It’s hard to believe, but we have reached the final week of the 2023-2024 regular season. A week from Wednesday, fourteen Southeastern Conference basketball programs will make their way to Downtown Nashville, Tennessee, for the 2024 Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament. More so this year than in the past, there is a collection of nine teams with legitimate chances of winning the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament, creating a calm before-the-storm feeling ahead of the final week of the Southeastern Conference regular season, with the possibility of several tie-breakers playing pivotal roles in seeding for the upcoming Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament.

As it stands right now, the 2023-2024 Southeastern Conference Championship crown has the potential to be tied five ways or won outright by Tennessee if they were to beat South Carolina on Wednesday night in Columbia, South Carolina. As it stands, Tennessee, with their win over Alabama on Saturday night, possesses a one-game lead over the rest of the Southeastern Conference. A win over South Carolina would guarantee Tennessee at least a share of the regular season title with one game remaining on Saturday. A loss to the Gamecocks and a five-way tie comes into play for the Southeastern Conference heading into the final Saturday of the regular season.

Behind the Tennessee Volunteers is a cluster of teams jockeying for the final three double-byes in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, and Florida are all within striking distance to fill in the final three spots and earn a few days of rest before kicking March Madness off in style. Out of that grouping of teams, Auburn has the most accessible road ahead with games against Missouri and Georgia; both teams will likely finish in the bottom four of the Southeastern Conference, playing on Wednesday night of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville.

Behind those teams are the bubble teams jockeying for seeding in the Southeastern Conference but also have the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. According to Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com, Mississippi State is safely in the NCAA Tournament, while Ole Miss and Texas A&M still have work to do to feel good about their chances on Selection Sunday. Right now, Mississippi State would be the 7th seed, Texas A&M would be the 10th seed, and Ole Miss the 9th. LSU would be the 8th, but the Tigers are not in contention for the NCAA Tournament now. Much to the dismay of those from Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss could meet in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville.

At the bottom, a combination of Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, and Vanderbilt will play each other on Wednesday night of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Of those four, only one remains winless in Southeastern Conference play heading into the final week of the regular season, the Missouri Tigers. Then you have a program like the Arkansas Razorbacks that came into the 2023-2024 season with high hopes of becoming a Final Four contender but fell face first despite beating Duke at Bud Walton Arena in November.

The final week of the 2023-2024 Southeastern Conference regular season has the potential to deliver a hearty appetizer for the main event in Nashville, which is a little over a week away.