Inside the Tide: First Look at Lexington

Well, just like that we are halfway through Southeastern Conference play. While you might think going from playing five and six games a week to playing just three or four a week, that this might be when the season slows down, it is actually the time of year when things really speed up. April always seems to blow by and it will seem like we’re on our way to Lexington for the SEC Tournament in just a day or two.

I thought I’d take a minute and **try** to break down the race for the SEC Championship crown and the seeding for the conference tournament to be played at the new UK softball stadium in Lexington. I’ll tell you this right now, after looking at everyone’s first half and what is coming up in the second half of SEC play, this is going to be a fun race for the league crown.

The Crimson Tide will try to win it's third SEC Tournament title in four years next month in Lexington, Ky.

Every team is now at least halfway through SEC play with four programs - Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Ole Miss - having only three conference series remaining. From here on out we will take a weekly look at where teams stand in the race for the SEC crown, seeding for Lexington and NCAA Tournament bid outlook.

Feel free to share your thoughts on how you think things will shake out in the comments below.

**Predictions were made for all remaining SEC series and then applied to every team's current record to predict finish.

SEC Tournament Bracketology - April 9

Click on the link above for this week's projection based on predicted outcomes
**Tiebreakers provided by the SEC were used to project the 7, 8, 9 seeds

Alabama

Current Record: 35-6, 10-5 SEC
Current SEC Standing: Tied for 5th (2nd in West)
Remaining SEC Schedule: Bye, Mississippi State, at LSU, Kentucky
Predicted Second Half: 7-1
Predicted SEC Finish: 18-6
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: Probable Top Eight National Seed (Host Regional & Supers)

Arkansas

Current Record: 26-15, 4-8 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 10th (5th in West)
Remaining SEC Schedule: at Missouri, Kentucky, at Tennessee, Auburn
Predicted Second Half: 6-6
Predicted SEC Finish: 10-14
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: In the Tournament, Likely 2 or 3 seed in Regional

Auburn

Current Record: 25-15, 6-9 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 9th (4th in West)
Remaining SEC Schedule: at Tennessee, South Carolina, Bye, at Arkansas
Predicted Second Half: 2-7
Predicted SEC Finish: 8-16
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: On the bubble with work to do

Florida

Current Record: 38-4, 12-3 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 1st (1st in East)
Remaining SEC Schedule: at Kentucky, Bye, Georgia, at South Carolina
Predicted Second Half: 7-2
Predicted SEC Finish: 19-5
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: Probable Top Eight National Seed (Host Regional & Supers)

Georgia

Current Record: 27-13, 6-6 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 7th (5th in East)
Remaining SEC Schedule: at South Carolina, Texas A&M, at Florida, LSU
Predicted Second Half: 4-8
Predicted SEC Finish: 10-14
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: In the Tournament, Likely 2 or 3 seed in Regional

Kentucky

Current Record: 27-10, 8-4 SEC
Current SEC Standing: Tied for 5th (4th in East)
Remaining SEC Schedule: Florida, at Arkansas, Missouri, at Alabama
Predicted Second Half: 2-10
Predicted SEC Finish: 10-14
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: In the Tournament, Likely 2 seed in Regional

LSU

Current Record: 33-8, 9-3 SEC
Current SEC Standing: Tied for 2nd (1st in West)
Remaining SEC Schedule: at Texas A&M, Missouri, Alabama, at Georgia
Predicted Second Half: 8-4
Predicted SEC Finish: 17-7
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: Likely Top 16 National Seed (Host Regional)

Ole Miss

Current Record: 20-23, 2-13 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 12th (7th in West)
Remaining SEC Schedule: at Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M
Predicted Second Half: 1-8
Predicted SEC Finish: 3-21
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: .500 finish is doubtful, which would keep the Rebs out

Mississippi State

Current Record: 24-14, 3-9 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 11th (6th in West)
Remaining SEC Schedule: Ole Miss, at Alabama, South Carolina, at Texas A&M
Predicted Second Half: 4-8
Predicted SEC Finish: 7-17
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: In the Tournament, Likely 2 or 3 seed in Regional

Missouri

Current Record: 23-4, 8-3 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 4th (3rd in East)
Remaining SEC Schedule: Arkansas, at LSU, at Kentucky, Tennessee
Predicted Second Half: 8-4
Predicted SEC Finish: 16-7
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: Likely Top 16 National Seed (Host Regional)

South Carolina

Current Record: 19-17, 1-11 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 13th (6th in East)
Remaining SEC Schedule: Georgia, at Auburn, at Mississippi State, Florida
Predicted Second Half: 2-10
Predicted SEC Finish: 3-21
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: IF the Gamecocks can finish at .500 or better overall, they would have a decent shot at getting in (currently at 48 in RPI)

Tennessee

Current Record: 34-6, 9-3 SEC
Current SEC Standing: Tied for 2nd (2nd in East)
Remaining SEC Schedule: Auburn, at Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Missouri
Predicted Second Half: 9-3
Predicted SEC Finish: 18-6
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: Likely Top 16 National Seed (Host Regional)

Texas A&M

Current Record: 31-7, 5-6 SEC
Current SEC Standing: 8th (3rd in West)
Remaining SEC Schedule: LSU, at Georgia, at Ole Miss, Mississippi State
Predicted Second Half: 9-3
Predicted SEC Finish: 14-9
NCAA Tournament Bid Outlook: Likely Top 16 National Seed (Host Regional)