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When it comes to competitive conferences in college basketball, there are not many as well contested as the Southeastern. According to the top basketball betting sites, no fewer than five sides are in the running to top the SEC in the regular season. In our latest NCAAB futures, we look at the latest betting odds and throw in our best-value NCAAB betting picks to top the conference.
- The 2023/24 college basketball season is nearly upon us. The action gets underway on November 6th, 2023, and finishes on March 17th, 2024
- In the 2022/23 season, Alabama topped the conference in the regular season with a record of 16-2, just ahead of Texas A&M (15-3)
- Kentucky (+300) leads the betting this year. Tennessee (+325), Arkansas (+400), Alabama (+500), and Texas A&M (+600) are all expected to be competitive
Before we look at the betting to top the SEC in the regular season, let’s first look at the betting to win the NCAA Basketball Championship.
The favorites are the Kansas Jayhawks at +900. The Jayhawks have been leading the betting for most of the offseason, sitting at around the +900 to +1000 mark with the bookmakers.
According to the best college basketball betting sites, the biggest rivals for Kansas are likely to be the Purdue Boilermakers (+1000) and the Kentucky Wildcats (+1000). The Wildcats also feature prominently in the betting to top the SEC, which we will look at in more detail later.
Duke is next at +1200. The Blue Devils were disappointing last season, and they will be looking to improve on their second-round postseason exit at the hands of Tennessee (+3300).
The defending champions UConn are +1600, which is the same price as Michigan State. Two other sides who were expected to do better than they did last season, Houston and Gonzaga, are next at +2000, with Creighton at +2200. We will look in more detail at the betting to win the 2023/24 Championship as we get closer to the start of the regular season.
Betting to win the SEC Regular Season
Some of the teams we mentioned in the championship betting odds also feature in our look at the betting to win the Southeastern Conference. The latest college basketball odds to top the conference can be found below on our NCAAB betting odds table.
| SEC Regular Season 2023/24 Winner Betting |  |  |  |
| Kentucky | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Tennessee | +325 | +325 | +325 |
| Arkansas | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Alabama | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Texas A&M | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Auburn | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Florida | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Mississippi | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Mississippi State | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Missouri | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| LSU | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Vanderbilt | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Georgia | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 |
| South Carolina | +12500 | +12500 | +12500 |
The SEC favorites
The favorite to top the regular season conference table is the Kentucky Wildcats. Last season they finished third in the table with a 12-6 record. This season, the best betting sites make the Wildcats +300 to win the conference again.
Quite often, history seems to influence the odds of John Calipari’s team. And as the team with the most wins in the history of NCAA basketball, we do wonder if history results in shorter odds on the Wildcats than they deserve.
Kentucky’s preparation for the new season hasn’t been the best. They are already without Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso for the next few weeks. And then on Wednesday, Adou Thiero had to be helped off the court after turning his ankle at the Wildcats’ annual Pro Day.
Last season’s table-toppers
As you can see, last season’s table toppers Alabama are not the betting favorites to top the conference table again this season. Alabama is the fourth favorite at +500. This after finishing with a 16-2 conference record last season.
☝🏽 month til we are back at Coleman!#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/a6HGlrv6fL
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) October 6, 2023
The Coleman Coliseum was the foundation the Crimson Tide’s success was built on last season. Their home stadium was a fortress, with Nate Oats’ team 15-0 at Coleman overall.
The Crimson Tide are good odds to repeat their win. And with the Wildcats already not looking in great shape, they could be well worth a wager at +500 to back up last season’s win.
Anybody else to consider?
Texas A&M is another team who had an excellent regular season in 2022/23. The Aggies pushed Alabama all the way last season, eventually finishing 15-3, just one win behind the Crimson Tide. This year the Aggies are +600 to go one better. That leaves them fifth in the latest betting.
The second favorite behind the Wildcats is Tennessee at +325. The Volunteers were 11-7 last season. A poor season on the road (4-6 overall) was the main reason behind Rick Barnes’ team’s poor overall record last season.
How, or if, the Volunteers can rectify that record will go a long way to determining how they get on this season. We certainly feel that a bet on them at +325 would be too risky at this moment in time.
Finally, Arkansas. They are another team that suffered badly on the road last season. At the Bud Walton Arena, they were 14-3 overall. On the road, they were 2-8. Their conference record of 8-10 saw them in the bottom half of the table. Again, we would be exercising caution about backing them to top the table this year at odds of just +400.
Our Picks
It’s still a bit too early to go out on a limb and say who will win. But looking at the betting at the moment, a wager on Alabama (+500) and Texas A&M (+600) at their current odds would have to be the best value-looking bets.
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