SEC basketball: Bold predictions for Kentucky, Tennessee and everyone else in 2022-23 season
The 2022-23 SEC basketball season is sure to be full of surprises. Maybe Kentucky will be the top team in the league, a traditional expectation, or perhaps another conference team will step up to claim that honor. Perhaps Auburn will reach a No. 1 national ranking as it did last season, or it could be Tennessee or Alabama or Arkansas capturing that kind of magic. Or a dark horse might emerge.
The USA TODAY Sports Network tasked its team of writers who cover the SEC to come up with one bold prediction for each team for the coming season. Here are those predictions:
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Alabama
2021-22 record: 19-14, 9-9 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Tied for fifth
Top returnee: Jahvon Quinerly, G, Sr. (13.8 ppg, 4.2 apg)
Top newcomer: Brandon Miller, F, Fr.
Bold prediction: Miller, a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American, will win SEC player of the year. Yes, he could be that dominant. He scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Alabama’s scrimmage against TCU.
– Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
Arkansas
2021-22 record: 28-9, 13-5 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Fourth
Top returnee: Davonte Davis, G, Jr. (8.3 ppg)
Top newcomer: Nick Smith Jr., G, Fr.
Bold prediction: The Razorbacks have a roster full of five-star talent, but they’re an extremely young team. Arkansas can pull off the impressive feat of making it to a third consecutive Elite Eight but again will fall short of a Final Four.
– Christina Long, Southwest Times Record
Auburn
2021-22 record: 28-6, 15-3 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: First
Top returnee: Wendell Green Jr., G, Jr. (12 ppg, 5.1 apg)
Top newcomer: Johni Broome, F, So. (transfer from Morehead State)
Bold prediction: The Tigers won't win the SEC regular-season title again, but an experienced backcourt combined with a new-look, talented frontcourt will power them to their first Sweet 16 since 2019.
– Jacob Shames, Montgomery Advertiser
Florida
2021-22 record: 20-14, 9-9 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Tied for fifth
Top returnee: Colin Castleton, F, Sr. (16.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
Top newcomer: Kyle Lofton, G, Sr. (transfer from St. Bonaventure)
Bold prediction: Under first-year coach Todd Golden, the Gators will get another big season from Castleton. Lofton and guard Will Richard (Belmont) will emerge as impact transfers, leading Florida back to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence.
– Kevin Brockway , Gainesville Sun
Georgia
2021-22 record: 6-26, 1-17 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: 14th
Top returnee: Kario Oquendo, G, Jr. (15.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg).
Top newcomer: Terry Roberts, G, Sr. (transfer from Bradley)
Bold prediction: Georgia has a chance to be respectable again under Mike White in his first year arriving from Florida after the bottom fell out last season. Six transfers and some key returners push the Bulldogs up a couple of spots in the standings.
– Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald
Kentucky
2021-22 record: 28-8, 14-4 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Tied for second
Top returnee: Oscar Tshiebwe, F, Sr. (17.4 ppg, 15.1 rpg)
Top newcomer: Antonio Reeves, G, Sr. (transfer from Illinois State)
Bold prediction: Tshiebwe nearly repeats as national player of the year, coming up two votes short of edging Gonzaga’s Drew Timme. But Tshiebwe and the Wildcats get the last laugh, topping the Zags in the Final Four to avenge a November regular-season loss in Spokane, Washington.
– Ryan Black, Louisville Courier Journal
LSU
2021-22 record: 22-12, 9-9 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Fifth
Top returnee: Adam Miller, G, So. (8.3 ppg in 2020-21 with Illinois, missed last season with ACL tear)
Top newcomer: KJ Williams, F, Sr. (transfer from Murray State)
Bold prediction: LSU makes the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA drags its feet in its investigation into the program and Matt McMahon whips a group of mostly new faces into an underrated team with an easy second-half schedule.
– Koki Riley, The Daily Advertiser
NO COACHES ALLOWED:Why Alabama basketball had a players-only meeting after scrimmage loss to TCU
IMPRESSIVE EXHIBITION:No. 11 Tennessee basketball wallops No. 2 Gonzaga 99-80 in exhibition
Mississippi State
2021-22 record: 18-16, 8-10 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: 10th
Top returnee: Tolu Smith, Sr. (14.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
Top newcomer: Dashawn Davis, G, Sr. (transfer from Oregon State)
Bold prediction: Mississippi State is in a mix of SEC teams with first-year coaches looking to make an immediate jump. Chris Jans will emerge as one of the better new coaches and lead MSU to its first NCAA Tournament since 2019.
– Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion Ledger
Missouri
2021-22 record: 12-21, 5-13 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: 12th
Top returnee: Kobe Brown, G, Sr. (12.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
Top newcomer: Isiaih Mosley, G, Sr. (transfer from Missouri State)
Bold prediction: The Tigers will be improved under new coach Dennis Gates. They will get hot at the right time and make a run to the semifinals of the SEC tournament.
– Matt Stahl, Columbia Daily Tribune
Ole Miss
2021-22 record: 13-19, 4-14 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: 13th
Top returnee: Matthew Murrell, G, Jr. (12 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Top newcomer: Josh Mballa, C, Sr. (transfer from Buffalo)
Bold prediction: If sophomore point guard Daeshun Ruffin can stay healthy, he and Murrell should be among the top five guard duos in the SEC.
– Nick Suss, Clarion Ledger
South Carolina
2021-22 record: 19-13, 9-9 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Eighth
Top returnee: Jacobi Wright, G, So. (3.4 ppg, 1.8 apg, 1.6 rpg)
Top newcomer: GG Jackson, F, Fr.
Bold prediction: Despite its projected last-place finish in the SEC, South Carolina overachieves. The Gamecocks remain in the bottom half of the conference, but Jackson and Ohio State transfer Meechie Johnson lead them to some unexpected victories.
– Emily Adams, The Greenville News
Tennessee
2021-22 record: 27-8, 14-4 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Tied for second (won SEC Tournament)
Top returnee: Santiago Vescovi, G, Sr. (13.3 ppg, 40.3% 3-pointers)
Top newcomer: Julian Phillips, F, Fr.
Bold prediction: Tennessee reaches the Elite Eight for the first time under Rick Barnes thanks to the dynamic senior duo of Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James, plus a tremendous one-and-done season for Phillips.
– Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel
Texas A&M
2021-22 record: 27-13, 9-9 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: Tied for fifth
Top returnee: Henry Coleman, F, Jr. (11.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
Top newcomer: Khalen Robinson, G, Jr. (transfer from Arkansas)
Bold prediction: After barely missing the NCAA Tournament last season, the Aggies will return to the big dance. They won’t be in the top five in the SEC but will make some noise in conference play.
– Maxwell Donaldson, USA TODAY South Region
Vanderbilt
2021-22 record: 19-17, 7-11 SEC
2021-22 SEC finish: 11th
Top returnee: Jordan Wright, G/F, Sr. (12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
Top newcomer: Ezra Manjon, G, Sr. (transfer from UC Davis)
Bold prediction: Vanderbilt will be known as one of the top defensive teams in the SEC, but struggles to score will relegate them to the NIT.
– Aria Gerson, Tennessean
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Kentucky, Tennessee basketball predictions 2022-23 and rest of SEC
