No conference in college football had more players selected in the 2012 NFL draft than the SEC, which had 42 of its players have their name called over the three-day event. The Big Ten finished a close second with 41 players drafted.

Alabama led the way with 8 total players drafted, but all 12 SEC teams had a player selected in the draft.  The SEC is the only conference to have had a player selected from every one of its teams.  (SEC by team total: Alabama 8, Georgia 7, South Carolina 6, LSU 5, Arkansas 4, Miss. State 3, Florida 2, Kentucky 2, Vanderbilt 2, Auburn 1, Ole Miss 1, Tennessee 1)

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
ACC: 31
Big 12: 26
Big East: 12
Big Sky: 3
Big South: 2
Big Ten: 41
Conference USA: 10
Independents: 4
Lone Star: 2
MAC: 8
Mountain West: 12
Pac-12: 28
SEC: 42
Southern: 3
Sun Belt: 6
SWAC: 3
WAC: 11
 
The following conferences had a single player selected: Atlantic 10, Big South, CAA, Canada, Great Lakes, Great Northwest, Great West, Gulf South, MEAC, Michigan Intercollegiate, North Central, Ohio Valley, Pennsylvania State, Southland

More notes on SEC:
* - It is the 6th year in a row and 8th in the last 10 years that the SEC has had multiple selections in the top 7 of the NFL Draft.

* - In last 6 NFL Drafts’ top six picks (36 selections total), the SEC has had 15 total selections.

* - The SEC has had a top three pick in the NFL Draft in 10 of the last 15 seasons.

* - Second year in a row that the SEC has had six of the first 14 selections in the NFL Draft.

* - Eight of the nine selections from the SEC were defensive selections.

* - In last 6 NFL Drafts’ top 15 picks (90 selections total), the SEC has had 29 total selections.

* - The SEC record for most players taken in the first round was 11, set in 2007.  The nine, on Thursday night, is third highest, also behind last season’s 10.

* - During the last six NFL Drafts, the SEC has had 51 players taken in the first round, an average of 8.5 per season.

* - In the last five NFL Drafts (2008-12), 10 of the 12 SEC teams have had players drafted – a total of 30 players overall.

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Thursday, March 8 - First Round
(SEC Network)
No. 8 LSU (17-13) vs. No. 9 Arkansas (18-13) - 1 p.m.
No. 5 Alabama (20-10) vs. No. 12 South Carolina (10-20) - 3:30 p.m.
No. 7 Ole Miss (18-12) vs. No. 10 Auburn (15-15) - 7:30 p.m.
No. 6 Mississippi State (21-10) vs. No. 11 Georgia (14-16) - 10 p.m.
 
Friday, March 9 - Quarterfinals
(SEC Network)
LSU/Arkansas winner vs. No. 1 Kentucky (30-1) - 1 p.m.
Alabama/South Carolina winner vs. No. 4 Florida (22-9) - 3:30 p.m.
Ole Miss/Auburn winner vs. No. 2 Tennessee (18-13) - 7:30 p.m.
Miss State/Georgia winner vs. No. 3 Vanderbilt (21-10) - 10 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 - Semifinals
(ABC)
Friday afternoon winners - 1 p.m.
Friday evening winners - 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 11 - Championship
(ABC)
Semifinal winners - 1 p.m.

*All games played at New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA

PROJECTED WINNER: KENTUCKY (TeamRankings.com)

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The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team was picked by the media to win its 45th Southeastern Conference championship this season as announced by the SEC on Monday.

The Wildcats received 282 total points (18 first-place votes), ahead of second-place Vanderbilt’s 265 points (four first-place votes). Florida (235 points) was the only other school to receive a first place vote.

Starting with the 2011-12 season, this year marks the first time there will not be an East/West division champion since the conference split into two divisions in 1992. The regular season standings will be listed from one through 12.

UK sophomore Terrence Jones was the choice of the media for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year with 12 votes. Vanderbilt junior John Jenkins finished second (nine votes) while Alabama senior JaMychal Green (one vote) and Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis (one vote) also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.

Jones is the second Wildcat to be named the media’s preseason Player of the Year in the John Calipari Era. Patrick Patterson received the honor to begin the 2009-10 season.

The Wildcats placed four players on the preseason All-SEC teams including Jones on the first team and Davis, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller on the second team.

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from official press release...

University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari, who led the Wildcats to the school’s 14th NCAA Final Four appearance last season, has been rewarded with an eight-year contract worth a total of $36.5 million plus the opportunity for performance-based incentives, UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart announced Monday. See attachments for the actual contract which includes an amendment to the previous agreement along with details of the eight-year deal.

“What John Calipari has done on and off the court in the past two years to reunite and rejuvenate this fan base has been magical,” Barnhart said. “He understands the responsibility that goes along with this position and there is no other coach out there that is a better fit for the best basketball program in the country.”

In two seasons, Calipari has led the Wildcats to a 64-12 (.889) overall mark, including UK’s first Final Four appearance in 13 years last season. Calipari became only the second coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to the Final Four. Boasting a perfect 33-0 home record in two years at Rupp Arena, he also led Kentucky to its second straight Southeastern Conference Tournament title.

