SEC basketball coaches said they were built for March Madness, then got embarrassed

SEC basketball is off to a rotten, not good, very bad start heading into the 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament. As upsets begin to hit the bracket in March Madness, a common theme is emerging. That said, SEC teams are often on the wrong side of the Cinderella story.

Eight SEC teams made up the field of 68: No. 2 seed Tennessee, No. 3 seed Kentucky, No. 4 seeds Auburn and Alabama, No. 6 South Carolina, and No. 7 Florida State. , No. 8 seed Mississippi State, No. 9 seed Texas A&M. By the end of the first round, five of the teams have already been eliminated.

The SEC’s struggles expanded in March as fans and members of the media began digging into the confident words of some of the league’s top head coaches before the tournament.

On Friday, Auburn became the victim of the SEC’s latest upset at the hands of No. 13 seed Yale. The Tigers were in control in the first half, but Yale showed incredible shot-making to keep the game close and snatch the victory in the final seconds. Yale defeated Auburn 78-76 in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets to date. Also on Friday, No. 10 seed Colorado defeated No. 7 seed Florida in a stunning win from KJ Simpson.

Things were even worse for the SEC on Thursday. No. 3 seed Kentucky suffered a stunning 80-76 upset to No. 14 Oakland State in the most shocking result of March Madness so far. Oakland backup Jack Goelke became an overnight legend after making 10 3-pointers in the victory. Also on Friday, No. 11 seed Oregon State defeated No. 6 seed South Carolina and No. 9 seed South Carolina. michigan They defeated No. 8 seed Mississippi State 69-51.

Receipts were being collected as soon as the SEC’s losses piled up. With less than a week to go until the tournament begins, he quotes Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl:

“Our league is ready to start in March,” Pearl said. Speaking after the SEC Tournament game. That certainly doesn’t seem to be the case!

University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari had a lot to say about how his ‘Cats were built for March. Right now, he might just be in the hot seat. It was fine just a month ago:

“I called all my coaching buddies and they said, ‘I love your team.’ And I love this team, too. We’re built for March.” Calipari said. “Right now, really simply, we need to be more physical. We need to win the ball 50-50, and that includes free rebounds that we don’t get. We need to be more physical on defense. must be improved by, for example, 10%.

Florida coach Todd Golden I also got:

“It’s one of the best leagues in America, if not the best,” Golden said. “Every night you’re going to play against NBA players on the opposing side. If you’re not at your best, if you’re not competitive, if you’re not fit, if you’re not ready, you’re going to fail.”

Well, maybe that’s fair. In his DI men’s basketball league this year by KenPom’s model, the SEC was rated his fourth-best league behind the Big 12, Big Ten and Big East.

Either way, the early losses of Kentucky and Auburn are a real blow to the league. You may have noticed that this post does not mention Tennessee, the regular season league champion team. The No. 2 Volantes defeated St. Peter’s 83-49. Will this be the year that Rick Barnes finally breaks out again in March? It feels like it’s now or never for Dalton Knecht to be on the team.

burns I was pretty confidenttoo.

As for the men’s NCAA Tournament, the SEC’s story is still not completely written. However, it was certainly not a good start.