SEC Baseball Tournament 2015 Schedule, TV Info and Thursday Bracket Predictions

Two days of play at the 2015 SEC Baseball Tournament are in the books, but the action is just getting started entering Thursday's quartet of contests.

Only eight teams are still vying for one of college baseball's most prestigious conference championships, but the field will dwindle down to six on Thursday with two elimination games on tap. From squads looking to make their case for an NCAA tournament spot to schools hoping to find some momentum before super regionals, there's no shortage of implications beyond the tournament setting.

Here's a look at who's left in the SEC tournament along with predictions for all of Thursday's games.

Thursday, May 21 SEC Tournament

Time (CT)	Matchup	TV	Prediction
9:30 a.m.	No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 11 Alabama (elimination game)	SEC Network	Alabama
TBD	No. 9 Auburn vs. No. 4 Florida (elimination game)	SEC Network	Florida
4:30 p.m.	No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 3 Texas A&M	SEC Network	Vanderbilt
TBD	No. 1 LSU vs. No. 5 Arkansas	SEC Network	Arkansas

Live streaming available on WatchESPN.

Game of the Day: No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 3 Texas A&M

Butch Dill/Associated Press

It usually takes until the weekend in Hoover, Alabama, before the conference's elite tee off against one another, but viewers will get their first glimpse at the SEC's best going at it when second-seeded Vanderbilt faces No. 3 Texas A&M in the first winners' bracket game.

You'd be hard-pressed to find two teams more evenly matched in the entire nation, much less in the SEC. 

The Commodores (20-10) and Aggies (18-10) are neck-and-neck in the SEC standings, but that's only where their evenness begins. They practically flip-flop spots in the two most prominent Top 25 rankings, with Vanderbilt seventh over Texas A&M's No. 9 in the Baseball America poll while the Aggies have a slight edge in the USA Today poll.

For all of their similarities, the two have only met twice in the SEC tournament back in 2013 and have played just one season series, which was last season. But as far as Thursday's match, it's no secret that it will come down to one key matchup.

The Texas A&M bats have been the driving force in its incredible season that began with a 26-0 record. With seven or eight players in the lineup every night that have five home runs on the season, the Aggies can swing and swing efficiently, with the meat of the lineup batting well over .300.

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

But because they're set to square off against Vandy's ace, they could be in for a long day.

The Commodores saved SEC Pitcher of the Year Carson Fulmer in their Wednesday opener against Missouri, which paid off as they now strut him out against Texas A&M's loud bats. 

Fulmer has been nothing short of dominant this season in his first year as the Commodores' ace, as Cory Curtis of Nashville's WKRN-TV noted his league-leading numbers:

To say it would be surprising to see Fulmer struggle and give his side a loss would be an understatement. Fulmer only has two defeats in a career spanning three seasons, which is even more impressive when you take into account that he saved 14 games in his first two seasons.

That's not to say the Aggies can't keep things close and jump on the Vanderbilt bullpen, but Wednesday's game that saw Vanderbilt's relievers bail out its starting pitching would indicate otherwise. What's more, the Commodores are also swinging the bat pretty well, as Adam Sparks of the Tennessean reported:

It's hard to imagine the Aggies' bats getting hot with Fulmer in the game, and Vandy should pack enough of a punch with its own lineup to take the lead. Whether they keep it will depend on the bullpen's ability to log another strong outing, which it should be expected to do after starting out strong Wednesday.

Even though it's not an elimination game, these squads could be playing for a top-eight national seed and the chance to host a super regional. That will result in the cream rising to the top, and the defending national champions making a championship response.