SEC Tournament 2017: Quarterfinals Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions

All the favorites won on Thursday in the SEC men's basketball tournament, and now it's time for those second-round winners to meet the top four teams in the conference for the quarterfinal matchups on Friday.

Here's a look at the latest tournament schedule as well as predictions for each quarterfinal game.

Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Round	Matchup	Television
Wednesday, March 8	7 p.m.	1	First	No. 12 Mississippi State 79, No. 13 LSU 52	SEC Network
Wednesday, March 8	25 minutes after Game 1	2	First	No. 14 Missouri 86, No. 11 Auburn (OT)	SEC Network
Thursday, March 9	1 p.m.	3	Second	No. 8 Georgia 59, No. 9 Tennessee 57	SEC Network
Thursday, March 9	25 minutes after Game 3	4	Second	No. 5 Alabama 75, No. 12 Mississippi State 55	SEC Network
Thursday, March 9	7 p.m.	5	Second	No. 7 Vanderbilt 66, No. 10 Texas A&M 41	SEC Network
Thursday, March 9	25 minutes after Game 5	6	Second	No. 6 Ole Miss 86, No. 14 Missouri 74	SEC Network
Friday, March 10	1 p.m.	7	Quarterfinals	No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 1 Kentucky	SEC Network
Friday, March 10	25 minutes after Game 8	8	Quarterfinals	No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 4 South Carolina	SEC Network
Friday, March 10	7 p.m.	9	Quarterfinals	No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 2 Florida	SEC Network
Friday, March 10	25 minutes after Game 9	10	Quarterfinals	No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Arkansas	SEC Network
Saturday, March 11	1 p.m.	11	Semifinals	Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner	ESPN
Saturday, March 11	25 minutes after Game 11	12	Semifinals	Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner	ESPN
Sunday, March 12	1 p.m.	13	Finals	Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner	ESPN

Information via secsports.com. All games will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Quarterfinal Predictions

No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 1 Kentucky

The Bulldogs are a better team than their No. 8 ranking in the SEC might suggest. According to the Sagarin ratings, UGA is sitting 53rd right now, which places it in the same neighborhood as Cal, Rhode Island, Illinois State and Providence, talented teams that have been sitting on the NCAA tournament bubble this week.

That being said, this is a bad draw for the Bulldogs, who will be playing a team that DraftExpress predicts will have three players go in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft.

Two of those players, freshman guards De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, are serious matchup problems. Fox can do a bit of everything, and Monk is one of the best scorers in the country. The latter scored 37 points against the Bulldogs in a 90-81 overtime victory this season.

That win took place without Fox, who was out with an illness. The problem Georgia had, and other teams will have this March, is that there's another player who can fill the scoring void if Monk or Fox are out or simply off. 

Sophomore Isaiah Briscoe stepped up as the No. 2 man that night and nearly posted a triple-double, with 23 points, 11 boards and eight assists. He averages 12.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.

The three of them, plus freshman big man Bam Adebayo, are going to make a deep tournament run. UGA is no match for UK this year when they are all on the floor.

Pick: Kentucky

No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 4 South Carolina

This is a rematch of one of the best men's college hoops games of the year, when Alabama beat South Carolina 90-86 in four overtime despite a Shaquille O'Neal-esque stat line of 44 points and 21 rebounds from Gamecocks senior guard Sindarius Thornwell.

Thornwell, who made an eye-popping 25 of 33 free-throw attempts that night, is one of the best players in the country when he's feeling it. He averages 21.2 points and 7.3 boards a game for the Gamecocks and also gets it done on the defensive end with 2.2 steals per night.

Neither USC nor Alabama are playing well down the stretch. The Gamecocks lost five of their last eight to close the regular season, while Alabama went 4-6 in its last 10 SEC games before beating Mississippi State in the second round of the tournament.

This should be another close game, but give the slightest of edges to the team with the best player on the floor in Thornwell and the Gamecocks.

Pick: South Carolina

No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 2 Florida

Like Alabama vs. South Carolina, this is a rematch of another great SEC matchup this year, as Vanderbilt topped Florida, 73-71 on its Senior Day in Nashville.

Vandy likely played itself into the NCAA tournament with that win plus an emphatic 66-41 second-round victory over future NBA draft pick Robert Williams and the Texas A&M Aggies on Thursday, but it will now face a Florida team looking for revenge after it blew a 12-point lead to the Commodores the last time around.

Although Vandy will be playing in front of many home fans since the game is in its home city, expect UF to come out firing and put the clamps down on the Vanderbilt offense.

According to the Ken Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings, Florida ranked fourth in adjusted defensive efficiency in all of Division I. The Gators also have a great senior leader in Kasey Hill and a balanced scoring attack (eight players average between six and 14 points per game) that should bode well for them in March.

Vanderbilt will keep this close, but Florida will win by a few baskets.

Pick: Florida

No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Arkansas

Like Florida, Arkansas has a deep team. Four players average between 12 and 15 points per game, led by senior guard Dusty Hannahs. Nine players also average at least 11 minutes per game, with seven of them playing 17.8 minutes a night.

The Razorbacks are also one of the better offensive teams in the country. They average 81 points and shoot 46.5 percent from the field, which helped the Hogs earn a No. 17 ranking in adjusted offensive efficiency per Pomeroy.

Ole Miss has a trio of stars led by double-double machine and senior forward Sebastian Saiz, who puts up 15.1 points and 10.9 boards per game.

Despite Saiz' fantastic play down low, Arkansas' depth and offensive prowess will be too much for the Rebels to handle. That was the case when the Hogs beat Ole Miss, 98-80 this season, when junior guard Daryl Macon scored 30 on 10-of-13 shooting.

On any given night, numerous players can go off for the Razorbacks and take over a game as Macon did. That should be an issue for every team Arkansas faces this year.

Pick: Arkansas