The SEC has had one stupendous season of basketball. It's the strongest league in the country and may be the strongest league ever in the sports' history with multiple legitimate national title contenders and a long list of teams capable of going on deep runs in March. We're all but guaranteed to see the SEC tie the single-season record for most teams from one conference in the NCAA Tournament (11), and there's a very good chance that record is broken.
But it wouldn't be sports if you didn't have at least one person shouting about how the obvious elite thing actually isn't good, so it's no surprise that the SEC's biggest hater had to take a shot at the league.
College football analyst Danny Kanell says SEC basketball is overrated
No one in sports media loves to troll the SEC more than Danny Kanell. The former Florida State quarterback found his niche being the guy who'd call out "SEC bias" while at ESPN. He's kept that going at his current gigs for CBS Sports and SiriusXM.
When Kanell gets a chance to rile up SEC fans, he can't resist. And now he's taking the trolling (and hating) from the gridiron to the hardwood.
The smartest man in basketball is saying out loud what I have been thinking for the past 3 months...thank you @kenpomeroy pic.twitter.com/mNQ9QrKPKm
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) March 5, 2025
Referencing an article from college hoops analytics superstar Ken Pomeroy (KenPom), Kanell suggests that, in the midst of the SEC having one of if not the greatest season the sport has ever seen, we should be calling out the league for being overrated.
Unsurprisingly, Kanell doesn't actually comment on or reveal what Pomeroy's article is actually about. Pomeroy never says that the SEC is an overrated league. He simply shows that, historically, leagues that had extremely strong regular seasons haven't matched that in the NCAA Tournament, and that will be something to watch for in the coming weeks.
But obviously, posting that doesn't invoke the same reaction as "actually the SEC sucks."
It's easy to tell why Danny Kanell is eager to try and tear down the SEC. Despite having one of the national title favorites in Duke, his beloved ACC has had a horrific year in the sport they're supposed to be dominant in. Plus, Kanell's Florida State Seminoles are about to miss the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight year.
He won't have anything actual to cheer for, so his enjoyment of March Madness hinges on teams from one league possibly falling flat. Sad!
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey claps back at Danny Kanell
Danny Kanell drew plenty of criticisms from SEC fans for his shot at the league, but he also got called out by the man who runs the conference.
Just helping explain why the @SEC is “overrated:”
— Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) March 5, 2025
—30 Ws/4 Ls vs ACC (wow)
—14 Ws/2 Ls vs Big 12 (oh my)
—10 W/9 Ls vs Big Ten (👍)
—185 Ws/23 Ls in non-conf games (😎)
I confess @SEC teams have a .500 record in games after 1/4/25 (😂). Sure, let’s go with “overrated” (🏀)! https://t.co/LcxdSwbLMG
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey quoted Kanell's post with the league's non-conference records this season, which includes a 30-4 mark against Kanell's own ACC. If I were Kanell, I'd sure be hoping the SEC were anything but overrated. Because if they aren't any good, what does that say about the ACC? You might want to sit this one out, Danny.