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For the first time since divisional play started in the SEC in 1991, the Kentucky Wildcats have lost six road games as they fell 77-76 in overtime to Arkansas.

Tubby Smith’s last team in 2006-07 was the only time UK had lost as many as five SEC road games.

The most frustrating part of the struggles away from Rupp Arena inside the conference is the fact that the six losses came by a combined 18 points.

The Wildcats are reeling. They don’t have anybody stepping up in crunch time to hit the big shot or to be a leader on the floor.  They won’t be playing at Rupp Arena in March and that suggests that UK won’t be around very long in the upcoming tournament.

The team simply hasn’t gotten better as the season progressed and unfortunately time is running out.

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The Kentucky Wildcats won their 28th straight game at Rupp Arena as they destroyed the LSU Tigers on Saturday afternoon, 82-44.

Kentucky opened the game on a 12-2 run and led by 28 points at the half.

Brandon Knight led a balanced attack with 19 points. Terrence Jones added 17 points of his own in his second game of coming off the bench. In total, five Wildcats were in double figures.

It has been a consistent them in UK’s success this year, balance. Check out the graphic below to see each player’s contributions:

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Here is a great video tribute to Saturday's monumental South Carolina upset of Alabama...

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UK men's basketball player John Wall was named the SEC Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday.

Wall, a 6-4 guard from Raleigh, N.C., averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in wins over Alabama and No. 12 Tennessee. He recorded his third double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds against Alabama.

It was the first time this season he had recorded a double-double with points and rebounds. Wall became the first Wildcat in school history to record double-doubles in points and rebounds and points and assists. He followed that effort with a 24-point outing against Tennessee, his most points in an SEC game.

The honor is the fifth Freshman of the Week award for Wall this season.

The Wildcats have now received a league record 12 weekly awards from the SEC this season.

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from CollegeHoops.Net

With the influx of talent into the league, as well as the development of some returning players, the SEC should be much better represented this year. With the season approximately halfway over, here's a look at some of the top NBA prospects.

John Wall, Kentucky
Key stats: 17. 1 points, 6.9 assists
Draft prediction: Top pick

Barring a major surprise, Wall will be the top pick in the 2010 draft. Although just a freshman, he has the speed, athleticism and poise to become an instant impact player, and there's no reason he shouldn't become a star in the league. Wall has great size for the point, and he's virtually unstoppable in transition. Look for him to fill up NBA highlight reels for years to come.

DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
Key stats: 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds
Draft prediction: Lottery

Cousins is overshadowed by Wall at times, but he is a tremendous talent in his own right. He has great size, solid ball skills and an NBA-ready body. The only thing holding Cousins back is his attitude. He's known to have a quick fuse, and can sometimes lose focus on the floor. However, if he's able to continue to keep his composure and help lead UK on a deep tournament run, he could find himself shaking David Stern's hand not long after Wall.

Patrick Patterson
Key stats: 16.9 points, 7.9 rebounds
Draft prediction: Late lottery – mid first round

Patterson is no longer having to shoulder such a large load for the Cats this year, and as a result, his game has expanded. Patterson has been able to showcase more of a perimeter game, having made 10 three-pointers this season after making zero in his first two years. With good size, good athleticism and a high basketball IQ, Patterson is likely to become a solid NBA player for the next 10-12 years.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

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We will be taking a look at the different college football conferences here on GetSportsInfo in a series from now until the kickoff of the season. This is the first of the series and we'll start where the season ended last year when the Florida Gators were crowned National Champs.

Favorite: Florida

Florida loses Percy Harvin but they bring back virtually everybody else on that team. Superman Tim Tebow will be back at helm for his final year as a Gator and there will still be plenty of offensive weapons for him to go with a line that will keep Superman's cape clean. Couple that with the Gators returning all 11 of their defensive starters from last season, and you are looking at another probably SEC championship and possibly another BCS championship.

Sleeper: LSU

The Tigers have one of the top coaches' in Les Miles who has shown consistency throughout his tenure at LSU. A lot of people are struggling on where to pick LSU finishing. I have seen them as high as third and as low as sixth. Expect Jordan Jefferson to be the solution to the Tigers' problem at quarterback despite being inexperienced. The freshman looked extremely mature and poised in the Tigers' 38-3 stomping of Georgia Tech at the Chick-fil-A-Bowl last year. Coach Miles also put together the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation coming in this year, so don't be surprised for the youthful Tigers to pull some big upsets.

Overrated:  Georgia

A lot of people still have Georgia finishing in the top five in the SEC this season. I'm not buying it. The Bulldogs lose their whole offense in Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno to the NFL draft. The Bulldogs have an easier conference schedule this season, but face Arizona State and Oklahoma State in their non-conference schedule. Expect those tougher games early to break the inexperienced Bulldogs confidence if they aren't able to win. If they didn't win the SEC with Stafford and Moreno last year... They sure as heck aren't going to this year.

Final Take:

The SEC year in and year out is one of the top conferences if not thee top conference in football. Expect no less from them this year. Florida has a great shot at repeating as the National BCS Champs and there might be another contender or two in this conference. 

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