The SEC Tournament is always one to talk about. For one, it’s the conference that likes to monopolize the major sports. Last year the SEC had the most teams in the NCAA Tournament and the NET rankings are doing their best to make sure it has one of the most teams in the tournament this year. Nonetheless, the SEC Tournament tipped off this week with the rest of the power conferences and it’s time to see which teams will actually get in.
Florida won the regular season championship with four other teams ranked inside the AP top 25 going into the tournament. Vanderbilt finished the year with a road win over Tennessee to lock up the No. 4 seed, while Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma are all fighting for a shot to get into the NCAA Tournament. Here’s everything you need to know about the SEC Tournament ahead of March Madness.
SEC Tournament bracket
SEC Tournament schedule
First round: Wednesday, March 11
- Kentucky 87, LSU 82
- Auburn 79, Mississippi State 61
- Ole Miss 76, Texas 66
- Oklahoma vs. South Carolina | 9:30 p.m. | SEC Network
Second round: Thursday, March 12
- Missouri vs. Kentucky | 12:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network
- Tennessee vs. Auburn | 25 minutes after Missouri/Kentucky game | SEC Network
- Georgia vs. Texas/Ole Miss winner | 7 p.m. ET | SEC Network
- Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma/South Carolina winner | 25 minutes after Georgia game | SEC Network
Quarterfinals: Friday, March 13
- Florida vs. Missouri/Kentucky winner | 1 p.m. ET | ESPN
- Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee/Auburn winner | 25 minutes after Florida game | ESPN
- Alabama vs. Georgia/Ole Miss/Texas | 7 p.m. ET | SEC Network
- Arkansas vs. Texas A&M/Oklahoma/South Carolina | 25 minutes after Alabama game | SEC Network
Semifinals: Saturday, March 14
- TBD vs. TBD | 1 p.m. ET | ESPN
- TBD vs. TBD | 25 minutes after 1 p.m. game finish | ESPN
Championship: Sunday, March 15
- TBD vs. TBD | 1 p.m. ET | ESPN
Bubble watch: Which teams stand the most to gain with SEC Tournament run?
Missouri Tigers
Missouri couldn’t have a tougher path to winning the SEC Tournament this season. That could ultimately hurt and help them in a way. It’s detrimental to them because they are one of the last four byes, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, so a tournament run would do wonders for their NCAA Tournament resume. With Kentucky on Thursday and then a date with Florida with a win, that muddies their path.
That said, they could also get the benefit of having a tough path. If they beat Kentucky and play Florida close, it could very well be the boost the Tigers need to get into the NCAA Tournament. I think they’d need to beat Kentucky to get in otherwise there at the mercy of the rest of the bubble teams.
Texas Longhorns
Texas has the strongest resume of any of the SEC teams on the bubble in my opinion. That said, they can’t just rely on that exclusively to get into the NCAA Tournament. They have a favorable path through the SEC Tournament as well, which is why they need to capitalize. Georgia is a beatable team – the Longhorns split the season series with the Bulldogs – and Alabama isn’t quite the threat they usually are.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Longhorns pull off the upset. If they do, it will be the final touch on their NCAA Tournament resume. They could very well be battling Missouri for a tournament spot so what they do this week will determine their postseason fate.
Auburn Tigers
I can’t believe a 16-15 regular season finish still has this team “on the bubble” in the NCAA Tournament. Auburn could sneak in, but they’d almost certainly need to reach the title game to do so. The Tigers have fallen off in their first year without Bruce Pearl, but they are still in contention to get into the NCAA Tournament. The most important thing for them right now is to win. They don’t have the resume to just play well, they have to win and look like a team that could go on a tournament run. Anything less and their season will end in Nashville.
Oklahoma Sooners
Four of Oklahoma’s seven regular season conference wins came at the end of the season. Outside of catching fire, the Sooners got slaughtered in conference play this year, putting them in a bind. They have to hope that hot streak carries into the tournament if they want any shot at the NCAA Tournament. Right now, Joe Lunardi has Oklahoma as the next four out. It will be an uphill battle, but it’s not impossible.
Oklahoma’s first test of the SEC Tournament shouldn’t come until the quarterfinals where they’d see Arkansas, the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Texas A&M could be a tricky matchup, but that’s a game the Sooners can’t lose if they want to get back to March Madness. They were swept by the Aggies in the regular season so the only way to avenge that is to end their season while strengthening their resume.