2010 SEC Basketball Tournament Bracket Preview

The tip-off time for the 2010 SEC Basketball Tournament is 1 p.m. ET on March 11.

It has been an interesting year for SEC Basketball and it is bound to be an exciting tournament as well, with bubble teams trying to gain a coveted berth in the NCAA Tournament, in addition to top 25 teams trying to hold on to their projected NCAA seedings.

Florida, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State all need to do well in the SEC Tournament to clinch an invitation to the Big Dance.

The talent gap between the SEC West and the SEC East this year is readily apparent by comparing the West's top two seeds, Mississippi State and Ole Miss with the East's top two seeds, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

The superior SEC East is likely to dominate in the tournament as it has dominated Western division teams all year, but SEC Tournament time is always a good time for surprises!

First Round: S.Carolina vs. Alabama

1:00 ET, SEC Network

S. Carolina
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Record: 15-15 (6-10)
vs. RPI Top 50: 2-6
Scoring Margin: +1.2
Rebound Margin: -5.2

Alabama
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Record: 16-14 (6-10)
vs. RPI Top 50: 1-7
Scoring Margin: +4.0
Rebound Margin: +0.3

First Round: LSU vs. Tennessee

3:15 ET, SEC Network

LSU
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Record: 11-19 (2-14)
vs. RPI Top 50: 0-5
Scoring Margin: -4.8
Rebound Margin: +1.2

Tennessee
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Record: 22-7 (10-5)
vs. RPI Top 50: 2-4
Scoring Margin: +9.8
Rebound Margin: +1.1

First Round: Auburn vs. Florida

7:30 ET, SEC Network

Auburn
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Record: 15-16 (6-10)
vs. RPI Top 50: 0-4
Scoring Margin: +1.9
Rebound Margin: -0.6

Florida
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Record: 20-11 (9-7)
vs. RPI Top 50: 3-7
Scoring Margin: +7.0
Rebound Margin: +2.4

First Round: Georgia vs. Arkansas

9:45 ET, SEC Network

Georgia
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Record: 13-15 (5-10)
vs. RPI Top 50: 3-6
Scoring Margin: -0.8
Rebound Margin: +4.5

Arkansas
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Record: 14-17 (7-9)
vs. RPI Top 50: 0-7
Scoring Margin: +1.2
Rebound Margin: -2.2

Quarterfinals: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss State, and Vanderbilt

The Quarterfinals Round begins on March 12 at 1:00 PM ET and all games are broadcast on the SEC Network.

Kentucky
Record: 29-2 (14-2)
vs. RPI Top 50: 5-1
Scoring Margin: +14.4
Rebound Margin: +9.1

Ole Miss
Record: 21-9 (9-7)
vs. RPI Top 50: 2-5
Scoring Margin: +8.5
Rebound Margin: +1.6

Miss State
Record: 21-9 (9-7)
vs. RPI Top 50: 2-5
Scoring Margin: +8.4
Rebound Margin: +2.8

Vanderbilt
Record: 23-7 (12-4)
vs. RPI Top 50: 4-2
Scoring Margin: +8.7
Rebound Margin: +0.3

This article written by Darius Pourceau of bornhogwild.fantake.com