The 2023-24 preseason SEC media poll was released on Tuesday, and the members of the press think Tennessee is the team to beat in the conference before the season begins.
The Volunteers, under head coach Rick Barnes, have won at least 25 games in each of the past two seasons. They made it to the Sweet 16 in last season’s tournament before falling victim to Florida Atlantic’s Cinderella run.
The voters also think Alabama, who won the conference tournament in two of the past three seasons under head coach Nate Oats, will slide down to fifth in the conference standings.
South Carolina and LSU may have two of the best women’s basketball programs in the country, but the preseason voters think they’ll slot in as the worst two men’s teams in the SEC on the court.
Here’s how the full poll turned out.
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Tennessee |
| 2 | Texas A&M |
| 3 | Arkansas |
| 4 | Kentucky |
| 5 | Alabama |
| 6 | Auburn |
| 7 | Mississippi State |
| 8 | Florida |
| 9 | Missouri |
| 10 | Ole Miss |
| 11 | Vanderbilt |
| 12 | Georgia |
| 13 | LSU |
| 14 | South Carolina |