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Karl Ravech is a highly-respected broadcaster, but he made an unfortunate mistake late in Alabama’s win over Texas on Tuesday night.
It’s become a popular bit on social media to discount the SEC’s elite status by pointing out its .500 record in conference play. But of course, doing so is nonsensical — the SEC will, by definition, always be .500 during conference games.
And yet, multiple people in college basketball this season have fallen victim to this internet bit. The latest is Ravech, who had this to say on ESPN airwaves last night:
“We know how dominant they were in the nonconference season, the SEC,” Ravech said. “They were 185-23. Since January 4, into Tuesday, SEC teams are 82-82 … There’s been no ability to pull away. There’s no dominant group of teams.”
Here’s a clip from the broadcast:
Archie Miller, the former Indiana coach who is now at Rhode Island, made this same mistake last month.
“I heard somebody say the other day the SEC is the best league in the country, but in all games, they’re like 54-54,” Miller said in a press conference. “Somebody said that, I don’t know if that’s even accurate, but like, do you know how hard it is to win in every league?”
After Tuesday night’s games, the SEC is now 87-87 since the start of conference play.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
