The 2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 9. Conference play started in late December and will end in March, after which 14 member teams will participate in the 2022 SEC men's basketball tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The tournament champion is guaranteed a selection to the 2022 NCAA tournament.
Offseason The season was initially slated to begin on November 10, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prematurely ended the previous season and continues to affect the current one.
Preseason
Recruiting classes + Rankings Team ESPN Rivals On3 Recruits Scout/247 SportsSigneesAlabama Arkansas — - Auburn Florida Georgia LSU Kentucky Missouri Mississippi State Ole Miss South Carolina Tennessee Texas A&M Vanderbilt
Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists. WoodenNaismithRobertsonCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-JabbarOlson
Preseason All-American teams ESPNCBSUSAAPBlueRibbonAthlonSportsNBCSportsStreet & Smith's Sporting NewsSportsIllustrated
Preseason polls
AP Athlon Sports Blue Ribbon CBS Sports Coaches ESPN KenPom Lindy'sSports SportsIllustrated SportingNewsAlabama – – – – – – – Arkansas – – – – – – – – Auburn – – – – – – – Florida – – – – – – – Georgia – – – – – – – Kentucky – – – – – – – LSU – – – – – – Missouri – – – – – – Mississippi State – – – – – – – – Ole Miss – – – – – – – South Carolina – – – – – – – Tennessee – – – – – – – Texas A&M – – – – – – – Vanderbilt – – – – – – –
SEC Media Day selections Media poll 1 Kentucky 2 Alabama 3 Arkansas 4 Tennessee 5 Auburn 6 LSU 7 Florida 8 Mississippi State 9 Ole Miss 10 Missouri 11 South Carolina 12 Texas A&M 13 Vanderbilt 14 Georgia
Preseason All-SEC teams Media First Team Media Second Team Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt Davonte Davis, Arkansas Jaden Shackelford, Alabama Jabari Smith, Auburn Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama Keion Brooks Jr., Kentucky Colin Castleton, Florida Kellan Grady, Kentucky Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State Darius Days, LSU
Midseason watchlists Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists. John R. Wooden AwardNaismithCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-Jabbar
Final watchlists Below is a table of notable year end watch lists. John R. Wooden AwardNaismith Play of the YearNaismith Defensive Player of the YearCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-Jabbar
Regular season
Early season tournaments
Team Tournament FinishAlabama -Arkansas -Auburn -Florida -Georgia -Kentucky -LSU -Mississippi State -Missouri -Ole Miss -South CarolinaTennessee -Texas A&M -Vanderbilt –
Records against other conferences 2021–22 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season Power Conferences & GonzagaRecordACC 11–11Big East 2–5Big Ten 3–6Big 12 7–10Pac-12 7–0 Gonzaga 1–0Power Conferences Total 31–32Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordAmerican 8–5America East 3–0 A-10 5–2ASUN 12–1Big Sky 1–0Big South 9–1Big West 1–0CAA 3–1C-USA 8–1Horizon 4–0Ivy League 2–1MAAC 3–2MAC 5–0MEAC 1–0MVC 3–1Mountain West 0–2NEC 1–0OVC 9–0Patriot League 0–0SoCon 6–3Southland 7–0SWAC 5–1The Summit 1–1Sun Belt 8–1WAC 3–0WCC (except Gonzaga) 2–0Other Division I Total 110–23 Division II Total 3–0NCAA Division I Total 141–56
Postseason Power Conferences & GonzagaRecordACC 1–4Big East 0–3Big Ten 0–1Big 12 0–1Pac-12 2–0 Gonzaga 1–0Power Conferences Total 4–9Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordAmerican 0–0America East 1–0 A-10 1–0ASUN 1–0Big Sky 0–0Big South 1–0Big West 0–0CAA 0–0C-USA 0–0Horizon 0–0Ivy League 0–0MAAC 1–1MAC 0–0MEAC 0–0MVC 0–0Mountain West 0–0NEC 0–0OVC 1–0Patriot League 0–0SoCon 0–0Southland 0–0SWAC 1–0The Summit 0–0Sun Belt 0–0WAC 1–0WCC (except Gonzaga) 0–0Other Division I Total 8–1NCAA Division I Total 12–10
Big 12/SEC Challenge
Record against ranked non-conference opponents This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):
Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score Conference record Nov 9 No. 10 Kentucky No. 9 Duke Madison Square Garden ● New York, NY Champions Classic 71–79 0–1 Nov 20 Villanova Tennessee Mohegan Sun Arena ● Uncasville, CT Hall of Fame Tip Off 53–71 0–2 Nov 24 UConn Auburn Imperial Arena ● Nassau, Bahamas Battle 4 Atlantis 109–115 0–3 Dec 1 Memphis Georgia Stegeman Coliseum ● Athens, GA ― 82–79 1–3 Dec 4 Memphis Ole Miss The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss ● Oxford, MS ― 67–63 2–3 Dec 4 Tennessee Colorado CU Events Center ● Boulder, CO ― 69–54 3–3 Dec 4 Alabama Gonzaga Climate Pledge Arena ● Seattle, WA — 91-82 4–3 Dec 7 Texas Tech Tennessee Madison Square Garden ● New York, NY ― 52–57 4–4 Dec 11 Nebraska Auburn State Farm Arena ● Atlanta, GA ― 99–68 5–4 Dec 11 Missouri Kansas Allen Fieldhouse ● Lawrence, KS Border War 65–102 5–5 Dec 11 Kentucky Notre Dame Purcell Pavilion ● South Bend, IN ― 62–66 5–6 Dec 11 UConn Alabama Coleman Coliseum ● Tuscaloosa, AL ― 83–82 6–6 Dec 12 Florida State South Carolina Rock Hill Sports & Event Center ● Rock Hill, SC — 66–65 7–6 Dec 12 Florida Maryland Barclays Center ● Brooklyn, NY ― 68–70 7–7 Dec 14 Alabama Memphis FedExForum ● Memphis, TN ― 78–92 7–8 Dec 18 Tennessee Memphis Bridgestone Arena ● Nashville, TN ― CANCELED ― Dec 18 Ohio State Kentucky T-Mobile Arena ● Las Vegas, NV ― CANCELLED ― Dec 22 Louisville Kentucky Rupp Arena ● Lexington, KY ― POSTPONED ― Dec 22 Arizona Tennessee Thompson-Boling Arena ● Knoxville, TN ― 77–73 8–8 Dec 22 Illinois Missouri Enterprise Center ● St. Louis, MO ― 63-88 8–9
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking
† denotes game was played on neutral site
Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. AlabamaArkansasAuburnFloridaGeorgiaKentuckyLSUMississippi StateMissouriOle MissSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexas A&MVanderbiltvs. Alabama – 0–12–00–01–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Arkansas1–0 – 0–10–00–10–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Auburn0–21–0 – 0–00–20–00–00–00–00–00–10–00–00–0vs. Florida1–01–01–1 – 0–10–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Georgia0–11–02–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Kentucky0–21–01–00–00–1 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. LSU1–02–01–00–00–10–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Miss. State1–11–11–00–00–10–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Missouri1–12–01–00–00–10–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–0vs. Ole Miss1–01–02–00–00–10–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–0vs. South Carolina1–01–01–00–00–20–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–0vs. Tennessee1–01–00–10–00–10–00–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–0vs. Texas A&M0–10-11–00–00–20–00–00–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–0vs. Vanderbilt1–01–11–00–00–20–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0 – Total9-813–414–39–81–1613–48–98–94–134–139–813–48–96–11
Points scored
TeamForAgainstDifferenceAlabama ― ― ―Arkansas ― ― ―Auburn ― ― ―Florida ― ― ―Georgia ― ― ―Kentucky ― ― ―LSU ― ― ―Missouri ― ― ―Mississippi State ― ― ―Ole Miss ― ― ―South Carolina ― ― ―Tennessee ― ― ―Texas A&M ― ― ―Vanderbilt ― ― ― Through March 18, 2021
Rankings
Improvement in ranking Drop in rankingRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25NVNo votes received Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 FinalAlabama APRV CRV Arkansas APNV CNV Auburn APNV CNV Florida APRV CRV Georgia APRV CRV Kentucky APRV CRV LSU APNV CNV Missouri AP13 C12 Mississippi State APNV CNV Ole Miss APNV CNV South Carolina AP2 C2 Tennessee APRV CRV Texas A&M APNV CNV Vanderbilt APNV CNV
