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.

Preseason

Preseason All-America teams

Preseason polls

AP AthlonSports BleacherReport Blue RibbonYearbook CBS Sports Coaches ESPN FOX Sports KenPom Lindy'sSports NBC Sports SBNation SportingNews SportsIllustrated USBWA Yahoo SportsAlabamaRV #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 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 Coaches Daniel Gafford Arkansas Daniel Gafford Arkansas Chris Silva South Carolina Admiral Schofield Tennessee Reid Travis Kentucky Chris Silva South Carolina Tremont Waters LSU Reid Travis Kentucky Grant Williams Tennessee P. 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.

Team Head coach Previous job Season at school Overall record SEC record NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsAlabama Avery Johnson Brooklyn Nets 4 57–46 () 26–28 () 1 0 0Arkansas Mike Anderson Missouri 8 151–73 () 70–54 () 3 0 0Auburn Bruce Pearl Tennessee 5 70–62 () 29–43 () 1 0 0Florida Mike White Louisiana Tech 4 69–37 () 34–20 () 2 0 0Georgia Tom Crean Indiana 1 0–0 () 0–0 () 0 0 0Kentucky John Calipari Memphis 10 273–64 () 121–35 () 8 4 1LSU Will Wade VCU 2 18–15 () 8–10 () 0 0 0Mississippi State Ben Howland UCLA 4 56–45 () 22–32 () 0 0 0Missouri Cuonzo Martin California 2 20–13 () 10–8 () 1 0 0Ole Miss Kermit Davis Middle Tennessee 1 0–0 () 0–0 () 0 0 0South Carolina Frank Martin Kansas State 7 113–90 () 45–63 () 1 1 0Tennessee Rick Barnes Texas 4 57–44 () 27–27 () 1 0 0Texas A&M Billy Kennedy Murray State 7 136–98 () 60–66 () 1 0 0Vanderbilt Bryce Drew Valparaiso 2 31–36 () 16–20 () 1 0 0

Rankings + Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week

  Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 FinalAlabama AP RVRV CRV Arkansas AP C Auburn AP 119 C12 12 Florida AP RVRV CRVRV Georgia AP C Kentucky AP 210 C210 LSU AP 2322 CRVRV Mississippi State AP 1817 C19 19 Missouri AP RV CRV Ole Miss AP C South Carolina AP C Tennessee AP 65 C66 Texas A&M AP C Vanderbilt AP RV C RV

Regular season

Big 12/SEC Challenge

Date TimeBig 12 teamSEC teamLocationTVAttendanceWinnerLeader Sat., Jan. 26 12:00 PM Baylor Alabama Ferrell Center • Waco, TX ESPNU Baylor (73-68) Big 12 (1–0) No. 24 Iowa State No. 20 Ole Miss The Pavilion at Ole Miss • Oxford, MS ESPN Iowa State (87–73) Big 12 (2–0) TCU Florida Schollmaier Arena • Fort Worth, TX ESPN2 TCU (55-50) Big 12 (3–0) 2:00 PM Kansas State Texas A&M Reed Arena • College Station, TX ESPN Texas A&M (65-53) Big 12 (3-1) Oklahoma State South Carolina Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, OK ESPNU Oklahoma State (74-70) Big 12 (4-1) Texas Georgia Stegeman Coliseum • Athens, GA ESPN2 Georgia (98-88) Big 12 (4-2) 4:00 PM Oklahoma Vanderbilt Lloyd Noble Center • Norman, OK ESPN2 Oklahoma (86-55) Big 12 (5-2) West Virginia No. 1 Tennessee Thompson–Boling Arena • Knoxville, TN ESPN Tennessee (83-66) Big 12 (5-3) 6:00 PM No. 9 Kansas No. 8 KentuckyRupp Arena • Lexington, KY ESPN Kentucky (71-63)Big 12 (5-4) No. 14 Texas TechArkansasUnited Supermarkets Arena • Lubbock, TX ESPN2 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&MVanderbiltvs. Alabama – 1–02–01–00–10–12–01–10–10–10–11–02–00–2vs. Arkansas0–1 – 1–01–00–11–01–11–01–11–11–01–01–10–2vs. Auburn0–20–1 – 0–10–22–01–01–10–12–01–00–10–10–1vs. Florida0–10–11–0 – 1–12–01–11–00–10–11–02–00–10–2vs. Georgia1–01–02–01–1 – 1–02–01–01–02–02–01–01–00–1vs. Kentucky1–00–10–20–20–1 – 1–00–20–10–10–11–10–10–2vs. LSU0–21–10–11–10–20–1 – 0–10–10–10–10–10–20–1vs. Miss. State1–10–11–10–10–12–01–0 – 0–11–11–11–00–10–1vs. Missouri1–01–11–01–00–11–01–01–0 – 2–01–12–01–10–1vs. Ole Miss1–01–10–21–00–21–01–01–10–2 – 1–01–00–10–1vs. South Carolina1–00–10–10–10–21–01–01–11–10–1 – 2–00–20–1vs. Tennessee0–10–11–00–20–11–11–00–10–20–10–2 – 0–10–2vs. Texas A&M0–21–11–01–00–11–02–01–01–11–02–01–0 – 0–1vs. 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 ConferencesRecordACC 7–10American 5–5Big East 3–4Big Ten 3–3Big 12 6–13Pac-12 9–3 Power 7 Total 33–38Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordA-10 5–0America East 1–1ASUN 8–0Big Sky 1–0Big South 6–0Big West 2–1CAA 1–1C-USA 7–1Horizon 2–0Ivy MAAC 2–0MAC 2–1MEAC 4–0MVC 4–0MW 1–1NEC OVC 9–0Patriot SoCon 8–1Southland 10–0SWAC 5–1Summit 2–0Sun Belt 10–2WAC WCC 5–1 Other Division I Total 95–11 NCAA Division I Total 128–49 Division II Total 0–0 Total 0–0

