The Tennessee Volunteers started the college basketball season as the second favorite to win the 2023/24 SEC title. The Kentucky Wildcats were the original favorite in the SEC NCAAB futures market. But after failing to convince, the Wildcats have been replaced at the top of the betting by the Volunteers.
- The 2023/24 college basketball regular season started on November 6th, 2023, and finishes on March 17th, 2024
- In 2022/23, the SEC regular season was won by Alabama, who topped the table with a 16-2 record, just ahead of Texas A&M, who were 15-3
- Kentucky led the market at +300 at the start of the current season. John Calipari’s team is now second in the betting at +400
We started the season predicting a close run contest in the Southeastern, and we haven’t been disappointed. The conference is well known for being one of the most competitive in college basketball, and the current season is no different.
So far in the SEC, no one has played a conference match. But from the non-conference games played, the original betting favorites to top the table have done anything but impress the punters and the best college basketball betting sites.
How are the SEC Pre-season betting favorites getting on?
The pre-season favorites to win the regular season SEC were the Kentucky Wildcats. Since the start of the season, the Wildcats have seen their AP Ranking rise from 16 to 14. No major change there. On the court, they are 7-2, with their most notable win coming against Miami Florida (95-73). But on the flip side, the two losses have been disappointing.
The first was an 89-84 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks at the Champions Classic in Chicago. Kansas was ranked No.1 (at the time), with Kentucky down at No.17. The defeat wasn’t a shock. But the Wildcats aspire to be one of the top college teams. And they also had a 14-point lead in the match. So from both perspectives, it was a very disappointing reversal.
NO. 1 KANSAS COMES UP BIG 😤
The Jayhawks overcome a 14-point deficit to defeat No. 17 Kentucky in the Champions Classic ‼️ pic.twitter.com/rlZBqSykQ0
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 15, 2023
The second loss of the season was equally disappointing but for different reasons. The Wildcats would have expected to beat UNCW. So, to lose 80-73 at the Rupp Arena to the Seahawks would have been extremely disappointing and a major setback.
As a result, the Wildcats are not out to +400 from +300 to win the SEC regular season title. In the betting to win the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, they are at +1800. Although, in fairness, like their ranking, this isn’t a huge change, as the Wildcats started the season at +2000.
Betting to win the SEC Regular Season
The latest college basketball odds to top the Southeastern Conference are below on our NCAAB betting table. The Tennessee Volunteers have now taken over as the betting favorites. The Volunteers are now the market leaders at +300, having started the season at +325.
The change of favorite seems more likely to be down to how Kentucky has not lived up to expectations, rather than the Volunteers overachieving. The Volunteers’ odds have barely moved. It’s the Wildcats that have seen their odds drift from +300 to +400.
Texas A&M has seen their odds slightly cut. They started the season at +600 and are now at +550. But behind the Aggies, both Arkansas and Alabama are on the drift. Arkansas started the season third in the betting at +400, Alabama fourth at +500. The odds of the Razorbacks winning the championship have been eased out to +750, with the Crimson Tide at +800.
Auburn is a side moving in the opposite direction. They started the season at +1200 and are now +800. Florida has also been cut from +1200 to +1000.
Our SEC regular season winner picks
At the start of the season, we liked the look of the Texas A&M Aggies and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Aggies are holding their own, but Alabama is on the slide.
We haven’t had any conference matchups yet. The Aggies have an overall 7-3 record this year, with Alabama and Tennessee on 6-3. The reality is that this is still a very open conference. There is no stand-out team, and with the colleges all having long odds, it is the ideal conference for hedging our bets.
The Volunteers themselves haven’t had the greatest start to the season. Their record is no better than anybody else’s in the conference, and there is little evidence that tells us they are the team to beat in this division. When they were tested earlier in the season, they fell short against the Boilermakers (lost 71-67) and the Jayhawks (lost 69-60) in Hawaii, and they also were well beaten by the Tar Heels (100-92) in North Carolina, losing three in a row.
So, as things stand, we are happy to top up our pick on the Aggies at +550. And we also feel that the Kentucky Wildcats may be worth a few bucks now that they are out at +400. If the Wildcats continue to drift, get on them, as they have just as much chance of winning this conference as the Volunteers or any of the other betting favorites.
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