The SEC had one of the fiercest battles for the top of the conference as four teams finished within a match win of each other at the top. At the end of the day it was Florida and Missouri coming away with the conference crown while Kentucky and Texas A&M sat one back. The big question will be can the bottom and middle of the conference rise up and give the SEC more NCAA Tournament teams, as the top four looks solid once again.
The Favorites:
Three teams have separated themselves in the preseason as the largest SEC title contenders in Florida, Missouri and Kentucky. The Gators have most of their roster back and bring in a strong recruiting class while Missouri keeps together a strong core with a few big losses. Kentucky is an interesting case because they only finished a match back of Florida and Missouri in 2016 with a young team that gained some seasoning and another strong recruiting class for 2017.
Dark Horses:
The lone team of the top four who didn’t make the favorites list was Texas A&M, so its easy to put them on the dark horse list. They only finished a game back last season of the top spot, and they bring back some solid athletes to where they could surprise a few folks at the top.
The rest of the pack:
Auburn looks to lead the next tier of teams, but watch out for Arkansas, who had a rough 2016 after a bad start and injuries to key players hurt their season. With a clean bill of health, they could get back to being a potential NCAA Tournament team, while Tennessee and South Carolina shouldn’t be far behind.
Following that quartet, it seems like there is another drop off as LSU and Georgia look better after being the bottom two last season. They could move up in the standings as Ole Miss was negatively impacted by some transfers leaving the program.
VolleyMob’s Big 12 Preseason Pick:
Florida Gators
Top Five Conference matches to watch:
- November 1, Florida at Kentucky – It’s the last month of the conference season and it’s a meeting between the projected top two in the conference. Both teams have a wealth of talent to put on display and Kentucky may need this win to take the SEC crown.
- November 25, Florida at Missouri – The final regular season match for Florida and Missouri could have implications on the SEC champion, whether it’s one of these two schools or the result could include others. It’s also a meeting between last year’s co-champions.
- October 15, Kentucky at Florida – Here’s that Kentucky-Florida match-up again. This one is in Gainesville and played a few weeks before the Lexington meeting, but it still should loom large to the SEC standings.
- November 15, Florida at Texas A&M – The common theme is Florida so far, as they are the projected winner of the conference and a potential National Championship contender. If Texas A&M is to make a push at a conference title, they’ll need to upend the Gators in College Station.
- September 20, Kentucky at Missouri – If Florida is to win the title, this match could help determine second-place. Even beyond that, both teams could be in the running for a conference championship and sure enough this match kicks off both teams conference schedule. What a way to start.
Predicting the 2017 SEC Standings:
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Texas A&M
- Auburn
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Alabama
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Mississippi State
- Georgia
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