re: Is it really worth it for certain SEC schools to dish out for better BB coaches?

The big money for the conf. comes from the TV contract. A better basketball league = a more valuable TV contract which = more money for all schools in the conf. With apologies to all of the baseball lovers, as far as the TV contract is concerned the rest of the sports are just "filler" that make the member schools little to no real money throughout the year. Certainly it would benefit the all member schools to have better basketball programs.

Finally, SEC fans are no different than any other fans around the country. They will support winners. If your school has a consistently good basketball program fans will come out to watch. This is true in spite of the fact that the south is still primarily college football country.