The SEC regular season has come to a close, and the SEC Tournament is right around the corner.
Thousands will descend upon Nashville starting on Wednesday, March 11, running through Sunday, March 15. The Florida Gators (58% chance per Kalshi) are the obvious favorites to repeat after locking up the 1-seed, with Arkansas, Alabama and Vanderbilt also securing double-byes Saturday or prior.
If the season ended today — and considering how the NCAA Selection Committee views conference tournaments these days, it basically just did — the SEC would land about 10 teams in the field of 68. No matter how you spin it, Texas A&M and Texas definitely want to win at least one matchup this week to feel safe. Teams like Auburn and Oklahoma? They probably need to win it all.
Partially for that reason, you can throw the number next to each team’s name right out the window. And because it’s March, the guy that steps up for those teams — any team in the SEC Tournament, for that matter — could be someone you don’t see coming.
With that said, here’s one underrated or overlooked player to monitor for each team entering the SEC tournament.
Alabama
Latrell Wrightsell
Alabama is pretty much unstoppable when Latrell Wrightsell is hitting his shots, and he’s a legitimate threat to drop 7 made 3s any given night. But because he’s the third scoring option for a really good Alabama offense, he’s never the first Alabama guard that comes to mind. Wrightsell also got his stinker out of the way before the start of the SEC Tournament with a 0-5 performance against Auburn.
Arkansas
Billy Richmond III
How about Billy Goat? Billy Richmond is just a fun basketball player, and you’re missing out if you haven’t watched him this season. The crowd-favorite is a nuclear power plant in terms of energy production, and we can’t even say “off the bench” anymore because he’s been a mainstay in the starting lineup since early February. Coach Cal just can’t keep him off the court. How could he? Richmond may be the most underrated player on this list.
Auburn
Elyjah Freeman
Elyjah Freeman, if I’m reading the landscape correctly, is probably the player Tigers fans are least upset with heading into the SEC Tournament. Is that a decent assessment, Auburn fans? Maybe Sebastian Williams-Adams? It’s true that Freeman appears to have a bit of an engagement issue, but it’s hard to doubt the talent when he gets going. His last-second heroics helped the Tigers beat Kentucky just a few weeks ago, but he’s also a gifted athlete and a solid defender. It feels like Freeman could have a monster 2027.
Florida
Rueben Chinyelu
A few answers work for Florida. Urban Klavzar immediately comes to mind, as does sophomore Isaiah Brown. Still, Chinyelu just has to get the nod here. He’s one of the best defenders in college basketball and a dominant force on the boards, but perhaps the 3rd most recognizable member of his own frontcourt. Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon are great in their own respects and no one player is more important than the other when it comes to Florida’s greatness, but Chinyelu is wildly underappreciated for how much of a monster he is down low.
Georgia
Kanon Catchings
Kanon Catchings is starting to heat up at the best possible time. The BYU transfer just dropped 32 points in a win over Alabama and followed it with a 23-point performance against Mississippi State on Saturday night. He has been unconscious from range in SEC play. Catchings can be a bit inconsistent, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he leads Georgia to a few wins this week.
Kentucky
Malachi Moreno
Malachi Moreno does the little things so, so well for a freshman, and he’s keeping Kentucky’s frontcourt afloat pretty much by himself. Moreno’s inefficiency at the rim (for a 7-footer) will get better with time in the college game, and he could become a strong NBA prospect as early as next year. Kentucky needs the freshman this week.
LSU
Pablo Tamba
Tamba isn’t a volume scorer, but he’s quietly one of the most efficient players in the conference and an excellent rebounder. He’s one of the few Tigers capable of making an explosive play away from the ball, and wildly efficient the few times he works on-ball. Tamba is hitting 70% of his shots within the 3-point arc this season.
Mississippi
Eduardo Klafke
Eduardo Klafke plays winning basketball. Ole Miss’s glue guy has seen an increased role in SEC play after averaging under 20 minutes per game in nonconference play. Klafke was invisible at times during those games, often dropping 0 points. It’s getting better, though. Klafke’s averaged just under 10 points and 5 rebounds per game across his last 4 heading into the SEC Tournament.
