NCAA men's basketball: Tiering all 16 SEC teams right now - ESPN

The dominance of the SEC this season has been well-documented. It has the highest KenPom rating as a conference in the history of the database, which dates to the 1996-97 season. With 13 teams in ESPN's latest Bracketology, the league is on pace to set a record for most NCAA tournament bids from a single conference, which was previously held by the Big East with 11 in 2011.

But as we enter the second half of conference play, it's time to focus on which SEC teams can win games in March. The league has three of the top five teams in ESPN's Basketball Power Index rankings and four in the top 10. It has three projected 1-seeds, and eight teams on the top five seed lines. According to ESPN BET futures, five of the 10 most likely teams to cut down the nets entering the week were SEC teams.

How do ESPN college basketball writers Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf perceive the pecking order of the conference? They break it down into tiers.

Jump to a tier:
National championship favorite
Clear path to a national title
Realistic Final Four hopes
Deep run depending on matchups
Anything could happen
Streaky but still has bubble hopes
Time to look toward 2025-26

Auburn Tigers

Before Tuesday, Oklahoma had defeated some of the best teams in the country (Arizona, Louisville, Michigan). But when it faced No. 1 Auburn that night, it was clear the Tigers were playing at a level that's unmatched in the SEC right now — and the Sooners lost 98-70.

«I thought we were fighting the first 20 minutes,» Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. «I thought we came out in the second half fighting, even though it didn't look good. We were doing some things. It was in reach. And I think it just snowballed on us. And they can do that to you. The physicality and size