For the first time since 2014, the SEC tournament champions will be neither Kentucky nor Auburn. The Wildcats (who won every year from 2015-18) were defeated by Mississippi State in the second round Thursday, while the Tigers (the 2019 champs) are serving a self-imposed postseason ban.
So who will rise up and win this year's tournament? It will be one of the eight teams playing in quarterfinal matchups on Friday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
With March Madness nearly here, Bleacher Report has all your college hoops needs covered:
Alabama, which is the No. 1 seed and SEC regular-season champion, is the tournament favorite ahead of its quarterfinal matchup against Mississippi State.