This is an opinion cartoon.
Welcome to March Madness, where the SEC has never been so March badass.
Is this the best conference in the history of college men’s hoops? The SEC stakes a strong claim to that title this year.
The SEC has been alive and thriving all season with the sound of three-point music, tough defense, and buzzer-beating electricity.
The SEC basketball tournament kicks off today in Nashville, and it feels like every team has a shot at cutting down the nets. From top to bottom, this league has never been stronger or more dangerous. The conference is armed and loaded with great talent and an amazing lineup of the best coaches in the country, featuring this basketball state’s Bruce Pearl and Nate Oats at the top of the list.
Gone are the days when my Kentucky Wildcats were the majestic beasts of the conference — the basketball version of Alabama football. The SEC tournament used to be a one or two horse race between UK’s Goliath and some other Johnny-come-lucky team of the moment. It was almost a parody.
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But now parody has been replaced by parity, and I love it.
Make no mistake, I still bleed Kentucky blue. Coach Mark Pope has brought fresh energy and enthusiasm in building his team from scratch after John Calipari bolted for Arkansas last year. They’re a tight group of players who are fun to watch, especially when they’re healthy and hitting on all cylinders.
Check out complete 2025 SEC men’s basketball tournament bracket
Yes, I’ll be pulling for my UKats in this tournament and beyond. They may have a better chance of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament than in the SEC.
The top four SEC tourney seeds, Auburn, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee, are gonna be tough outs in both tournaments and each has a solid chance at a national championship. But I won’t be surprised if one or all are knocked out of the SEC finals by a hungry dark horse on a mission.
After the Crimson Tide revenge win over the Tigers in Saturday’s classic OT buzzer-beater on Auburn’s home court, I won’t be disappointed to see a rematch. Or two. My feelings won’t be hurt if they’re playing each other on a Monday night in April.
Prediction: If Alabama or Auburn wins the SEC championship, the other rival will win the NCAA tournament. That’s how talented and driven both teams are this year.
Who you got?
A version of this drawing was first published in March, 2018.
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Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe
JD Crowe is the cartoonist for AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler at [email protected].
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