College Hoops

SEC expert picks 2022-23: Bold predictions, most overrated and underrated teams, top players

SEC expert picks 2022-23: Bold predictions, most overrated and underrated teams, top players


The SEC built its brand in large and awesome football stadiums thanks to Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia all winning national championships in the past quarter-century. It’s a great football league. And the amount of money that sport has created for its members has allowed every school to invest heavily in other sports — most notably the sport of men’s basketball.

That investment is paying off.

The SEC finished as the second-best men’s basketball league last season, according to KenPom.com, and it projects as a top-two league again this season. That’s a byproduct of the schools hiring great coaches who are enrolling elite talent. To wit, nine of the best 25 prospects from the Class of 2022 are set to compete in the SEC this season. And those nine freshmen are at six different schools. So the talent is spread around the league in a way that will have five-star recruits playing against each other often.

CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm has seven SEC schools projected to make the 2023 NCAA Tournament, which would be the most since 2017. Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Auburn and Alabama (at least) all look like legitimate Final Four contenders. So the league is strong and will only get stronger when Texas and Oklahoma eventually make their way over from the Big 12.

CBS Sports SEC Preseason Player of the Year

Oscar Tshiebwe | C | Kentucky

Tshiebwe is the first consensus national player of the year to return to college since North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough did it in 2008, which makes him the only sensible option to be named SEC Preseason Player of the Year. The 6-foot-9 center averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds last season while shooting 60.6% from the field. He’s the classic example of somebody who is awesome at this level but somewhat flawed for the modern-NBA. In a different era, he might now be a pro anyway. But the amount of money Tshiebwe can make at Kentucky via his name, image and likeness rights made it a no-brainer to return to UK, where he’ll try to lead John Calipari’s Wildcats to their first trip to the Final Four since 2015.

Four more players to watch

Colin Castleton | F | Florida: Castleton is the Gators’ leading returning scorer and rebounder after averaging 16.2 points and 9.0 boards in 28 games last season. The 6-11 super-senior has played the past two years at Florida after starting his college career at Michigan.

GG Jackson | F…

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