SEC NCAAB Picks and Predictions: No. 1 Auburn Awaits Stiff Test
- Get the best SEC basketball odds at BetUS.
- Twelve of the 14 SEC matchups feature at least one ranked team so there are plenty of betting options this week.
- Read on for my top college basketball picks for SEC teams this week.
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What a week it was in the SEC with Ole Miss, Missouri and Vanderbilt taking down top-10 teams. Will it be more of the same in what looks like the best conference in the nation this season?
Auburn received all 62 first-place votes to remain at No. 1 in The Associated Press poll. No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Florida, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 9 Kentucky give the SEC five teams in the top 10. Only two SEC games this week will feature a pair of unranked teams.
When looking at the NCAA basketball futures odds, Auburn (+250), Alabama (+525) and Tennessee (+1000) have the shortest odds of winning the SEC title.
Let’s check out my best college basketball picks this week for the SEC.
Top 3 Weekly NCAAB Predictions in the SEC
1.Take Alabama to Deliver as Double-Digit Favorite
If there was any chance that Alabama might overlook the visiting Vanderbilt Commodores in Tuesday’s matchup that will air on the SEC Network, that ended when Vanderbilt stunned rival Tennessee in its last game.
Alabama just put up 102 points in Rupp Arena against Kentucky and that doesn’t happen very often.
The Nation was talking Tide Hoops yesterday 📰
A thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/wSzWLgjJKo
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 19, 2025
The Commodores won in Tuscaloosa in 2022 but since then, the Crimson Tide took the last three matchups, per Vanderbilt vs Alabama stats.
The last time that the Commodores played at Alabama, it wasn’t pretty for the visiting team with the Tide rolling to the 101-44 win. Expect a much more competitive game on Tuesday but when making SEC college basketball picks, take Alabama to cover as 12-point favorites.
2. Game of the Week: Tennessee at Auburn
There are plenty of options for the SEC Game of Week pretty much every week of the season and that is certainly the case in a conference featuring nine ranked teams.
While there are some intriguing matchups early in the week, it is hard to top Saturday’s showdown between No. 6 Tennessee and No. 1 Auburn in a game being televised on ESPN.
The home team has won the last five meetings between the Volunteers and the Tigers. Is that one SEC betting trend that will continue? Auburn is 8-0 at home and 6-1 against ranked teams.
Sadly, the teams will meet just once in the regular season for the second season in a row.
Zakai Zeigler has scored 16 points in each of Tennessee’s last three games with 25 assists in those matchups.
Auburn’s top scorer, Johni Broome, missed the last two games, according to NCAAB news. In a hard-earned win over Georgia, freshman Tahaad Pettiford had 24 points off the bench for the Tigers.
3. Missouri’s Mark Mitchell Top Player Prop Option
Mark Mitchell has bounced back pretty well after being held to six points on 2-of-9 shooting in Missouri’s loss to Auburn. The Duke transfer is averaging 17 points and 6.7 rebounds over his last three games.
When looking at potential SEC NCAA basketball player prop bets, the +120 odds for Mitchell to have at least six rebounds against Texas could be the way to go as Mitchell has been slightly more productive in the rebounding department on the road this season.
After Mark Mitchell. delivered one of his best performances of the season, #Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates spoke on the impact of the Duke transfer. https://t.co/7ANzcgKc54
— Missouri Tigers On SI (@MizzouSI) January 15, 2025
Texas will counter with Arthur Kaluma. However, he is averaging only 7.3 points and 6 rebounds over his last three games.
Questions of the Day
How many SEC teams are undefeated at home?
Four. Missouri leads the SEC with a 14-0 record at home. Auburn, Ole Miss and Tennessee are also perfect at home.
Which SEC team has the best record against the spread?
Florida is 13-5 against the college basketball spread while Ole Miss is 12-5-1 ATS.
Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets
