Tennessee’s Rick Barnes has coached in the Big East, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12. He’s made the NCAA Tournament nearly two dozen times and advanced to the Final Four.

He’s been around. He’s seen it done a number of different ways.

So Barnes has credibility when he raves about his current league, the Southeastern Conference.

“I’ve said it all year: This league is better than everybody’s giving it credit for,” Barnes said Tuesday. “It’s not like I told you so, but the fact is this basketball league is better. What I’m ecstatic about is we’ve had to overcome the perception that it wasn’t very good, and we’ve got teams that have gone out and played good basketball.”

Long considered a football power, the SEC is showing some basketball promise. The league, which many thought might get just three teams in the NCAA Tournament a few months ago, could have three in the Elite Eight.