I think the SEC is about as average a Power Conference as there is. Bama is the cream of the crop this year, and they lost to UConn by 15, Gonzaga by 10, and the worst team in the Big 12, Oklahoma, flat out went in dry. Speaking of the Big 12, the SEC was 3-7 in the Challenge.
Tennessee looked as skrong as anyone first half of the season, but they've been a whole lot of meh the rest of the way.
Kentucky? They've lost 10 games, including to USCe at home.
A&M has been the sleeper all year. Nothing impressive about them, but they just keep finding ways to win.
Having said that, there will certainly be one or two teams that make a run. There always are. Arky was that team last year. I think Bama went to the final 8 last year too. But I believe the notion we're eating our own, comes from the fact that the conference is basically a shit load of very average teams. Which is not a bad thing this year, because I think that's the case across college basketball.
Are there 64 teams better than Auburn? That's not the question, because 31 teams get automatic bids for winning their conference tourney. There's a tiny handful of teams who have put a little separation between themselves and the rest of the pack. IMO, that's Houston, UCLA and Kansas. The rest seem really average to me, and you could probably lump Auburn in there. If they don't, I won't lose sleep.