# 2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season

The 2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 9. Conference play started in late December and will end in March, after which 14 member teams will participate in the 2022 SEC men's basketball tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The tournament champion is guaranteed a selection to the 2022 NCAA tournament.

## Offseason

The season was initially slated to begin on November 10, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prematurely ended the previous season and continues to affect the current one.

## Preseason
### Recruiting classes

Rankings :
| Team | ESPN | On3 Recruits |
| Alabama | | |
| Arkansas | — | - |
| Auburn | | |
| Florida | | |
| Georgia | | |
| LSU | | |
| Kentucky | | |
| Missouri | | |
| Mississippi State | | |
| Ole Miss | | |
| South Carolina | | |
| Tennessee | | |
| Texas A&M | | |
| Vanderbilt | | |

### Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| Wooden | Naismith | Robertson | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar | Olson |

### Preseason All-American teams

| ESPN | CBS | USA | AP | Blue Ribbon | Athlon Sports | NBC Sports | Street & Smith's | Sporting News | Sports Illustrated |

### Preseason polls

| | AP | Athlon Sports | Blue Ribbon | Coaches | ESPN | Lindy's Sports | Sporting News |
| Alabama | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Arkansas | – | – | – | – | – | – | – – |
| Auburn | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Florida | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Georgia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Kentucky | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| LSU | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Missouri | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Mississippi State | – | – | – | – | – | – | – – |
| Ole Miss | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| South Carolina | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tennessee | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Texas A&M | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Vanderbilt | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |

### SEC Media Day selections

Media poll :
* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* 13
* 14

### Preseason All-SEC teams

* Media

#### Honorable Mention
### Midseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.
| John R. Wooden Award | Naismith | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar |

### Final watchlists

Below is a table of notable year end watch lists.
| John R. Wooden Award | Naismith Play of the Year | Naismith Defensive Player of the Year | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

| Team | Finish |
| Alabama | - |
| Arkansas | - |
| Auburn | - |
| Florida | - |
| Georgia | - |
| Kentucky | - |
| LSU | - |
| Mississippi State | - |
| Missouri | - |
| Ole Miss | - |
| South Carolina |
| Tennessee | - |
| Texas A&M | - |
| Vanderbilt | – |

### Records against other conferences

2021–22 records against non-conference foes as of (November 9, 2021):
| Power Conferences & Gonzaga | Record |
| ACC | 0–1 |
| Big East | 0–0 |
| Big Ten | 0–0 |
| Big 12 | 0–0 |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 |
| Gonzaga | 1–0 |
| Power Conferences Total | 1–1 |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record |
| American | 0–0 |
| America East | 0–0 |
| A-10 | 0–0 |
| ASUN | 2–0 |
| Big Sky | 0–0 |
| Big South | 1–0 |
| Big West | 0–0 |
| CAA | 1–0 |
| C-USA | 2–0 |
| Horizon | 0–0 |
| Ivy League | 0–0 |
| MAAC | 0–0 |
| MAC | 1–0 |
| MEAC | 0–0 |
| MVC | 0–0 |
| Mountain West | 0–0 |
| NEC | 0–0 |
| OVC | 2–0 |
| Patriot League | 0–0 |
| SoCon | 1–0 |
| Southland | 1–0 |
| SWAC | 1–0 |
| The Summit | 0–0 |
| Sun Belt | 1–0 |
| WAC | 0–0 |
| WCC (except Gonzaga) | 0–0 |
| Other Division I Total | 13–1 |
| Division II Total | 0–0 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 13–2 |
| Power Conferences & Gonzaga | Record |
| ACC | 0–0 |
| Big East | 0–0 |
| Big Ten | 0–0 |
| Big 12 | 0–0 |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 |
| Gonzaga | 0–0 |
| Power Conferences Total | 0–0 |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record |
| American | 0–0 |
| America East | 0–0 |
| A-10 | 0–0 |
| ASUN | 0–0 |
| Big Sky | 0–0 |
| Big South | 0–0 |
| Big West | 0–0 |
| CAA | 0–0 |
| C-USA | 0–0 |
| Horizon | 0–0 |
| Ivy League | 0–0 |
| MAAC | 0–0 |
| MAC | 0–0 |
| MEAC | 0–0 |
| MVC | 0–0 |
| Mountain West | 0–0 |
| NEC | 0–0 |
| OVC | 0–0 |
| Patriot League | 0–0 |
| SoCon | 0–0 |
| Southland | 0–0 |
| SWAC | 0–0 |
| The Summit | 0–0 |
| Sun Belt | 0–0 |
| WAC | 0–0 |
| WCC (except Gonzaga) | 0–0 |
| Other Division I Total | 0–0 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 0–0 |

