Kentucky failed to reach the tournament for the first time in 18 years. LSU, at 17th, was the only SEC team to finish in the top 25.

But the mood at the conference media summit this month was upbeat. Strengthened by the return of a handful of stars who bypassed the NBA draft, and reinforced by the arrival of three new coaches, the SEC appears ready to rebound.

"I think this year we'll get in more teams than we've ever gotten in before, at least seven," said Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl. "Not only do I look for us to get more teams in the tournament, I look for us to advance because how good the league is going to be and how competitive it's going to be."

Swingman Tyler Smith (17.4 points a game, 114 assists) came back to Tennessee, giving the Vols five veteran starters. Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson (17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds), South Carolina guard Devan Downey (19.8 points, 140 assists) and LSU forward Tasmin Mitchell (16.3 points, 7.2 rebounds) also returned.

"I think the biggest problem for our league last year was we didn't perform well as a whole against other major conferences," said Florida coach Billy Donovan. "But if you look at the players who put their name in to test the (NBA draft) water who decided to come back, I think the league is very, very good. It's a lot of the same pieces, but those pieces are a year older."

Mark Fox has taken charge at Georgia after guiding Nevada to three NCAA tournaments, and Anthony Grant will lead Alabama after earning two NCAA bids at Virginia Commonwealth. But the big buzz in the conference is for John Calipari at Kentucky, where he has taken on the challenge of reviving the seven-time national champion.

"Kentucky has got Final Four talent, and (Calipari) is one of the best coaches in the country in terms of putting it all together," Pearl said. "I understand how many (future) pros they have on that roster, and I've seen John put together very talented teams and get them to play hard and unselfishly."

Calipari has taken Massachusetts and Memphis to the Final Four (though both trips were vacated because of NCAA violations not tied to the coach) and has one of the nation's top recruiting classes to pair with Patterson.

"You start putting the numbers down and looking at how everyone is back, I think this league is going to have seven or eight NCAA teams," Calipari said. "And we're all just going to make each other stronger once we start playing each other."

Mississippi State and LSU are the favorites in the West Division, but the East could be a free-for-all among Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida and South Carolina.

"I've got no problem being picked third or fourth (in the East) when you look at the teams," said Pearl, whose Vols have won the division the last two years. "I think the East is going to be a spectacular race."

Enlarge By Butch Dill, AP With John Calipari as one of three new coaches in the SEC this season and with a plethora of key players returning to the league, sights are set high for how many teams the conference could send to the NCAA tournament this season.