USA Today Sports Network preseason basketball All-SEC, awards, order of finish for 2021-22

USA TODAY Sports Network
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Kentucky will win the SEC basketball championship this season.

Or maybe Alabama will.

That's the projection of 14 writers who cover the league for the USA TODAY Sports Network, who picked Kentucky to win the 2021-22 conference title by a narrow margin over the Crimson Tide, which got more first-place votes.

Kentucky placed three total players on the team, with Alabama the only school with two first-team selections.

Vanderbilt's Scotty Pippen Jr., the only unanimous first-team selection, leads the network's Preseason All-SEC team and was picked as preseason player of the year.

More SEC basketball: Kentucky to Texas A&M: where SEC men's basketball teams rank in preseason media poll

More SEC basketball: Alabama basketball's top returners, newcomers to know for 2021-22 season

More SEC basketball: Kentucky basketball's history after bad seasons offers hope for unforgettable 2021-22

Here is the predicted order of finish, preseason team, all-conference first and second team and individual awards as chosen by the USA TODAY Sports Network's SEC coverage team:

The SEC has given its 14 member schools $23 million each to help offset the financial impact of COVID-19 on their athletic programs.
The SEC has given its 14 member schools $23 million each to help offset the financial impact of COVID-19 on their athletic programs.

Preseason All-SEC

First team

Colin Castleton, senior forward, Florida

Scotty Pippen Jr., junior guard, Vanderbilt*

Jahvon Quinerly, junior guard, Alabama

Jaden Shackelford, junior guard, Alabama

Oscar Tshiebwe, junior forward, Kentucky

*Unanimous selection

Second team

Keion Brooks Jr., junior forward, Kentucky

Darius Days, senior forward, LSU

Iverson Molinar, junior guard, Mississippi State

Jabari Smith, freshman forward, Auburn

Sahvir Wheeler, junior guard, Kentucky

Preseason Player of the Year

Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt

Preseason Coach of the Year

Eric Musselman, Arkansas

Preseason Newcomer of the Year

Jabari Smith, Auburn

Preseason Defensive player of the Year

Colin Castleton, Florida

Predicted order of finish

(First-place votes in parenthesis)

1. Kentucky (5)

2. Alabama (9)

3. Arkansas

4. Tennessee

5. Auburn

6. Florida

7. LSU

8. Mississippi State

9. Ole Miss

10. Missouri

11. Texas A&M

12. Vanderbilt

13. South Carolina

14. Georgia

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: SEC basketball 2022 preseason team, predicted finish, top players