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 Seed School Conf. Over. Tiebreaker First roundMarch 13 Second roundMarch 14 QuarterfinalsMarch 15 SemifinalsMarch 16 ChampionshipMarch 171. ‡LSU16–226–5 Bye Bye vs. #8 Florida L, 73–76 2. †Kentucky 15–326–51–1 vs. Tennessee; 2-0 vs. Auburn Bye Bye vs. #10 Alabama W, 73–55 vs. #3 Tennessee L, 78–82 3. †Tennessee15–327–41–1 vs. Kentucky; 0-1 vs. Auburn Bye Bye vs. #6 Mississippi State W, 83–76 vs. #2 Kentucky W, 82–78 vs. #5 Auburn L, 64–844. †South Carolina11–716–151–0 vs. Auburn Bye Bye vs. #5 Auburn L, 64–73 5. #Auburn11–722–90–1 vs. South Carolina Bye vs. #12 Missouri W, 81–71 vs. #4 South Carolina W, 73–64 vs. #8 Florida W, 65–62 vs. #3 Tennessee W, 84–64 6. #Mississippi State10–822–91–1 vs. Ole Miss; 1–1 vs, South Carolina Bye vs. #11 Texas A&M W, 80–54 vs. #3 Tennessee L, 76–83 7. #Ole Miss10–820–111–1 vs. Mississippi State; 0–1 vs, South Carolina Bye vs. #10 Alabama L, 57–62 8. #Florida9–917–14 Bye vs. #9 Arkansas W, 66–50 vs. #1 LSU W, 76–73 vs. #5 Auburn L, 62–65 9. #Arkansas8–1017–141–0 vs. Alabama Bye vs. #8 Florida L, 50–66 10. #Alabama8–1017–140–1 vs. Arkansas Bye vs. #7 Ole Miss W, 62–57 vs. #2 Kentucky L, 55–73 11. Texas A&M6–1213–17 vs. #14 Vanderbilt W, 69–52 vs. #6 Mississippi State L, 54–80 12.Missouri5–1314–16 vs. #13 Georgia W, 71–61 vs. #5 Auburn L, 71–81 13. Georgia2–1611–20 vs. #12 Missouri L, 61–71 14. Vanderbilt0–189–22 vs. #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 Award Recipient(s)Player of the Year Grant Williams, TennesseeCoach of the Year Kermit Davis, Ole MissCo-Defensive Player of the Year Ashton Hagans, Kentucky & Tremont Waters, LSUFreshman of the Year Keldon Johnson, KentuckyScholar-Athlete of the Year Skylar Mays, LSUSixth Man Award Hassani Gravett, South Carolina

Players 2019 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team All-Freshman Team All-Defensive Team Daniel Gafford So., F, ArkansasAdmiral Schofield Jr., F, TennesseeChris Silva Sr., F, South CarolinaBreein Tyree Jr., G, Ole MissP. J. Washington So., F, KentuckyTremont Waters So., G, LSUQuinndary Weatherspoon Sr., G, Mississippi StateGrant Williams So., F, Tennessee Jordan Bone Jr., G, TennesseeBryce Brown Sr., G, AuburnNicolas Claxton So., F, GeorgiaTerence Davis Jr., G, Ole MissJared Harper Jr., G, AuburnTyler Herro Fr., G, KentuckyKeldon Johnson Fr., F, KentuckySkylar Mays Jr., G, LSU Tyler Herro KentuckyIsaiah Joe ArkansasKeldon Johnson KentuckyA. J. Lawson South CarolinaKira Lewis AlabamaAndrew Nembhard FloridaNaz Reid LSUReggie Perry Mississippi State Daniel Gafford So., F, ArkansasAshton Hagans Fr., G, KentuckyDonta Hall Sr., F, AlabamaChris Silva Sr., F, South CarolinaTremont Waters So., G, LSU † - denotes unanimous selection

AP 2019 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the Year Grant Williams, TennesseeCoach of the Year Kermit Davis, Ole MissNewcomer of the Year Tyler Herro, Kentucky

2019 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Daniel Gafford So., F, ArkansasP. J. Washington So., F, KentuckyTremont Waters So., G, LSUQuinndary Weatherspoon Sr., G, Mississippi State†Grant Williams So., F, Tennessee Jordan Bone Jr., G, TennesseeJared Harper Jr., G, AuburnAdmiral Schofield Sr., F, TennesseeChris Silva Sr., F, South CarolinaBreein Tyree Jr., G, Ole Miss † - denotes unanimous selection

NBA draft

PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center

Player Team Round Pick # Position School Darius Garland Cleveland Cavaliers 1 5 PG Vanderbilt P. J. Washington Charlotte Hornets 1 12 PF Kentucky Tyler Herro Miami Heat 1 13 SG Kentucky Chuma Okeke Orlando Magic 1 16 PF Auburn Grant Williams Boston Celtics 1 22 PF Tennessee Keldon Johnson San Antonio Spurs 1 29 SG Kentucky Nicolas Claxton Brooklyn Nets 2 31 PF Georgia Daniel Gafford Chicago Bulls 2 28 C Arkansas Admiral Schofield Philadelphia 76ers 2 42 SF Tennessee Quinndary Weatherspoon San Antonio Spurs 2 49 SG Mississippi State Tremont Waters Charlotte Hornets 2 51 PG LSU Jordan Bone New Orleans Pelicans 2 57 PG Tennessee

References