SEC Tournament 2026 Men's Quarterfinals Scores, Updated Bracket, Semifinal Schedule
The dynamics of the two SEC tournament semifinals could not feel more different.
The top-seeded Florida Gators open the two-game slate in Nashville against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Florida and Vanderbilt played a game in the 90s back in January. Both teams will play on Saturday with the opportunity to improve their respective NCAA tournament seedings.
The second semifinal features the No. 15 seed Ole Miss Rebels, who remarkably upset the second-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday night.
John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks stand in the way of Ole Miss' shot at earning five wins in five days inside Bridgestone Arena.
SEC Tournament Quarterfinals Scores
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No. 1 Florida 71, No. 9 Kentucky 63
No. 4 Vanderbilt 75, No. 5 Tennessee 68
No. 15 Ole Miss 80, No. 2 Alabama 79
No. 3 Arkansas 82, No. 11 Oklahoma 79
Semifinal No. 1: No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt
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Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Florida cruised through SEC play in the regular season and it is expected to reach Sunday's championship game because of how well it's played.
The Gators weren't as prolific on offense on Friday as they have been for most of the season. They only scored 71 points against the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Gators' total should be much higher on Saturday against a Vanderbilt team that they beat 98-94 on January 17.
Florida entered Nashville with 11 straight games of at least 75 points. It scored 85 or more in 10 of those contests.
Vanderbilt scored in the 80s in seven of its last nine victories. It scored 80 points or less in five of its seven defeats.
The formula should be simple for Florida, then, as it needs to hold the Commodores under 80 to feel comfortable about its winning prospects.
If Vanderbilt can score with Florida, like it did back in January, the No. 5 seed has a chance of pulling off the upset.
The Gators will still be favored, but there is a chance they receive a tougher challenge than some expect.
Semifinal No. 2: No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 15 Ole Miss
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Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Ole Miss has become the story of all the power-conference tournaments.
Chris Beard's team upset the Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide to make it to semifinal Saturday as the No. 15 seed.
Ole Miss scored at least 76 points in each of its three games in Nashville, but it faces the challenge of fatigue with the turnaround from Friday night to Saturday afternoon.
The Rebels scored 87 against Arkansas on January 7, but they also allowed 94 points, including 26 to Darius Acuff.
Acuff, who scored 36 points on Friday, could single-handedly dash Ole Miss' long-shot SEC tournament title hopes.
Arkansas' won five of its last six games and scored over 80 points in all of those victories.
If the fatigue catches up to Ole Miss, Arkansas could easily find itself over 100 points.
The other element to Saturday's second semifinal is the NCAA tournament bubble teams rooting for Arkansas. Ole Miss is one of the last bid stealers alive, and if Arkansas wins, a reshuffling of the bubble will not happen.
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