What the SEC Basketball Tournament Bracket Looks Like – Sports Illustrated

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The SEC men’s basketball regular season is officially over after what was a wildly entertaining Saturday. No. 24 Vanderbilt was easily the biggest winner of the day as the Commodores not only beat No. 23 Tennessee in Knoxville, but ended up sneaking up to the No. 4 spot in the SEC after wins from Arkansas and Florida.
As a result, Vanderbilt will have a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. Instead of playing the first day, it will be able to sit and watch until the quarterfinal round Friday.
Without further ado, here is the final look at the SEC standings, the tournament matchups, schedule and a picture of the bracket.
(**= teams with a double-bye, *= teams with a single-bye)
Here are the day-by-day matchups and full schedule for the SEC Tournament.
Game 1: 16 LSU vs. 9 Kentucky, 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 2: 13 Mississippi State vs. 12 Auburn, 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1
Game 3: 15 Ole Miss vs. 10 Texas, 6 p.m. CT
Game 4: 14 South Carolina vs. 11 Oklahoma, 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 3
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. 8 Missouri, 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. 5 Tennessee, 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 5
Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs. 7 Georgia, 6 p.m. CT
Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs. 6 Texas A&M, 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 7
Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. 1 Florida, 12 p.m. CT
Game 10: Winner of Game 6 vs. 4 Vanderbilt, 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 9
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. 2 Alabama, 6 p.m. CT
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. 3 Arkansas 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 11
Semifinal Game 1: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 12 p.m. CT
Semifinal Game 2: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12, 25 minutes after the conclusion of Semifinal Game 1
SEC Championship: Winner of Semifinal Game 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal Game 2, 12 p.m. CT
An interesting nugget as a result of Vanderbilt getting the final spot for a double-bye is that it made Tennessee the seed directly behind them. Because of this, it would not be a surprise to anyone if Vanderbilt has to play against the Volunteers for a third time this season on quarterfinal Friday.
For Vanderbilt, the Commodores likely all but sealed a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament with its win at Tennessee Saturday and could even jump to the 4-seed line depending on how much the selection committee values the win.
If Vanderbilt is able to make a run in the tournament, the Commodores can jump into the group of teams that are protected seeds for March Madness.
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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