After losing in the finals of the SEC tournament in 2024, Florida finished the story and won it in 2025. The Gators earned an 86-77 win over the Volunteers in the final game, then Todd Golden’s team went on to win the NCAA Tournament. Florida is now looking to go back-to-back in the conference, then the team will look to defend its crown in March Madness. The Gators are pretty damn close to being the team they were a year ago, as they have an elite statistical profile and a loaded roster. They’re deservedly the favorites to win the SEC again after an awesome regular season. However, this conference is pretty deep with high-level teams, so Florida will have to earn a repeat. Keep reading to see if we think the Gators will do it.

How to Watch the SEC Conference Tournament

When: March 11-15

Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee

Format: Teams seeded by records within conference; top-eight teams receive byes to third round, top-four teams receive byes into the quarterfinals

Watch: SEC Network and ESPN; Championship Game on ESPN on Mar. 15 at 1:00 p.m. ET

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

SEC Conference Bracket

Coming soon.

SEC Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

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  1. Florida Gators (-180)
  2. Alabama Crimson Tide (+850)
  3. Arkansas Razorbacks (+600)
  4. Vanderbilt Commodores (12-1)
  5. Tennessee Volunteers (+950)
  6. Texas A&M Aggies (35-1)
  7. Georgia Bulldogs (35-1)
  8. Missouri Tigers (150-1)
  9. Kentucky Wildcats (45-1)
  10. Texas Longhorns (60-1)
  11. Oklahoma Sooners (100-1)
  12. Auburn Tigers (180-1)
  13. Mississippi State Bulldogs (800-1)
  14. South Carolina Gamecocks (800-1)
  15. Ole Miss Rebels (600-1)
  16. LSU Tigers (800-1)

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win SEC Conference Tournament

Last year, Florida’s championship-winning team — both in the SEC and in March Madness — had an Adjusted Offensive Efficiency of 127.8 and an Adjusted Defensive Efficiency of 94.2 when looking at Bart Torvik. Well, this year’s team has posted better numbers since the start of the new year. Since January 1, Florida has an Adjusted Offensive Efficiency of 129.1 and an Adjusted Defensive Efficiency of 91.8. The Gators took a few weeks to get going, but they’re now looking the part of one of the very best teams in college basketball. Once again, they’re highly efficient offensively while also playing at the nation’s 19th-fastest pace (71.3) since the start of 2026. They also defend 2s and 3s extremely well — with opponents having trouble getting the latter off completely. Florida is also one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and that’s especially true on the offensive glass. Todd Golden just has a lot of last year’s key pieces back, with Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, and Alex Condon being the main ones. Those three give Florida a massive froncourt, and Golden did well adding backcourt talent in the transfer portal. If there’s any weakness for this team, it’s that the 3-point shooting has been miserable. However, the ceiling is still the roof for the Gators, who are going to be very tough to beat this week.

SEC Conference Tournament Darkhorse

Tennessee is on Florida’s side of the bracket, so the Volunteers are going to have a difficult path if they want to win this tournament. However, when looking for a team that offers a better payout and a legitimate shot at winning, it’s hard to come up with anyone else that fits the “darkhorse” description. Tennessee’s 21-10 record is a little disappointing given where this team has been the last couple of years, but the Volunteers are still a top-15 team when looking at defensive efficiency at KenPom and Bart Torvik. They’re also decent enough offensively to knock off pretty much anyone. Tennessee has wins over Houston, Alabama, and Vanderbilt this year, which speaks to the upside of this team. All in all, the Volunteers are No. 2 in the SEC when looking at overall efficiency, they have a dynamic lead guard in Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and they’re playing pretty close to Knoxville. Also, while Rick Barnes hasn’t had the type of success he’s looking for in the Big Dance, he did win this tournament in 2022. The Vols were also in the finals last year.

Betting Pick to Win the SEC Conference Tournament

KenPom and Bart Torvik have Florida, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt as the three best teams in this conference, and all three of those teams sit in the top half of the bracket. That said, I think the best way to go about picking a winner is attacking the bottom half. With that in mind, my favorite bet to win the SEC is Alabama. The Crimson Tide have arguably the most electric on-ball creator in college basketball in Labaron Philon Jr., who is averaging 21.5 points and 4.8 assists per game this season. He stirs the drink for a Nate Oats offense that is once again a top-five team in the nation in offensive efficiency, while also playing at the fourth-fastest tempo in college basketball. Alabama is going to launch a ton of 3s, as this program lives and dies by the 3-ball. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing when the roster is packed with good shooters. Alabama also takes good care of the basketball offensively, and the team does a good job of forcing opponents into undesirable shots defensively.

This is simply a very good basketball team, and the path to the finals is easier than the ones you’ll find in the top half of the bracket. Also, while Florida did smack Alabama in Gainesville earlier in the season, a rematch would be very interesting. The Gators, who rely heavily on toughness and physicality, might not do as well away from home. And the 3-point math would really favor the Tide.

Makinen Power Ratings for SEC Conference

Coming soon.

  • Lines of 7 points or more should be noted for two reasons in the SEC tourney. First off, favorites in these games are on a 37-8 SU and 27-16-2 ATS (62.8%) run since 2014, and second, these games have gone Under the total at a 30-14-1 (68.2%) rate.
  • Of the last 31 SEC tourney games expected to be highly competitive (favorites of -3 or less), 19 have gone Over the total (61.3%).
  • The bye has proven important in the SEC tournament of late, as rested teams are on a 38-14 SU and 30-22 ATS (57.7%) run versus teams that have already played.·  SEC title game favorites are on an 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS (70%) run since 2015.

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2026 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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