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 Nate Oats Buffalo 2 16–15 () 8–10 () 0 0 0Arkansas Eric Musselman Nevada 2 20–12 () 7–11 () 0 0 0Auburn Bruce Pearl Tennessee 7 125–78 () 52–56 () 2 1 0Florida Mike White Louisiana Tech 6 108–65 () 54–36 () 3 0 0Georgia Tom Crean Indiana 3 27–37 () 7–29 () 0 0 0Kentucky John Calipari Memphis 12 330–77 () 151–41 () 9 4 1LSU Will Wade VCU 4 64–30 () 35–18 () 1 0 0Mississippi State Ben Howland UCLA 6 98–67 () 43–47 () 1 0 0Missouri Cuonzo Martin California 4 50–46 () 22–32 () 1 0 0Ole Miss Kermit Davis Middle Tennessee 3 35–30 () 16–20 () 1 0 0South Carolina Frank Martin Kansas State 9 147–119 () 66–78 () 1 1 0Tennessee Rick Barnes Texas 6 105–64 () 51–39 () 2 0 0Texas A&M Buzz Williams Virginia Tech 2 16–14 () 10–8 () 0 0 0Vanderbilt Jerry Stackhouse Memphis Grizzlies (asst.) 2 11–21 () 3–15 () 0 0 0
Postseason
SEC tournament
NCAA tournament
Teams from the conference were selected to participate:
Seed Region School First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship 2 Midwest AuburnDefeated (15) Jacksonville State, 80–61Lost to (10) Miami (FL), 61–79 2 East KentuckyLost to (15) Saint Peter's, 79–85 (OT) 3 South TennesseeDefeated (14) Longwood, 88–57Lost to (11) Michigan, 68–76 4 Arkansas WestDefeated (13) Vermont, 75–71Defeated (12) New Mexico State, 53–48Defeated (1) Gonzaga, 74–68Lost to (2) Duke, 69–78 6 Alabama WestLost to (11) Notre Dame, 64–78 6 LSU MidwestLost to (11) Iowa State, 54–59 BidsW-L (%):TOTAL:
National Invitation tournament Number from the conference were selected to participate:
Seed School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals 1 Texas A&MDefeated (8) Alcorn State, 74–62Defeated (5) Oregon, 75–60Defeated (2) Wake Forest, 67–52Defeated (4) Washington State, 67–52Lost to (2) Xavier, 72–73 3 FloridaDefeated (6) Iona, 79–74Lost to (2) Xavier, 56–72 3 Mississippi StateLost to (6) Virginia, 57–60 4 VanderbiltDefeated (5) Belmont, 82–71Defeated (1) Dayton, 70–68 (OT)Lost to (2) Xavier, 73–75 W-L (%): TOTAL:
Index to colors and formattingSEC member wonSEC member lost
Honors and awards
Players of the Week
WeekPlayer of the WeekSchool Freshman of the WeekSchool Ref. Nov. 15 Colin Castleton Florida Kennedy Chandler Tennessee Nov. 22 Darius Days LSU TyTy Washington Kentucky Nov. 29 Quenton Jackson Texas A&M Jabari Smith Jr. Auburn Dec. 6 Jaden Shackelford Alabama JD Davison Alabama Dec. 13 Tari Eason LSU Devin Carter South Carolina Dec. 20 Sahvir Wheeler Kentucky Wade Taylor IV Texas A&M Dec. 27 Oscar TshiebweJohn Fulkerson KentuckyTennessee TyTy Washington (2) Kentucky Jan. 3 Walker Kessler Auburn Jabari Smith Jr. (2)TyTy Washington (3) AuburnKentucky Jan. 10 Kobe Brown Missouri TyTy Washington (4) Kentucky Jan. 17 Iverson Molinar Mississippi State Jabari Smith Jr. (3)TyTy Washington (5) AuburnKentucky Jan. 24 Jaylin WilliamsWalker Kessler (2) ArkansasAuburn Jabari Smith Jr. (4) Auburn Jan. 31 Keion Brooks Jr. Kentucky Daeshun Ruffin Ole Miss Feb. 7 Wendell Green Jr. Auburn Zakai Zeigler Tennessee Feb. 14 Walker Kessler (3)Oscar Tshiebwe (2) AuburnKentucky JD Davison (2) Alabama Feb. 21 Jaylin Williams (2)Scotty Pippen Jr. ArkansasVanderbilt Jabari Smith Jr. (5) Auburn Feb. 28 JD Notae Arkansas Kennedy Chandler (2) Tennessee Mar. 7 Quenton Jackson (2) Texas A&M Jabari Smith Jr. (6) Auburn
Totals per School School TotalAuburn 10Kentucky 9Tennessee 4Alabama 3Arkansas 3Texas A&M 3LSU 2Florida 1Mississippi State 1Missouri 1Ole Miss 1South Carolina 1Vanderbilt 1Georgia 0
All-SEC Awards
Coaches
2022 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearOscar Tshiebwe, KentuckyCoach of the Year Bruce Pearl, AuburnDefensive Player of the Year Walker Kessler, AuburnFreshman of the Year Jabari Smith Jr., AuburnScholar-Athlete of the Year Jordan Wright, VanderbiltSixth Man Award Tari Eason, LSU
Players 2022 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team All-Freshman Team All-Defensive Team JD Notae, Arkansas Jaylin Williams, Arkansas Walker Kessler, Auburn Jabari Smith Jr., Auburn Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Tari Eason, LSU Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt Jaden Shackelford, Alabama