The exact moment the SEC became a basketball conference is still up for debate. What Rick Barnes can tell you is when his league was barely known for basketball. It was 1987, the beginning of what will someday be a hall of fame career for Tennessee's current coach.

What should be clear is that what some assumed before — some coaches only won because they broke the rules — wasn’t true.

With the basketball season over and the transfer portal started, Hubert Davis and his new general manager, Jim Tanner, have reached out to dozens of the 700+ NCAA men's players still in the portal. However, as of Tuesday morning, they have swung and whiffed again on one of the top guards in the portal, Dedan Thomas Jr.

The 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four features the top four seeds: Duke, Houston, Florida, and Auburn. The SEC had a strong tournament with two teams in the Final Four and a total of 21 wins. The Big 12 also performed well, led by Houston's Final Four run and a 13-6 overall record.

Auburn and Florida are both in the 2025 Final Four, just the fifth time two teams from the SEC reached the final weekend of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The SEC’s surprise Sweet 16 team is Arkansas, which only two months ago was 0-5 in league play and firmly outside the NCAA tournament picture. John Calipari’s Razorbacks have since won 12 of 17 games, culminating with Saturday’s thrilling upset of the best St. John’s team in at least two decades.

The University of Florida Men’s Basketball program is back on in the NCAA Final Four spotlight. The number one seed Florida Gators (34-4) versus number one seed Auburn Tigers (32-5) on Saturday, April 5th in the semi-final game.

The 2024-25 basketball season is the first with Oklahoma and Texas as SEC members. Below are NCAA Tournament Final Four men's basketball appearances all time for every current SEC