Nelson, Alabama
- Jonas Aidoo, Arkansas
- Johnell Davis, Arkansas
- Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss
- Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
REQUIRED READING: Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia asks for ‘College Football 25’ rating bump after Kentucky win
Third team all-SEC
- Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn
- Alex Condon, Florida
- Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky
- Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
- Tramon Mark, Texas
