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2019 SEC Tournament Odds: Tennessee & Kentucky Favored Over LSU

Ryan Bolta

by Ryan Bolta in College Basketball

Updated Mar 24, 2020 · 9:30 AM PDT

LSU basketball players Skylar Mays and Marlon Taylor standing with suspended head coach Will Wade.
Skylar Mays (#4), Marlon Taylor (#13) and the rest of the LSU Tigers will have to vie for the SEC Tournament title without suspended coach Will Wade (center). Photo by Twitter user @Sortiwa.
  • LSU (26-5, 16-2) won the SEC regular-season title but just lost its head coach
  • Tennessee & Kentucky are listed as co-favorites in the SEC tournament
  • The Vols have 5 players averaging more than 10.0 points per game, including All-American Grant Williams

The SEC isn’t just a football conference these days; it has provided college basketball fans with some awesome entertainment, as well, and ranks fourth nationally in KenPom’s conference rankings, just behind the ACC.

While LSU captured the outright regular-season title, the odds for the conference tournament (Mar. 13th-17th) see the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers listed as co-favorites.

SEC Conference Tournament Odds

SEC Conference Tournament Sportsbook 1 Odds Sportsbook 2 Odds
Tennessee +190 +200
Kentucky +190 +200
LSU +420 +450
Auburn +420 +400
Mississippi State +1500 +1200
Florida +1800 +1400
Ole Miss +4000 +4000
South Carolina +4400 +6600
Arkansas +5100 +6600
Alabama +6500 +6600
Missouri +6500 +10000
Texas A&M +9500 +10000
Georgia +9700 +15000
Vanderbilt +9800 +30000

*odds taken 3/11; higher payouts in bold.

2019 SEC Tournament Bracket2019 SEC tournament bracket.

2019 SEC tournament bracket.

Take Tennessee Over Kentucky

Looking strictly at the co-favorites, Tennessee is better value.

The Volunteers deserve to be the outright favorite. But be thankful they aren’t, because it allows you to take advantage of the value being provided by both books. Tennessee hasn’t won the conference tournament since 1979 and that is likely factoring into the current odds.

With Kentucky, on the other hand, you’re paying for the name as much as you’re paying for this year’s roster.

SEC Tournament Championships Year
Kentucky Wildcats 2018
Kentucky Wildcats 2017
Kentucky Wildcats 2016
Kentucky Wildcats 2015
Florida Gators 2014

The main reason to like Tennessee is their incredible depth on offense.

Grant Williams leads the way with 19.3 points per game and he’s one of five Volunteers averaging more than 10 points per game, along with Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner.

Tennessee has the third-most efficient offense in the entire nation and ranks 7th overall at KenPom, compared to 9th for Kentucky.

Tennessee also rebounded from an embarrassing 86-69 road loss to UK with a resounding 71-52 win over the Wildcats in Knoxville. Reid Travis (knee) didn’t play in that game for Kentucky, but it’s also not clear whether the senior forward will be healthy for the SEC tournament.


The Vols will also have something of a home-court advantage in the tournament, which is being played in Nashville, TN. (Though you can count on UK’s rabid fanbase showing up in droves.)

The reality is, if the Volunteers were wearing Kentucky blue and the Wildcats were wearing orange, this Tennessee roster would be favored.

Ignore history because, frankly, it isn’t very important; fade the bigger name and take Tennessee if you’re looking to ride the true favorite.

LSU Providing Great Value

The temptation is often to look too far down the board when searching for the best value. It makes sense to search beyond Tennessee and Kentucky, but don’t look past the LSU Tigers.

LSU won the regular season crown with a 16-2 record and have proven themselves more than capable of competing with the conference elite. They played the Volunteers and Wildcats once each this year and won both games.

Tremont Waters and Skylar Mays lead the way for LSU and, while they may not be household names like Grant Williams and PJ Washington, they’re more than capable of leading the Tigers to a tournament championship just like they did the regular-season title.

The main reason LSU is listed at +420 and +450 is that head coach Will Wade was suspended indefinitely after being caught on an FBI wiretap discussing an illegal payment to then-recruit and current Tiger Javonte Smart. Neither he nor Smart is likely to return at any point this season.

But this is also an LSU team that has dealt with far more adversity than losing a coach. They showed out in their regular-season finale (which was also their first game without Wade), demolishing Vanderbilt 80-59 to secure the regular-season title.

 
YouTube video

 

If you want the most likely team to win the championship, get your money in on Tennessee. If you’re looking for the best value be,  turn your attention to LSU.

If you want to follow my lead, sprinkle a little action on both and enjoy one of the best conference tournaments there is.

Best SEC Tournament Value Bet: LSU (+450)

SBD’s NCAA conference tournament coverage:

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