Five SEC East Teams to Dance?

Athlon Sports predicts that 5 SEC East teams will make the NCAA Tournament. Everybody but South Carolina.

I don't see how the SEC East can get that many teams in. Even with the slight tournament field expansion, the SEC West will send somebody, the ACC is bound to have a number of teams in the tourney, and there are just a lot of good teams out there, not to mention the surprise teams that win their conference tournament and get an automatic berth. Besides, one of the SEC East teams is bound to disappoint, if for no other reason because they get knocked off by the other good teams in the Division.

Still it's hard to poke too many holes in Athlon Sports' analysis. If you just look at the talent on the rosters, the East is stacked. Florida brings everybody back and adds Patric Young and Casey Prather. Vanderbilt lost some talent in A.J. Ogilvy and Jermaine Beal, but they will be plenty tough if their point guard play holds up. Kentucky has all those talented freshmen. And for all his troubles, Bruce Pearl has been able to hold things together. Even South Carolina has size and athleticism. The Gamecocks will miss Devan Downey, for sure, but Coach Horn will throw some teams out of whack by using his traps and pressure defense.

Basketball is definitely back in the SEC, and especially so in the SEC East. Are you ready to get started?