SEC Sets NCAA Tournament Record with 14 Teams in March Madness Bracket

The SEC will be sending a tournament-record 14 teams into the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The previous record for the most teams selected by a single conference was held by the Big East in 2011, which sent 11 teams.

SEC teams in the tournament, courtesy of Saturday Down South's Andrew Olson:

Alabama – No. 2-seed, East

Arkansas – No. 10-seed, West

Auburn – No. 1-seed overall, South

Florida – No. 1-seed, West

Georgia – No. 9-seed, Midwest

Kentucky – No. 3-seed, Midwest

Mississippi State – No. 8-seed, East

Missouri – No. 6-seed, West

Oklahoma – No. 9-seed, West

Ole Miss – No. 6-seed, South

Tennessee – No. 2-seed, Tennessee

Texas – No. 11-seed Midwest, First Four vs. Xavier

Texas A&M – No. 4-seed, South

Vanderbilt – No. 10-seed, East

The Auburn Tigers won the SEC regular-season championship but have been struggling as they march toward the NCAA Tournament, losing in the SEC Tournament semifinals to the Tennessee Volunteers and dropping three of their last four games.

Despite this, they are the No. 1 overall seed entering the tournament.

Fellow No. 1 seed, The Florida Gators defeated the Volunteers in the SEC Tournament championship on Sunday, securing their top spot in headed into the tournament.

Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas were bubble teams heading into Championship Weekend and all squeaked in, bringing the SEC's total to 14 of its 16 teams in the tournament. LSU and South Carolina were the only two teams that did not make it.

The SEC's 14-team bid had been in the making for a few days. On Friday, Commissioner Greg Sankey told ESPN that he believed the number of teams was "justified," given how well the league has performed.

"It's a unicorn league right now," Sankey said, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. "We're not going to change our name, but we stand alone historically. And I think that'll be rewarded."

Sankey's belief in the SEC dates back to January, when he told his staff that the number of SEC teams in the tournament should be at least 14, per Thamel.

"We should never talk about less than 14," Sankey said, per Thamel. "Literally, we said every expectation we communicate has at least 14, and maybe more, depending on how the season plays out. And I think that was fully justified then. And I think it continues to be justified now."