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SEC basketball: Trio of bubble teams enter crucial weekend matchups
By Paul Harvey
Published:
SEC basketball is heading toward a potentially historic showing in the NCAA Tournament, but a key grouping of teams on the bubble enters crucial showdowns on Saturday. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the outcome of those games will play a major role in the new projections moving forward.
In Lunardi’s Friday afternoon bracketology update, Oklahoma and Texas are still in the “Last Four In” section for the final field with Georgia filling the first spot of the “First Four Out” group. That is significant with the recent results for the Bulldogs and the fact Georgia and Texas will meet in the Saturday slate of SEC games.
Georgia has just 2 wins since the middle of January but the most recent win was a massive upset of No. 3 Florida. With games against Texas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt to end the regular season, the Bulldogs likely need to run the table to avoid putting all their eggs in the basket of winning the SEC Basketball Tournament. Texas is in a similar situation though a game against No. 24 Mississippi State next week yields a bit more opportunity for the Longhorns.
As for Oklahoma, the Sooners occupied the top spot in Lunardi’s “Last Four In” section, so OU has a bit more cushion — and opportunity — moving forward. The Sooners will face Ole Miss (a team that has been ranked for much of the season) on Saturday with a midweek contest against No. 14 Mizzou next week. A couple of wins would be massive for OU’s positioning entering the postseason.
With time running out, teams have just a few more opportunities to improve their projections before the SEC Tournament. We’ll see who rises — and falls — across the Saturday slate.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