### Record against ranked non-conference opponents

This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):
| Date | Visitor | Home | Site | Significance | Score | Conference record |
| Nov 9 | No. 10 Kentucky | No. 9 Duke | Madison Square Garden ● New York, NY | Champions Classic | 71–79 | 0–1 |
| Nov 20 | Villanova | Tennessee | Mohegan Sun Arena ● Uncasville, CT | Hall of Fame Tip Off | 53–71 | 0–2 |
| Nov 24 | UConn | Auburn | Imperial Arena ● Nassau, Bahamas | Battle 4 Atlantis | 109–115 | 0–3 |
| Dec 1 | Memphis | Georgia | Stegeman Coliseum ● Athens, GA | ― | 82–79 | 1–3 |
| Dec 4 | Memphis | Ole Miss | The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss ● Oxford, MS | ― | 67–63 | 2–3 |
| Dec 4 | Tennessee | Colorado | CU Events Center ● Boulder, CO | ― | 69–54 | 3–3 |
| Dec 4 | Alabama | Gonzaga | Climate Pledge Arena ● Seattle, WA | — | 91-82 | 4–3 |
| Dec 7 | Texas Tech | Tennessee | Madison Square Garden ● New York, NY | ― | 52–57 | 4–4 |
| Dec 11 | Nebraska | Auburn | State Farm Arena ● Atlanta, GA | ― | 99–68 | 5–4 |
| Dec 11 | Missouri | Kansas | Allen Fieldhouse ● Lawrence, KS | Border War | 65–102 | 5–5 |
| Dec 11 | Kentucky | Notre Dame | Purcell Pavilion ● South Bend, IN | ― | 62–66 | 5–6 |
| Dec 11 | UConn | Alabama | Coleman Coliseum ● Tuscaloosa, AL | ― | 83–82 | 6–6 |
| Dec 12 | Florida State | South Carolina | Rock Hill Sports & Event Center ● Rock Hill, SC | — | 66–65 | 7–6 |
| Dec 12 | Florida | Maryland | Barclays Center ● Brooklyn, NY | ― | 68–70 | 7–7 |
| Dec 14 | Alabama | Memphis | FedExForum ● Memphis, TN | ― | 78–92 | 7–8 |
| Dec 18 | Tennessee | Memphis | Bridgestone Arena ● Nashville, TN | ― | CANCELED | ― |
| Dec 18 | Ohio State | Kentucky | T-Mobile Arena ● Las Vegas, NV | ― | CANCELLED | ― |
| Dec 22 | Louisville | Kentucky | Rupp Arena ● Lexington, KY | ― | POSTPONED | ― |
| Dec 22 | Arizona | Tennessee | Thompson-Boling Arena ● Knoxville, TN | ― | 77–73 | 8–8 |
| Dec 22 | Illinois | Missouri | Enterprise Center ● St. Louis, MO | ― | 63-88 | 8–9 |
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking
† denotes game was played on neutral site

## Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | LSU | Mississippi State | Missouri | Ole Miss | South Carolina | Tennessee | Texas A&M | Vanderbilt |
| vs. Alabama | – | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Arkansas | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Auburn | 0–2 | 1–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Florida | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Georgia | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Kentucky | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. LSU | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Miss. State | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Missouri | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Ole Miss | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. South Carolina | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Tennessee | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Texas A&M | 0–1 | 0-1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 |
| vs. Vanderbilt | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – |
| Total | 9-8 | 13–4 | 14–3 | 9–8 | 1–16 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 8–9 | 4–13 | 4–13 | 9–8 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 6–11 |

### Points scored

| Team | For | Against | Difference |
| Alabama | ― | ― | ― |
| Arkansas | ― | ― | ― |
| Auburn | ― | ― | ― |
| Florida | ― | ― | ― |
| Georgia | ― | ― | ― |
| Kentucky | ― | ― | ― |
| LSU | ― | ― | ― |
| Missouri | ― | ― | ― |
| Mississippi State | ― | ― | ― |
| Ole Miss | ― | ― | ― |
| South Carolina | ― | ― | ― |
| Tennessee | ― | ― | ― |
| Texas A&M | ― | ― | ― |
| Vanderbilt | ― | ― | ― |
Through March 18, 2021

### Rankings

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 |
| NV | No votes received |
| | | Pre |
| Alabama | AP | RV |
| Alabama | C | RV |
| Arkansas | AP | NV |
| Arkansas | C | NV |
| Auburn | AP | NV |
| Auburn | C | NV |
| Florida | AP | RV |
| Florida | C | RV |
| Georgia | AP | RV |
| Georgia | C | RV |
| Kentucky | AP | RV |
| Kentucky | C | RV |
| LSU | AP | NV |
| LSU | C | NV |
| Missouri | AP | 13 |
| Missouri | C | 12 |
| Mississippi State | AP | NV |
| Mississippi State | C | NV |
| Ole Miss | AP | NV |
| Ole Miss | C | NV |
| South Carolina | AP | 2 |
| South Carolina | C | 2 |
| Tennessee | AP | RV |
| Tennessee | C | RV |
| Texas A&M | AP | NV |
| Texas A&M | C | NV |
| Vanderbilt | AP | NV |
| Vanderbilt | C | NV |

## Head coaches

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and SEC records are from time at current school.
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Season at school | Overall record | SEC record | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Alabama | Nate Oats | Buffalo | 2 | 16–15 (.516) | 8–10 (.444) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arkansas | Eric Musselman | Nevada | 2 | 20–12 (.625) | 7–11 (.389) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Auburn | Bruce Pearl | Tennessee | 7 | 125–78 (.616) | 52–56 (.481) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Florida | Mike White | Louisiana Tech | 6 | 108–65 (.624) | 54–36 (.600) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia | Tom Crean | Indiana | 3 | 27–37 (.422) | 7–29 (.194) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kentucky | John Calipari | Memphis | 12 | 330–77 (.811) | 151–41 (.786) | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| LSU | Will Wade | VCU | 4 | 64–30 (.681) | 35–18 (.660) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi State | Ben Howland | UCLA | 6 | 98–67 (.594) | 43–47 (.478) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Missouri | Cuonzo Martin | California | 4 | 50–46 (.521) | 22–32 (.407) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ole Miss | Kermit Davis | Middle Tennessee | 3 | 35–30 (.538) | 16–20 (.444) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| South Carolina | Frank Martin | Kansas State | 9 | 147–119 (.553) | 66–78 (.458) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tennessee | Rick Barnes | Texas | 6 | 105–64 (.621) | 51–39 (.567) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas A&M | Buzz Williams | Virginia Tech | 2 | 16–14 (.533) | 10–8 (.556) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vanderbilt | Jerry Stackhouse | Memphis Grizzlies (asst.) | 2 | 11–21 (.344) | 3–15 (.167) | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Postseason
### SEC tournament

