2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season

The 2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 9. Conference play started in late December and will end in March, after which 14 member teams will participate in the 2022 SEC men's basketball tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The tournament champion is guaranteed a selection to the 2022 NCAA tournament.

2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)CBS, ESPN, SEC Network
Regular season
Tournament
Basketball seasons
2022–23 →
2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Auburn 15 3   .833 28 6   .824
No. 16 Kentucky 14 4   .778 26 8   .765
No. 15 Tennessee 14 4   .778 27 8   .771
No. 8 Arkansas 13 5   .722 28 9   .757
LSU 9 9   .500 22 12   .647
Alabama 9 9   .500 19 14   .576
South Carolina 9 9   .500 18 13   .581
Texas A&M 9 9   .500 27 13   .675
Florida 9 9   .500 20 14   .588
Mississippi State 8 10   .444 18 16   .529
Vanderbilt 7 11   .389 19 17   .528
Missouri 5 13   .278 12 21   .364
Ole Miss 4 14   .222 13 19   .406
Georgia 1 17   .056 6 26   .188
2022 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Offseason

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The season was initially slated to begin on November 10, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prematurely ended the previous season and continues to affect the current one.

Preseason

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Recruiting classes

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Rankings
Team ESPN[1] Rivals[2] On3 Recruits [3] Scout/247 Sports[4] Signees
Alabama
Arkansas -
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
LSU
Kentucky
Missouri
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

Preseason watchlists

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Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.

Wooden Naismith Robertson Cousy[5] West[6] Erving[7] Malone[8] Abdul-Jabbar[9] Olson

Preseason All-American teams

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ESPN CBS[10] USA AP[11] Blue
Ribbon
Athlon
Sports
[12]
NBC
Sports
Street & Smith's Sporting News[13] Sports
Illustrated
[14]

Preseason polls

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AP[15] Athlon Sports[16] Blue Ribbon[17] CBS Sports[18] Coaches[19] ESPN[20] KenPom[21] Lindy's
Sports
[22]
Sports
Illustrated
[23]
Sporting
News
[24]
Alabama
Arkansas – –
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Missouri
Mississippi State – –
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

SEC Media Day selections

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Media poll
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Preseason All-SEC teams

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Media
Honorable Mention

Midseason watchlists

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Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.

John R. Wooden Award Naismith Cousy West Erving Malone Abdul-Jabbar

Final watchlists

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Below is a table of notable year end watch lists.

John R. Wooden Award Naismith Play of the Year Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Cousy West Erving Malone Abdul-Jabbar

Regular season

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Early season tournaments

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Team Tournament Finish
Alabama -
Arkansas -
Auburn -
Florida -
Georgia -
Kentucky -
LSU -
Mississippi State -
Missouri -
Ole Miss -
South Carolina
Tennessee -
Texas A&M -
Vanderbilt

Records against other conferences

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2021–22 records against non-conference foes as of (November 9, 2021):

Record against ranked non-conference opponents

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This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):

Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score Conference record
Nov 9 No. 10 Kentucky No. 9 Duke Madison Square GardenNew York, NY Champions Classic 71–79 0–1
Nov 20 Villanova Tennessee Mohegan Sun ArenaUncasville, CT Hall of Fame Tip Off 53–71 0–2
Nov 24 UConn Auburn Imperial Arena ● Nassau, Bahamas Battle 4 Atlantis 109–115 0–3
Dec 1 Memphis Georgia Stegeman ColiseumAthens, GA 82–79 1–3
Dec 4 Memphis Ole Miss The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole MissOxford, MS 67–63 2–3
Dec 4 Tennessee Colorado CU Events CenterBoulder, CO 69–54 3–3
Dec 4 Alabama Gonzaga Climate Pledge ArenaSeattle, WA 91-82 4–3
Dec 7 Texas Tech Tennessee Madison Square Garden ● New York, NY 52–57 4–4
Dec 11 Nebraska Auburn State Farm ArenaAtlanta, GA 99–68 5–4
Dec 11 Missouri Kansas Allen FieldhouseLawrence, KS Border War 65–102 5–5
Dec 11 Kentucky Notre Dame Purcell PavilionSouth Bend, IN 62–66 5–6
Dec 11 UConn Alabama Coleman ColiseumTuscaloosa, AL 83–82 6–6
Dec 12 Florida State South Carolina Rock Hill Sports & Event CenterRock Hill, SC 66–65 7–6
Dec 12 Florida Maryland Barclays CenterBrooklyn, NY 68–70 7–7
Dec 14 Alabama Memphis FedExForumMemphis, TN 78–92 7–8
Dec 18 Tennessee Memphis Bridgestone ArenaNashville, TN CANCELED
Dec 18 Ohio State Kentucky T-Mobile ArenaLas Vegas, NV CANCELLED
Dec 22 Louisville Kentucky Rupp ArenaLexington, KY POSTPONED
Dec 22 Arizona Tennessee Thompson-Boling ArenaKnoxville, TN 77–73 8–8
Dec 22 Illinois Missouri Enterprise CenterSt. Louis, MO 63-88 8–9

Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking

† denotes game was played on neutral site

Conference matrix

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This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

  Alabama Arkansas Auburn Florida Georgia Kentucky LSU Mississippi State Missouri Ole Miss South Carolina Tennessee Texas A&M Vanderbilt
vs. Alabama 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Arkansas 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Auburn 0–2 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Florida 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Georgia 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Kentucky 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. LSU 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Miss. State 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Missouri 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Ole Miss 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. South Carolina 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Tennessee 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Texas A&M 0–1 0-1 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Vanderbilt 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Total 9-8 13–4 14–3 9–8 1–16 13–4 8–9 8–9 4–13 4–13 9–8 13–4 8–9 6–11

Points scored

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Team For Against Difference
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Missouri
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

Through March 18, 2021[25]

Rankings

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    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NV No votes received
  Pre Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Wk
13
Wk
14
Wk
15
Wk
16
Wk
17
Wk
18
Wk
19
Final
Alabama AP RV
C RV
Arkansas AP NV
C NV
Auburn AP NV
C NV
Florida AP RV
C RV
Georgia AP RV
C RV
Kentucky AP RV
C RV
LSU AP NV
C NV
Missouri AP 13
C 12
Mississippi State AP NV
C NV
Ole Miss AP NV
C NV
South Carolina AP 2
C 2
Tennessee AP RV
C RV
Texas A&M AP NV
C NV
Vanderbilt AP NV
C NV

Head coaches

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Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and SEC records are from time at current school.

Team Head coach Previous job Season at school Overall record SEC record NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Alabama Nate Oats Buffalo 2 16–15 (.516) 8–10 (.444) 0 0 0
Arkansas Eric Musselman Nevada 2 20–12 (.625) 7–11 (.389) 0 0 0
Auburn Bruce Pearl Tennessee 7 125–78 (.616) 52–56 (.481) 2 1 0
Florida Mike White Louisiana Tech 6 108–65 (.624) 54–36 (.600) 3 0 0
Georgia Tom Crean Indiana 3 27–37 (.422) 7–29 (.194) 0 0 0
Kentucky John Calipari Memphis 12 330–77 (.811) 151–41 (.786) 9 4 1
LSU Will Wade VCU 4 64–30 (.681) 35–18 (.660) 1 0 0
Mississippi State Ben Howland UCLA 6 98–67 (.594) 43–47 (.478) 1 0 0
Missouri Cuonzo Martin California 4 50–46 (.521) 22–32 (.407) 1 0 0
Ole Miss Kermit Davis Middle Tennessee 3 35–30 (.538) 16–20 (.444) 1 0 0
South Carolina Frank Martin Kansas State 9 147–119 (.553) 66–78 (.458) 1 1 0
Tennessee Rick Barnes Texas 6 105–64 (.621) 51–39 (.567) 2 0 0
Texas A&M Buzz Williams Virginia Tech 2 16–14 (.533) 10–8 (.556) 0 0 0
Vanderbilt Jerry Stackhouse Memphis Grizzlies (asst.) 2 11–21 (.344) 3–15 (.167) 0 0 0

Postseason

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SEC tournament

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  • March, 2022 at the Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. Teams will be seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary.
2022 SEC men's basketball tournament seeds and results
Seed School Conf. Over. Tiebreaker First round
March 11
Second round
March 12
Quarterfinals
March 13
Semifinals
March 14
Championship
March 15
1. Auburn 15-3 27-4 Bye Bye
2. Kentucky 14-4 25-6 Bye Bye
3. Tennessee 14-4 23-7 Bye Bye
4. Arkansas 14-4 24-7 Bye Bye
5. LSU 9-9 21-10 Bye
6. Alabama 9-9 19-12 Bye
7. South Carolina 9-9 18-12 Bye
8. Texas A&M 9-9 21-11 Bye
9. Florida 9-9 19-12 Bye
10. Mississippi State 8-10 17-14 Bye
11. Vanderbilt 7-11 15-15
12. Missouri 5-13 11-20
13. Ole Miss 4-14 13-18
14. Georgia 1-17 6-25
‡ – SEC regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed.
† – Received a double-Bye in the conference tournament.
# – Received a single-Bye in the conference tournament.
Overall records include all games played in the SEC tournament.

