2018–19 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season

The 2018–19 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in early January 2019 and will end in March, after which 14 member teams will participate in the 2019 SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament champion is guaranteed a selection to the 2019 NCAA tournament.[1]

2018–19 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)CBS, ESPN, SEC Network
Regular season
2019 SEC ChampionsLSU
Season MVPGrant Williams, Tennessee
Tournament
ChampionsAuburn
  Runners-upTennessee
Finals MVPBryce Brown, Auburn
Basketball seasons
2018–19 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 15 LSU162 .889287 .800
No. 10 Tennessee153 .833316 .838
No. 7 Kentucky153 .833307 .811
No. 5 Auburn117 .6113010 .750
South Carolina117 .6111616 .500
Mississippi State108 .5562311 .676
Ole Miss108 .5562013 .606
Florida99 .5002016 .556
Alabama810 .4441816 .529
Arkansas810 .4441816 .529
Texas A&M612 .3331418 .438
Missouri513 .2781517 .469
Georgia216 .1111121 .344
Vanderbilt018 .000923 .281
2019 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Preseason All-America teams

Preseason polls

APAthlon
Sports
Bleacher
Report
Blue Ribbon
Yearbook
CBS SportsCoachesESPNFOX SportsKenPomLindy's
Sports
NBC SportsSBNationSporting
News
Sports
Illustrated
USBWAYahoo Sports
AlabamaRV#19#25#27#23#21
Arkansas#36RV#65#49
Auburn#66#35#33
Florida#8#10#9#7#15#7#9#10
Georgia#53RV#57#58
Kentucky#5#6#6#4#9#8#6#8
LSU#147#88#91
Mississippi State#76#69#48
MissouriRV#37RV#71#25#39
Ole Miss#88#59#53
South CarolinaRV#81RV#40#61
Tennessee#118#49#76
Texas A&M#25#21#27RV#19#19#29
Vanderbilt#46#61#59

Media Day Selections

Media[2]
1.Kentucky
2.Tennessee
3.Auburn
4.Mississippi State
5.Florida
6.LSU
7.Alabama
8.Vanderbilt
9.Missouri
10.Arkansas
11.South Carolina
12.Texas A&M
13.Georgia
14.Ole Miss

() first place votes

Preseason All-SEC teams

Media[2]Coaches[3]
Daniel Gafford ArkansasDaniel Gafford Arkansas
Chris Silva South CarolinaAdmiral Schofield Tennessee
Reid Travis KentuckyChris Silva South Carolina
Tremont Waters LSUReid Travis Kentucky
Grant Williams TennesseeP. J. Washington Kentucky
Tremont Waters LSU
Quinndary Weatherspoon Mississippi State
Grant Williams Tennessee
  • Media select a five-member first team; coaches select an eight-member first team
  • Players in bold are media choices for SEC Player of the Year; coaches do not select a preseason Player of the Year

Head coaches

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and SEC records are from time at current school.

TeamHead coachPrevious jobSeason at schoolOverall recordSEC recordNCAA TournamentsNCAA Final FoursNCAA Championships
AlabamaAvery JohnsonBrooklyn Nets457–46 (.553)26–28 (.481)100
ArkansasMike AndersonMissouri8151–73 (.674)70–54 (.565)300
AuburnBruce PearlTennessee570–62 (.530)29–43 (.403)100
FloridaMike WhiteLouisiana Tech469–37 (.651)34–20 (.630)200
GeorgiaTom CreanIndiana10–0 (–)0–0 (–)000
KentuckyJohn CalipariMemphis10273–64 (.810)121–35 (.776)841
LSUWill WadeVCU218–15 (.545)8–10 (.444)000
Mississippi StateBen HowlandUCLA456–45 (.554)22–32 (.407)000
MissouriCuonzo MartinCalifornia220–13 (.606)10–8 (.556)100
Ole MissKermit DavisMiddle Tennessee10–0 (–)0–0 (–)000
South CarolinaFrank MartinKansas State7113–90 (.557)45–63 (.417)110
TennesseeRick BarnesTexas457–44 (.564)27–27 (.500)100
Texas A&MBilly KennedyMurray State7136–98 (.581)60–66 (.476)100
VanderbiltBryce DrewValparaiso231–36 (.463)16–20 (.444)100

Rankings

Legend
 Increase in ranking
 Decrease in ranking
 Not ranked previous week
 PreWk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Wk
13
Wk
14
Wk
15
Wk
16
Wk
17
Wk
18
Wk
19
Final
AlabamaAPRVRV
CRV
ArkansasAP
C
AuburnAP119
C1212
FloridaAPRVRV
CRVRV
GeorgiaAP
C
KentuckyAP210
C210
LSUAP2322
CRVRV
Mississippi StateAP1817
C1919
MissouriAPRV
CRV
Ole MissAP
C
South CarolinaAP
C
TennesseeAP65
C66
Texas A&MAP
C
VanderbiltAPRV
CRV

