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The SEC Tournament is nearly upon us, with the opening round tipping off at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, March 10th. The first round is essentially a play-in round, featuring the 12th-seed Vanderbilt Commodores and the 13th-seed Texas A&M Aggies. The start of conference tournaments begins college basketball's most exciting stretch: March Madness.
The winner of the first-round matchup will go on to play the Florida Gators, who finished 5th in the SEC. Regular-season champions Alabama Crimson Tide will have a bye all the way to the quarterfinals, where they restfully await their competitors.
SEC Tournament 2021 - Everything you need to know
Once the first round is settled, there looks to be some very interesting matchups in round two. The 10th-seed Georgia Bulldogs will take on the 7th-seed Missouri Tigers. Both teams finished the season with a bit of a slump but are dangerous in a single-elimination setting.
The second-round matchup to watch out for is the first game on Thursday, when the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs to determine who plays the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Wildcats come into the tournament as the 8th-seed but have won the most SEC titles in conference history.
The teams in the SEC know they should never count out legendary head coach John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats.
SEC Tournament 2021 - Seeds
The top-seed Alabama Crimson Tide had a very impressive regular season, only losing twice to conference opponents. The Crimson Tide offense is led by their talented backcourt, with a trio of guards each averaging 12 or more points per game.
Their biggest competition is likely the Arkansas Razorbacks, who finished in second place in the SEC and carry an impressive eight-game winning streak. The Razorbacks took down the Alabama Crimson Tide in their most recent meeting. However, these teams will not meet again unless they both make the SEC Tournament championship game.
Tournament seeding: 1 Alabama, 2 Arkansas, 3 LSU, 4 Tennessee, 5 Florida, 6 Ole Miss, 7 Missouri, 8 Kentucky, 9 Mississippi State, 10 Georgia, 11 South Carolina, 12 Vanderbilt, 13 Texas A&M
SEC Tournament 2021 - Bracket
First-round -
Wednesday, March 10th, 2021 - Nashville, Tennessee
Game 1: (12) Vanderbilt vs. (13) Texas A&M - 7:00 PM ET
Second Round -
Thursday, March 11th, 2021 - Nashville, TN
Game 2: (8) Kentucky vs. (9) Mississippi State - 12:00 PM ET
Game 3: (5) Florida vs. Game 1 winner - 2:00 PM ET
Game 4: (7) Missouri vs. (10) Georgia - 7:00 PM ET
Game 5: (6) Ole Miss vs. (11) South Carolina - 9:00 PM ET
Quarterfinals -
Friday, March 12th, 2021 - Nashville, TN
Game 6: (1) Alabama vs. Game 2 winner - 12:00 PM ET - ESPN
Game 7: (4) Tennessee vs. Game 3 winner - 2:00 PM ET - ESPN
Game 8: (2) Arkansas vs. Game 4 winner - 7:00 PM ET
Game 9: (3) LSU vs. Game 5 winner - 9:00 PM ET
Semifinals -
Saturday, March 13th, 2021 - Nashville, TN
Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner - 1:00 PM ET - ESPN
Game 11: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 2:30 PM ET - ESPN
SEC Tournament Championship
Sunday, March 14th, 2021 - Nashville, TN
Game 12: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner - 1:00 PM ET - ESPN
SEC Tournament 2021 - Live Stream for March Madness
All opening-round games and two quarterfinal matchups will be broadcast via live stream on the SEC Network. The remaining quarterfinal and semifinal matches, as well as the SEC championship game, will be broadcast live on ESPN.
