Championship week in college basketball is an incredibly exciting appetizer to the full NCAA tournament, which starts on March 21. The SEC is one of the most enticing conference tournaments, with five teams in and around the top 15 and two or three others flitting around the NCAA tournament bubble. The SEC Tournament will be electric, especially in the later rounds. Still, fans will have to endure winless-in-conference-play Missouri in the tournament's first round before things get going.
Not to mention that the men's tournament has an incredibly high bar to follow after the unreal late drama in the women's championship game between South Carolina and LSU. Not to mention the buzzer-beater drama in the semifinals that set the stage for that game even to happen.
The men's edition will be hosted by Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and starts this Wednesday, March 13. Here's everything you need to know about the schedule, bracket, and storylines. Not to mention
SEC Tournament Format and Schedule
As is generally the case with the 14-team conferences, it will take three days for every single team to play their first game of the tournament. The first round will include the bottom four seeds, #11-14 playing.
Then, the winners of those games will advance to the next round, where the #5 and #6 seeds will play them after their round one bye. Seeds #7-10 will also play each other in round two after byes.
The quarterfinals will follow, with the top four seeds finally playing after their double bye. A single elimination tournament with an automatic NCAA tournament berth, not to mention serious bragging rights, is on the line.
Most of the games will be available to watch on SEC Network or WatchESPN and ESPN+ online. ESPN will start carrying the games as the tournament continues, including all games on the weekend.
First round, Wednesday, March 13
Game 1: No. 12 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt | 7 p.m. EDT | SEC Network
Game 2: No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 14 Missouri | 25 mins after Game 1 | SEC Network
Second round, Thursday, March 14
Game 3: No. 8 LSU vs. No. 9 Mississippi State | 1 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 4: No. 5 South Carolina vs. Game 1 winner | 25 mins after Game 3 | SEC Network
-midday break-
Game 5: No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Ole Miss | 7 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 6: No. 6 Florida vs. Game 2 winner | 25 mins after game 5 | SEC Network
Quarterfinals, Friday, March 15
Game 7: No. 1 Tennessee vs. Game 3 winner | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Game 8: No. 4 Auburn vs. Game 4 winner | 25 mins after Game 7 | ESPN
-midday break-
Game 9: No. 2 Kentucky vs. Game 5 winner | 7 p.m. | SEC Network
Game 10: No. 3 Alabama vs. Game 6 winner | 25 mins after Game 9 | SEC Network
Semifinals, Saturday, March 16
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner | 25 mins after Game 11 | ESPN
Championship, Sunday, March 17
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner | 1 p.m. | ESPN
SEC Tournament storylines
The #4 ranked Tennessee Volunteers won the SEC regular season title and have national championship-level aspirations after one of the best regular seasons in Tennessee men's basketball history. However, their coronation hit a bump in the road this week as #15 Kentucky extended their winning streak to five games, beating Tennessee in the regular season finale.
A rematch on Sunday for the tournament title would be incredibly enticing, but #13 Auburn, #16 Alabama, and #17 South Carolina will all have a lot to say about that before it happens.
The SEC is tied with the Big 12 for most teams in the AP top 25, and even their middle-of-the-road conference performers in Florida, Texas A&M, and even LSU are putting together resumes worthy of NCAA tournament consideration.
If any of the top five seeds lose early, it could put one of those bubble teams over the line, and after their loss, Tennessee is fighting for a #1 seed on selection Sunday. The stakes are high for the SEC tournament. Get ready college basketball fans, March Madness is here.