Regular season

Date [4]TimeBig 12 teamSEC teamLocationTVAttendanceWinnerLeader
Sat., Jan. 2612:00 PMBaylorAlabamaFerrell CenterWaco, TXESPNU
7,094
Baylor (73-68)Big 12 (1–0)
No. 24 Iowa StateNo. 20 Ole MissThe Pavilion at Ole MissOxford, MSESPN
8,839
Iowa State (87–73)Big 12 (2–0)
TCUFloridaSchollmaier ArenaFort Worth, TXESPN2
6,682
TCU (55-50)Big 12 (3–0)
2:00 PMKansas StateTexas A&MReed ArenaCollege Station, TXESPN
7,100
Texas A&M (65-53)Big 12 (3-1)
Oklahoma StateSouth CarolinaGallagher-Iba ArenaStillwater, OKESPNU
7,658
Oklahoma State (74-70)Big 12 (4-1)
TexasGeorgiaStegeman ColiseumAthens, GAESPN2
10,374
Georgia (98-88)Big 12 (4-2)
4:00 PMOklahomaVanderbiltLloyd Noble CenterNorman, OKESPN2
8,848
Oklahoma (86-55)Big 12 (5-2)
West VirginiaNo. 1 TennesseeThompson–Boling ArenaKnoxville, TNESPN
22,149
Tennessee (83-66)Big 12 (5-3)
6:00 PMNo. 9 KansasNo. 8 KentuckyRupp ArenaLexington, KYESPN
24,387
Kentucky (71-63)Big 12 (5-4)
No. 14 Texas TechArkansasUnited Supermarkets ArenaLubbock, TXESPN2
14,290
Texas Tech (67-64)Big 12 (6-4)
Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, and Missouri did not participate for the SEC.
All times Eastern

SEC regular season

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Results updated through January 5, 2019.

AlabamaArkansasAuburnFloridaGeorgiaKentuckyLSUMiss. StateMissouriOle MissS. CarolinaTennesseeTexas A&MVanderbilt
vs. Alabama1–02–01–00–10–12–01–10–10–10–11–02–00–2
vs. Arkansas0–11–01–00–11–01–11–01–11–11–01–01–10–2
vs. Auburn0–20–10–10–22–01–01–10–12–01–00–10–10–1
vs. Florida0–10–11–01–12–01–11–00–10–11–02–00–10–2
vs. Georgia1–01–02–01–11–02–01–01–02–02–01–01–00–1
vs. Kentucky1–00–10–20–20–11–00–20–10–10–11–10–10–2
vs. LSU0–21–10–11–10–20–10–10–10–10–10–10–20–1
vs. Miss. State1–10–11–10–10–12–01–00–11–11–11–00–10–1
vs. Missouri1–01–11–01–00–11–01–01–02–01–12–01–10–1
vs. Ole Miss1–01–10–21–00–21–01–01–10–21–01–00–10–1
vs. South Carolina1–00–10–10–10–21–01–01–11–10–12–00–20–1
vs. Tennessee0–10–11–00–20–11–11–00–10–20–10–20–10–2
vs. Texas A&M0–21–11–01–00–11–02–01–01–11–02–01–00–1
vs. Vanderbilt2–02–01–02–01–02–01–01–01–01–01–02–01–0
Total8–108–1011–79–92–1615–316–210–85–1310–811–715–36–120–18

Records against other conferences

Regular season

Power ConferencesRecord
ACC7–10
American5–5
Big East3–4
Big Ten3–3
Big 126–13
Pac-129–3
Power 7 Total33–38
Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecord
A-105–0
America East1–1
ASUN8–0
Big Sky1–0
Big South6–0
Big West2–1
CAA1–1
C-USA7–1
Horizon2–0
Ivy
MAAC2–0
MAC2–1
MEAC4–0
MVC4–0
MW1–1
NEC
OVC9–0
Patriot
SoCon8–1
Southland10–0
SWAC5–1
Summit2–0
Sun Belt10–2
WAC
WCC5–1
Other Division I Total95–11
NCAA Division I Total128–49
Division II Total0–0
Total0–0