* March, 2022 at the Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. Teams will be seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary.
2022 SEC men's basketball tournament seeds and results :
| Seed | School | Conf. | Over. | First round March 11 | Second round March 12 |
| 1. | Auburn | 15-3 | 27-4 | Bye | Bye |
| 2. | Kentucky | 14-4 | 25-6 | Bye | Bye |
| 3. | Tennessee | 14-4 | 23-7 | Bye | Bye |
| 4. | Arkansas | 14-4 | 24-7 | Bye | Bye |
| 5. | LSU | 9-9 | 21-10 | Bye | |
| 6. | Alabama | 9-9 | 19-12 | Bye | |
| 7. | South Carolina | 9-9 | 18-12 | Bye | |
| 8. | Texas A&M | 9-9 | 21-11 | Bye | |
| 9. | Florida | 9-9 | 19-12 | Bye | |
| 10. | Mississippi State | 8-10 | 17-14 | Bye | |
| 11. | Vanderbilt | 7-11 | 15-15 | | |
| 12. | Missouri | 5-13 | 11-20 | | |
| 13. | Ole Miss | 4-14 | 13-18 | | |
| 14. | Georgia | 1-17 | 6-25 | | |
| ‡ – SEC regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed. † – Received a double-Bye in the conference tournament. # – Received a single-Bye in the conference tournament. Overall records include all games played in the SEC tournament. ||||||||||

### NCAA tournament

Teams from the conference were selected to participate:
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| ― | ― | TBD | – | ― | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Bids | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |

### National Invitation tournament

Number from the conference were selected to participate:
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| | Bid | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |
* Index to colors and formatting
* SEC member won
* SEC member lost

## Honors and awards
### Players of the Week

| Week | Player of the Week | School | Freshman of the Week | School |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| TBD | ― | ― | ― | ― |

#### Totals per School

| School | Total |

### All-SEC Awards
#### Coaches

2022 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky |
| Coach of the Year | Bruce Pearl, Auburn |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Walker Kessler, Auburn |
| Freshman of the Year | Jabari Smith Jr., Auburn |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Jordan Wright, Vanderbilt |
| Sixth Man Award | Tari Eason, LSU |

#### Players

2022 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | All-Freshman Team | All-Defensive Team |
| JD Notae, Arkansas Jaylin Williams, Arkansas Walker Kessler, Auburn Jabari Smith Jr., Auburn Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Tari Eason, LSU Iverson Molinar, Mississippi State Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt | Jaden Shackelford, Alabama Colin Castleton, Florida TyTy Washington, Kentucky Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky Darius Days, LSU Kobe Brown, Missouri Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee Quenton Jackson, Texas A&M | Charles Bediako, Alabama JD Davison, Alabama Jabari Smith Jr., Auburn TyTy Washington, Kentucky Brandon Murray, LSU Devin Carter, South Carolina Kennedy Chandler, Tennessee Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee | Keon Ellis, Alabama Jaylin Williams, Arkansas Walker Kessler, Auburn Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||

##### Honorable Mention
#### AP

2022 SEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
* Award
* Player of the Year
* Coach of the Year
* Newcomer of the Year
2022 SEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||

##### Honorable Mention
### All-District

The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named the following from the Pac-12 to their All-District Teams:

#### District VIII

All-District Team

#### District IX

Player of the Year
All-District Team

### National awards
## 2022 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School/club team |

## Home game attendance

| Team | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Game 8 | Game 9 | Game 10 | Game 11 | Game 12 | Game 13 | Game 14 | Game 15 | Game 16 | Game 17 | Game 18 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Alabama | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | – | – | – |
| Arkansas | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | | – | – | – |
| Auburn | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Florida | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Georgia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | – | – | – |
| Kentucky | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | – | – | – |
| LSU | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | | | – | – | – |
| Missouri | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | – | – | – |
| Mississippi State | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | | – | – | – |
| Ole Miss | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | | – | – | – |
| South Carolina | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | – | – | – |
| Tennessee | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Texas A&M | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Vanderbilt | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | – | – | – |
Bold – At or exceed capacity †Season high