[26]

NCAA tournament

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Teams from the conference were selected to participate:

Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship
TBD
Bids W-L (%): 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) TOTAL: 0–0 (–)

National Invitation tournament

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Number from the conference were selected to participate:

Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Bid W-L (%): 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) TOTAL: 0–0 (–)
Index to colors and formatting
SEC member won
SEC member lost

Honors and awards

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Players of the Week

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Week Player of the Week School Freshman of the Week School Ref.
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Totals per School

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School Total

All-SEC Awards

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Coaches

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2022 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards[27]
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Coach of the Year Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Defensive Player of the Year Walker Kessler, Auburn
Freshman of the Year Jabari Smith Jr., Auburn
Scholar-Athlete of the Year Jordan Wright, Vanderbilt
Sixth Man Award Tari Eason, LSU

Players

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2022 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First Team Second Team All-Freshman Team All-Defensive Team
- denotes unanimous selection
Honorable Mention
2022 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Newcomer of the Year
2022 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First Team Second Team
- denotes unanimous selection
Honorable Mention

All-District

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The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named the following from the Pac-12 to their All-District Teams:

District VIII

All-District Team

District IX

Player of the Year

All-District Team

All-American

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National awards

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Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team School/club team

Home game attendance

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Team Stadium Capacity Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Game 8 Game 9 Game 10 Game 11 Game 12 Game 13 Game 14 Game 15 Game 16 Game 17 Game 18 Total Average % of Capacity
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Missouri
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
Total

Bold – At or exceed capacity
†Season high

References

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  1. ^ "2021 Basketball Class Rankings". espn.com. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "New Rivals 2021 basketball team rankings released". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  3. ^ "2021 Basketball Team Rankings". Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "2021 Basketball Team Rankings". Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame Names Twenty Point Guards to Watch List for 2022 Bob Cousy Award". Archived from the original on October 18, 2021.
  6. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame Names Twenty Shooting Guards to Watch List for 2022 Jerry West Award". Archived from the original on February 21, 2015.
  7. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame Names Twenty Small Forwards to Watch List for 2022 Julius Erving Award". Archived from the original on February 19, 2015.
  8. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame Names Twenty Power Forwards to Watch List for 2022 Karl Malone Award". Archived from the original on February 19, 2015.
  9. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame Names Twenty Centers to Watch List for 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award". Archived from the original on February 18, 2015.
  10. ^ "2021-22 CBS Sports Preseason All-America teams: College basketball's best and most talented players".
  11. ^ "Timme, Juzan, Cockburn headline AP preseason All-Americans". Associated Press. October 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Athlon Sports' 2021-22 College Basketball Preseason All-America Team".
  13. ^ "Sporting News' 2021-22 college basketball preseason All-Americans".
  14. ^ "Trevion Williams, Jaden Ivey Named Preseason All-Americans by Athlon Sports".
  15. ^ "AP Top 25 Poll". AP.
  16. ^ "Athlon Sports' College Basketball Top 25 for 2021-22". Athlon Sports.
  17. ^ "Blue Ribbon Top 25 Poll". BlueRibbon. September 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "College basketball No. 1-358 rankings: Preseason countdown concludes with top 68 teams for 2021-22 season". CBS Sports.
  19. ^ "Men's Basketball Coaches Poll". USA Today.
  20. ^ "How high does Memphis climb in Way-Too-Early Top 25 college basketball rankings for 2021-22?". CollegeBasketballTalk.
  21. ^ "2022 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings". Ken Pom.
  22. ^ "2021-22 College Basketball".
  23. ^ "Ranking Every Team in Men's College Basketball".
  24. ^ "College basketball rankings: Gonzaga, UCLA, Illinois lead Sporting News' preseason top 25".
  25. ^ "Sortable Team Stats". Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  26. ^ "Auburn locks down the No. 1 seed, final SEC standings". March 6, 2022.
  27. ^ "SEC names men's basketball All-SEC teams & awards". secsports.com. March 8, 2022.