The media has spoken and they believe Kentucky will win the 2010 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship.

The Cats, who will open up the John Calipari era with six highly touted recruits and two-time All-SEC selection Patrick Patterson, earned 20 first-place votes from a select panel of both SEC and national media members. The Cats topped Mississippi State and Tennessee, which reeled in three and two votes, respectively.

UK was the media’s favorite to win the East with 148 total points (23 first-place votes) ahead of second-place Tennessee’s 117 points (two first-place votes). Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia rounded out the top six.

Patterson, a preseason Wooden Award candidate, was the top choice for the SEC’s Player of the Year award with 11 votes. Kentucky freshman phenom John Wall was second with six votes, followed by Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado (three votes), South Carolina’s Devan Downey (three votes) and Tennessee’s Tyler Smith (two votes).

Patterson was the only unanimous first-team selection. Wall was picked to the SEC second team.