John Calipari makes final plea to the NCAA on SEC tournament bids

John Calipari believes the SEC has proved is deserving of more NCAA Tournament bids than it is currently projected for. In his postgame press conference following a 69-62 loss to Tennessee on Saturday in the SEC Tournament, the Kentucky coach explained why.

“When I said we should have nine teams, look at it,” Calipari said. “Maybe I was right, again. Wait a minute. What about Florida? Texas A&M is killing everybody. Florida should have won that game. What does that mean about them?

“I mean, this league — Mississippi State, two at half. They have a chance. Then all of a sudden, James makes four threes. That ball game is a two-bucket game. This league has done some good stuff, and now let’s see what happens in the postseason. I’m hoping seven, maybe eight teams get in. And if that’s the case, the way you judge a league is what’s their record in the NCAA tournament? If half your teams are three-quarters losing the first game, it kind of tells you that maybe you weren’t what everybody said. I have a lot of confidence in these teams.”

On3’s latest bracketology projections have the SEC getting six bids in the NCAA Tournament. However, after some surprise performances this weekend in Tampa Bay, many believe that number could rise higher.

Texas A&M is one team that could find itself on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday thanks to its performance in the SEC Tournament. After narrowly escaping Florida in overtime on Thursday, the Aggies went on to reel off upset victories against No. 1 seed Auburn and No. 4 seed Arkansas. They have now won eight of their past nine games after at one point enduring an eight-game losing streak in conference play.

The Aggies were listed as one of the “next four out” in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket, while Florida was also named a bubble team. Of course, Texas A&M could still win the SEC Championship on Sunday to assure itself an automatic bid.

Kentucky and Auburn are the top two SEC teams in contention for a number one seed, but Calipari thinks another squad should get consideration as well.

“You know what, Tennessee has played so well, but they say they don’t do that anymore,” he said. “Your last ten. They look at your body of work, you know, who you beat, your quad ones and all the other stuff they go with. I just wish they did some eye test, like watch. Forget about numbers. Do you know basketball? Watch the games.

“Tennessee, could they be a one? I don’t know. What have they — I haven’t — if you know me, I’m not seeing it, reading it, hearing about. I don’t really care. So our people were saying, hey, we have a chance at a one. I’m just trying to win a ball game. So what has Tennessee been? What has their seed line been? Could they move to a one? Maybe. If they’re saying we were a one, they beat us 2 for 20 and big guy out in the first half and some other stuff, but they beat us. And Auburn has had a great year.”

Calipari also addressed his own team’s tournament seeding following the loss to Tennessee, saying he sees them as “probably a two, maybe a three.” The Wildcats and the rest of the SEC will find out for certain where they’ll be seeded when the NCAA Selection Show begins at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS.