The SEC has taken over college basketball

The SEC has taken their talents on the football field and translated them to the hardwood. The Southeastern Conference hasn't had a National Champion in basketball since Kentucky in 2012, but seems poised to end that drought this season with some of the best teams in the country calling their conference home.

When the latest AP Poll was released, there were six SEC teams in the Top 10: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 8 Florida and No. 10 Texas A&M. Three more SEC teams, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Ole Miss are ranked in the Top 25.

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The timing couldn't be better. SEC teams flamed out in the College Football Playoff. First, Alabama was the first team out, not selected to make the playoff for only the third time in its existence. Then Tennessee was dominated by Ohio State in the first round before Georgia looked overmatched against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Texas is the SEC's last hope for a National Championship but they looked shaky in their quarterfinal win over Arizona State. Basketball now looks like the SEC's best sport and while each team has played only one conference game they look ready to make noise in March.

South Carolina is the conference's "worst" team, but at 10-4 the Gamecocks still have a great shot at making the NCAA Tournament if they finish with a solid conference record. Each SEC team will have plenty of opportunities for Quad 1 wins, which involve beating a Top 30 NET-ranked team at home, Top 50 on neutral courts or Top 75 on the road. Every SEC team but South Carolina is ranked in the Top 75 in the NET rankings as of Tuesday.

Of course, this will change once teams start beating each other but the SEC has set itself up nicely. A season ago, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell accused the Big 12 of manipulating the NET rankings by blowing out weak non-conference opponents to get a lot of teams in the top 50, creating more opportunities for their teams to get Quad 1 wins.

That doesn't seem to be the case with the SEC this year. Their teams were 19-10 in non-conference games against ranked opponents, including a win over then-No. 1 Kansas by Missouri. The SEC also went 14-2 against ACC opponents in the ACC-SEC Challenge, showcasing its dominance over power conference opponents this season.

Now starts the gauntlet of the conference schedule. The SEC features a Top 10 matchup Tuesday night as No. 1 Tennessee takes on No. 8 Florida in Gainesville. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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