With a trio of top teams jockeying for high seeds in the NCAA Tournament, there should be a lot of intrigue at the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
The SEC has quietly been a solid league in 2019, and that is thanks to its tremendous trio of top teams. LSU (26-5, 16-2 in SEC play) surprisingly took the conference’s regular season title, but they have an off-court distraction to deal with now that head coach Will Wade has been suspended as a result of getting caught up in the FBI’s recruiting probe.
Printable SEC Tournament bracket
The other top teams don’t have any off-court issues to deal with as Kentucky (26-5, 15-3) and Tennessee (27-4, 15-3) are more concerned about how winning the SEC can boost their resumes. Both the Wildcats and Volunteers have been listed as potential no. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, but with recent losses, they may need to win in Nashville to end up on the top line.
The tournament kicks off on Wednesday, with the 11-14 game between Texas A&M (13-17, 6-12) and Vanderbilt (9-22, 0-18) and the 12-13 matchup featuring Missouri (14-16, 5-13) and Georgia (11-20, 2-16). Whoever emerges victorious from those games heads to the second round on Thursday.
The victor from the matchup between the Aggies and Commodores draws no. 5 seed Auburn (22-9, 11-7), which ended its regular season on a high note with an upset win over Tennessee. The winner of that matchup would be ticketed for a date with South Carolina (16-15, 11-7) in the quarterfinals.
The other matchup in the top of the bracket is the 8-9 game between Arkansas (17-14, 8-10) and Florida (17-14, 9-9). The Gators really need a win in this game to get another shot at LSU in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The bottom of the bracket begins with the winner of the Missouri/Georgia clash taking on Mississippi State (22-9, 10-8). Whoever emerges from that contest would be staring at a date with Tennessee in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
The other matchup in the bottom of the bracket is the 7-10 showdown between two bubble teams in Ole Miss (20-11, 10-8) and Alabama (17-14, 8-10). The victor from that game faces Kentucky, which would need one win to set up a showdown with Tennessee in the semifinals.
The SEC tournament will take place from March 13-17, with games scheduled to be televised on the SEC Network and ESPN.