The SEC Tournament, which will be held in Tampa, FL, this year, is rapidly approaching. The first four teams will square off this upcoming Wednesday, setting off an action-packed weekend in the Sunshine State.
Tennessee will head into the SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed after a 23-7 regular season. The Vols were victorious in 14 of their 18 conference games this season, with wins over No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Kentucky, No. 13 LSU, and No. 14 Arkansas.
While all four of the SEC’s top teams will go into the tournament with momentum, Tennessee was the best at closing out the season. Auburn closes with two losses in their last five games, while Kentucky has two losses in their last six games. Meanwhile, Arkansas has two losses in their last seven games, with the most recent coming in Knoxville last Saturday.
Tennessee, on the other hand, only has one loss in their last 10 games – on the road at Arkansas.
SEC Tournament Seeding
- Auburn
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Arkansas
- LSU
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Texas A&M
- Florida
- Mississippi State
- Vanderbilt
- Missouri
- Ole Miss
- Georgia
SEC Tournament Bracket (via ESPN)
SEC Tournament Storylines
Tennessee has landed as the tournament runner-up in two of the last three SEC Tournaments. The Vols lost to Kentucky by two points in 2018, which was followed by a 20-point loss to Auburn the next year in 2019. Additionally, it has been 43 years since Tennessee last won the SEC Tournament in 1979.
In the Vols’ first game on Friday, Tennessee will be taking on either Mississippi State or South Carolina, neither of which gave Tennessee too much trouble during the regular season. Tennessee found an impressive road win against Mississippi State in their only matchup this season. The Vols took down the Bulldogs, 72-63, in Starkville. Tennessee also swept South Carolina in their two meetings this year. The Vols first beat South Carolina by 20-points in Knoxville, and then went over to Columbia and won by 24.
Tennessee will likely be playing either Kentucky or Alabama in their Saturday game if all goes as expected. Both Kentucky and Alabama do hold a victory over Tennessee from this season. The Vols never really got a fair crack at Alabama in their first meeting in Tuscaloosa, though, with Tennessee down both John Fulkerson and Kennedy Chandler in the first game following the Christmas break. That isn’t to say that Alabama didn’t earn that win, because they did. But this is a vastly different Tennessee team now and one that likely would not lose to Alabama again.
Looking at the top portion of the bracket, the potential LSU and Arkansas game is immediately a rivalry that jumps out. Arkansas took down LSU last Tuesday in the second to last game of the season… by free throws. That’s right, Arkansas won the game thanks to two clutch free throws in the final seconds of the contest in Fayetteville. I can see LSU wanting revenge for that game, which could make for a fun third-round matchup on Friday.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi listed Florida as one of the “Next Four Out” teams heading into the NCAA Tournament. All that means is that Florida needs an SEC Tournament miracle to happen in Tampa next week. A win over Texas A&M probably won’t give them the boost they are looking for, but their next matchup could. If Florida wants into the NCAA Tournament, they will have to slay the giant and take down No. 1 Auburn.
Speaking of Auburn, though, who is Auburn? After dominating the entire league for the first few months in the season, the Tigers have shown weaknesses on the court as of late. Auburn has three losses in their final eight games, two of those to unranked opponents at the time. Auburn has some of the best talents in the nation on their team but has also been heavily reliant on just a few players here late in the season. Once Tennessee was able to scheme against Jabari Small and Walker Kessler, Auburn became a beatable team. Auburn’s reliance on their stars is either going to prove to be extremely critical or a downfall come tournament time.
The SEC Tournament will begin this Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2022.
