After just two conference games only five SEC basketball teams are undefeated in conference play. Alabama Basketball is one and another one is the Crimson Tide's Saturday opponent, the Texas A&M Aggies. The other three undefeated teams are Auburn, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss.
The odds of any SEC team going undefeated in the regular season are too small to discuss. The most optimistic projection for any SEC team is a league finish of 15-3, calculated by ESPN's BPI for the Auburn Tigers. Four SEC losses is a good bet to win the league and five losses could end up sharing the SEC regular season title.
Based on margin of victory, Alabama Basketball arguably has the best SEC road win. The Crimson Tide beat South Carolina 88-68 on Wednesday night. The Aggies have a two-point win over Oklahoma in Norman; Ole Miss beat Arkansas in Fayetteville 73-66; Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt in Nashville 76-64; and a strong Auburn team eased by a not nearly as good Texas team, 87-82 in Austin.
SEC Basketball Regular Season Championship Contenders
ESPN's BPI has Auburn as a heavy favorite to win the SEC regular season. The probability for the Tigers is currently 70.3%. Tennessee is next at 26%, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide at 12.8%. The next closest is Texas A&M at 5.6%. A road win in College Station on Saturday would boost the Tide's regular season championship chances.
The Aggies may not have Wade Taylor IV for a third time this season. Taylor was the SEC's 4th leading scorer last season at 19.1 points. In December Taylor missed a game against Houston Christian after a believed to be groin injury late in the Aggies win over Purdue. In the season opener against Texas, Taylor missed a few minutes of the second half for a trip to the A&M locker room. He did not play against Oklahoma on Wednesday night.
The Aggies overcame a large deficit to beat Oklahoma in Norman. More than making up the scoring slack from no Wade Taylor was another of Buzz Williams' guards; SMU transfer Zhuric Phelps poured in 34 points including the game-winner.
Computer models favor Texas A&M against Alabama by a slight margin. It is not known how much, if any, the models have factored in the playing status of Wade Taylor.