Postseason

SEC Tournament

  • March 13–17 at the Bridgestone Arena, Nashville. Teams will be seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary.
2019 SEC men's basketball tournament seeds and results
SeedSchoolConf.Over.TiebreakerFirst round
March 13
Second round
March 14
Quarterfinals
March 15
Semifinals
March 16
Championship
March 17
1.LSU16–226–5ByeByevs. #8 Florida L, 73–76
2.Kentucky15–326–51–1 vs. Tennessee; 2-0 vs. AuburnByeByevs. #10 Alabama W, 73–55vs. #3 Tennessee L, 78–82
3.Tennessee15–327–41–1 vs. Kentucky; 0-1 vs. AuburnByeByevs. #6 Mississippi State W, 83–76vs. #2 Kentucky W, 82–78vs. #5 Auburn L, 64–84
4.South Carolina11–716–151–0 vs. AuburnByeByevs. #5 Auburn L, 64–73
5.#Auburn11–722–90–1 vs. South CarolinaByevs. #12 Missouri W, 81–71vs. #4 South Carolina W, 73–64vs. #8 Florida W, 65–62vs. #3 Tennessee W, 84–64
6.#Mississippi State10–822–91–1 vs. Ole Miss; 1–1 vs, South CarolinaByevs. #11 Texas A&M W, 80–54vs. #3 Tennessee L, 76–83
7.#Ole Miss10–820–111–1 vs. Mississippi State; 0–1 vs, South CarolinaByevs. #10 Alabama L, 57–62
8.#Florida9–917–14Byevs. #9 Arkansas W, 66–50vs. #1 LSU W, 76–73vs. #5 Auburn L, 62–65
9.#Arkansas8–1017–141–0 vs. AlabamaByevs. #8 Florida L, 50–66
10.#Alabama8–1017–140–1 vs. ArkansasByevs. #7 Ole Miss W, 62–57vs. #2 Kentucky L, 55–73
11.Texas A&M6–1213–17vs. #14 Vanderbilt W, 69–52vs. #6 Mississippi State L, 54–80
12.Missouri5–1314–16vs. #13 Georgia W, 71–61vs. #5 Auburn L, 71–81
13.Georgia2–1611–20vs. #12 Missouri L, 61–71
14.Vanderbilt0–189–22vs. #11 Texas A&M L, 52–69
‡ – SEC regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed.
† – Received a double-Bye in the conference tournament.
# – Received a single-Bye in the conference tournament.
Overall records include all games played in the SEC tournament.

Honors and awards

All-SEC Awards

Coaches

2019 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards [5]
AwardRecipient(s)
Player of the YearGrant Williams, Tennessee
Coach of the YearKermit Davis, Ole Miss
Co-Defensive Player of the YearAshton Hagans, Kentucky & Tremont Waters, LSU
Freshman of the YearKeldon Johnson, Kentucky
Scholar-Athlete of the YearSkylar Mays, LSU
Sixth Man AwardHassani Gravett, South Carolina

Players

2019 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First TeamSecond TeamAll-Freshman TeamAll-Defensive Team
Daniel Gafford So., F, Arkansas
Admiral Schofield Jr., F, Tennessee
Chris Silva Sr., F, South Carolina
Breein Tyree Jr., G, Ole Miss
P. J. Washington So., F, Kentucky
Tremont Waters So., G, LSU
Quinndary Weatherspoon Sr., G, Mississippi State
Grant Williams So., F, Tennessee
Jordan Bone Jr., G, Tennessee
Bryce Brown Sr., G, Auburn
Nicolas Claxton So., F, Georgia
Terence Davis Jr., G, Ole Miss
Jared Harper Jr., G, Auburn
Tyler Herro Fr., G, Kentucky
Keldon Johnson Fr., F, Kentucky
Skylar Mays Jr., G, LSU
Tyler Herro Kentucky
Isaiah Joe Arkansas
Keldon Johnson Kentucky
A. J. Lawson South Carolina
Kira Lewis Alabama
Andrew Nembhard Florida
Naz Reid LSU
Reggie Perry Mississippi State
Daniel Gafford So., F, Arkansas
Ashton Hagans Fr., G, Kentucky
Donta Hall Sr., F, Alabama
Chris Silva Sr., F, South Carolina
Tremont Waters So., G, LSU
- denotes unanimous selection

AP

2019 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards [6]
AwardRecipient(s)
Player of the YearGrant Williams, Tennessee
Coach of the YearKermit Davis, Ole Miss
Newcomer of the YearTyler Herro, Kentucky
2019 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First TeamSecond Team
Daniel Gafford So., F, Arkansas
P. J. Washington So., F, Kentucky
Tremont Waters So., G, LSU
Quinndary Weatherspoon Sr., G, Mississippi State
Grant Williams So., F, Tennessee
Jordan Bone Jr., G, Tennessee
Jared Harper Jr., G, Auburn
Admiral Schofield Sr., F, Tennessee
Chris Silva Sr., F, South Carolina
Breein Tyree Jr., G, Ole Miss
- denotes unanimous selection

NBA draft

PGPoint guardSGShooting guardSFSmall forwardPFPower forwardCCenter
PlayerTeamRoundPick #PositionSchool
Darius GarlandCleveland Cavaliers15PGVanderbilt
P. J. WashingtonCharlotte Hornets112PFKentucky
Tyler HerroMiami Heat113SGKentucky
Chuma OkekeOrlando Magic116PFAuburn
Grant WilliamsBoston Celtics122PFTennessee
Keldon JohnsonSan Antonio Spurs129SGKentucky
Nicolas ClaxtonBrooklyn Nets231PFGeorgia
Daniel GaffordChicago Bulls228CArkansas
Admiral SchofieldPhiladelphia 76ers242SFTennessee
Quinndary WeatherspoonSan Antonio Spurs249SGMississippi State
Tremont WatersCharlotte Hornets251PGLSU
Jordan BoneNew Orleans Pelicans257PGTennessee

References