SEC tournament 2019: Bracket, schedule, scores, teams, and more

Will the Wildcats repeat as SEC champs? Can LSU follow up its regular season championship with a tournament one?

On Wednesday, March 13, the SEC tournament kicks off in Nashville, Tennessee, as Kentucky looks to repeat as champs. The Wildcats topped Tennessee, 77-72, last season, but with those two being the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively, we could see the rematch in the semifinals this year.

The real story to follow at this year’s SEC tourney, however, involves the top-seeded Tigers of LSU. Head coach Will Wade was suspended indefinitely on March 8 due to his potential involvement in the FBI investigation of college basketball. The Tigers easily defeated Vanderbilt in its final regular season game, locking up the No. 1 seed. Now, LSU will have to press forward with Tony Benford at the helm as the interim head coach.

The Stakes

The SEC has two teams potentially vying for an NCAA tournament No. 1-seed in Kentucky and Tennessee. The Big Ten and SEC are probably battling for the final No. 1 seed (assuming Gonzaga, Virginia, and either Duke/UNC are all likely for the other three), so there’s a lot at stake this week.

South Carolina enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed, but, with its 16-15 overall record, the Gamecocks aren’t slated to make the NCAA tournament. Conversely, Florida, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State have a chance to make a run and improve their seeding for the postseason.

The Format

The top nine teams receive first-round byes and the top four teams receive double-byes to the quarterfinals. Teams are seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.

The Bracket & Schedule

Here is the full tournament bracket and day-by-day schedule. Game times subject to change, and the second game in each session will start 25 minutes after the conclusion of the previous game. We’ll be updating it with results along the way.

Round 1: Wednesday, March 13 (All times ET)

Game 1: No. 12 Missouri 71, No. 13 Georgia 61

Game 2: No. 11 Texas A&M 69, No. 14 Vanderbilt 52

Round 2: Thursday, March 14

Game 3: No. 8 Florida 66, No. 9 Arkansas 50

Game 4: No. 5 Auburn 81, No. 12 Missouri 71

Game 5: No. 10 Alabama 62, No. 7 Ole Miss 57

Game 6: No. 6 Mississippi State 80, No. 11 Texas A&M 54

Quarterfinals: Friday, March 15

Game 7: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 8 Florida, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Game 8: No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 5 Auburn, 3 p.m. (ESPN)

Game 9: No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

Game 10: No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 6 Mississippi State, 9 p.m. (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, 3 p.m. (ESPN)

Championship—Sunday, March 17

Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 1 p.m. (ESPN)