More than any player on this list, you just have to watch him to understand. Eduardo Klafke’s effort is always off the charts.
Mississippi State
King Grace
I’m not sure I’ll ever understand Chris Jans’ roster construction this season. The Bulldogs offense, at times, defaults to a “let’s hope Josh (Hubbard) can make his next 4 shots or we may in trouble here” mindset.
All that to say, none of it has been very pretty. Enter King Grace, an intriguing prospect on an underwhelming roster. He has zero fear and is a gifted athlete who is still trying to learn his way around the college game, but he’s only going to get better and better. Maybe not this year, but Grace’s time is coming soon.
Mizzou
TO Barrett
TO Barrett dropping 28 points against Tennessee was one of the more surprising things I watched all season in the SEC. The Mizzou guard practically teleported to the rim against the Volunteers.
The Tigers are 5-0 on the season when Barrett scores 15 or more points, when he’s taking some of the heat off Jayden Stone and Mark Mitchell. Consistency is definitely important — he followed up his 28-point performance with a 5-point outing against Oklahoma, then 10 points against Arkansas — but it’s not hard to see him having a memorable March after seeing the leap he’s taken from nonconference play to now.
Oklahoma
The whole team
I’m admittedly cheating here, but I’m also 100% serious. It’s obviously unlikely for the Sooners to run the table in Nashville or anything like that — I’m not sure they can muster up enough on the defensive end of the ball — but I would not be surprised if we look up in a few days and see the Sooners in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Sooners are putting up Golden State Warriors numbers from behind the arc, especially across the past month or so. Oklahoma leads the SEC in conference-only 3-point percentage by a considerable margin and has won 6 of its last 8.
Fine… Nijel Pack. Dayton Forsythe. Jadon Jones.
South Carolina
Meechie Johnson
Oh, South Carolina. The Gamecocks are the opposite of Oklahoma at this point in the season. There just hasn’t been much for South Carolina to hang its hat on, but I think Johnson deserves a nod for dragging this team to a couple SEC wins. Johnson averaged just under 20 points per game in SEC play and often did it with the opposing team’s full attention.
Tennessee
Amari Evans
Tennessee’s freshman class is outstanding even without considering 5-star Nate Ament. Amari Evans, a prototypical Barnes guy, might be the best of the group not named Ament, too. With a strong frame at 6-5, 220 pounds, Evans is a strong defender and has an incredible basketball IQ to pair with unrelenting hustle — he’s the guy that will fly out of nowhere to secure a crucial rebound, and also an impressive scorer despite not having much experience against SEC competition. Evans dropped 24 against Vanderbilt on Saturday with Ament out due to injury.
Texas
Dailyn Swain
I don’t think any Texas fan is underrating Dailyn Swain, for what it’s worth. But on a national scale, Swain is absolutely underrated. He also has a deep bag and, if the Longhorns can find some defense, is absolutely a guy who can lead a run in the SEC or NCAA Tournament. A crafty scorer (17.7 ppg, 55% FG), Swain is a threat to score 25 points any given night.
Texas A&M
Zach Clemence
Zach Clemence scored 11 points last season at Kansas. He scored 13 points last week against Kentucky. The former Jayhawk has taken a simply massive step forward this season and serves as a true 3-point shooting threat at 6-11. Just… ignore his shooting numbers from the LSU game or something. Clemence is a spark for Texas A&M, and he’s seen an increase in minutes across the past few weeks. All the makings of a guy who will rip your heart out with 4 of 6 made 3s in the quarterfinals.
Vanderbilt
Tyler Tanner
Tanner is another guy I’d file away in the “locally praised, nationally ignored” folder. Vanderbilt fans will tell you how cerebral he is, they’ll describe his bag and efficiency despite standing at just 6 feet. But, because it’s Vanderbilt and he is indeed only 6 feet tall, a lot of folks are overlooking him as a very real first-round talent. Tanner has all the makings of a March hero.
1 underrated player for each team entering the SEC Tournament Saturday Down South.
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