Was Monday a preview of the SEC Championship?

A way too early look at how the SEC Tournament could play out.

This basketball season has had a fair share of twists and turns with number one teams being upended throughout. This is, with the exception of South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 2-0 since taking the top spot and seem to be handling the ranking with poise.

The most recent test for the Gamecocks came Monday in a nail-biter against Mississippi State. Zia Cooke came up with a big steal on the final possession to seal the 81-79 win.

Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaeffer believes his team isn’t far behind the top dogs in women’s college basketball.

“They’re a heck of a basketball team, South Carolina and I think everybody saw across the country, if they’re number one, then we’re not far behind,” he said after the loss.

If his assessment is correct, it begs the question, was Monday night’s contest a preview of what’s to come in the SEC Tournament?

Let’s take a way to early look at who could be left standing at the end of the SEC Tournament. 

FAVORITES

-South Carolina is currently undefeated in the SEC at 6-0 and has won half its games by 25 points or more. They have an average margin of victory of 20.33 points. They Gamecocks have been finding a way to win despite whatever struggles they’ve faced on the offensive or defensive end and are the favorite to win it all.

-Tennessee is next in the conference at 5-1. The lone loss came against Kentucky. They have taken care of business against other SEC teams, winning by an average of 22.8 points, but Kentucky is the only ranked opponent they’ve faced so far.

-Mississippi State is 4-1 with South Carolina being the lone loss. The Bulldogs came as close as anyone has coming to beating the Gamecocks this year since Indiana actually got it done at the beginning of the season. They’ve played a mix of middling to bottom teams in the conference and won by an average of 18.5 points.

DARK HOUSES

-Kentucky is 4-2 with big wins over No. 22 Tennessee and No. 12 Texas A&M. When Rhyne Howard is on, the Wildcats have a shot against just about anybody and so far she’s averaging 23.9 points. She exploded for 43 against Alabama and dropped 28 against a stout South Carolina defense. If KU can get balanced scoring, they could pull off an upset or two along the way and maybe find themselves in the title game.

-LSU is 4-2 with wins over Texas A&M and Kentucky. The Tigers have made a late game push and nearly upset Mississippi, coming up just short 64-60. The Tigers have another ranked opponent coming up in Tennessee this weekend.

-Texas A&M is 3-2 but still the No. 15 team in the nation right now. The Aggies are vulnerable at the moment due to an ankle injury to guard Chennedy Carter causing her to miss a few games. They found a way to end a two-game skid without Carter, beating Florida 69-42. If the Aggies can continue to hold down the fort and Carter can get back and get into a groove, they have a chance at being a force and compete for a spot in the title game.