SEC Tournament 2018: Bracket, Schedule and Championship Odds

The SEC tournament moves away from Nashville, Tennessee, for the first time in four years this season, as the conference's best teams will square off in St. Louis, Missouri.

Most of the drama doesn't revolve around which team wins the automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Instead, the attention is on the teams residing on the bubble, who will take to the court throughout Thursday's schedule.

Once the dust settles on the bubble chaos, the top contenders for the SEC tournament title take the floor Friday, with Kentucky in search of its fourth straight tournament crown.

Bracket

SEC Tournament Schedule

All Times ET.

Wednesday

No. 12 Georgia vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt (7 p.m., SEC Network)

No. 11 South Carolina vs. No. 14 Ole Miss (approximately 9:30 p.m., SEC Network)

Thursday

No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 Alabama (1 p.m., SEC Network)

No. 5 Missouri vs. No. 12 seed or No. 13 seed (approximately 3:30 p.m., SEC Network)

No. 10 LSU vs. No. 7 Mississippi State (7 p.m., SEC Network)

No. 6 Arkansas vs. No. 11 seed or No. 14 seed (approximately 9:30 p.m., SEC Network)

Friday

No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed winner (1 p.m., ESPN)

No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 5 seed or. No. 12 or No. 13 seed winner (approximately 3:30 p.m., ESPN)

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 10 seed or No. 7 seed winner (7 p.m., SEC Network)

No. 3 Florida vs. No. 6 seed or No. 11 or No. 14 winner (approximately 9:30 p.m., SEC Network)

Saturday

Winner of No. 1 seed's quarterfinal vs. winner of No. 4 seed's quarterfinal (1 p.m., ESPN)

Winner of No. 2 seed's quarterfinal vs. winner of No. 3 seed's quarterfinal (approximately 3:30 p.m., ESPN)

Sunday

Winner of semifinal No. 1 vs. winner of semifinal No. 2 (1 p.m., ESPN)

Championship Odds

Odds according to OddsShark.

Auburn +350 (bet $100 to win $350

Tennessee +400

Kentucky +500

Mississippi State +700

Florida +1,000

Alabama +1,000

Arkansas +1,400

Missouri +1,400

Texas A&M +1,600

LSU +2,500

Georgia +5,000

South Carolina +5,000

Ole Miss +10,000

Vanderbilt +10,000

Kentucky In the Hunt for 4th Straight SEC Tournament Title

Unlike the past few years, Kentucky isn't the odds-on favorite to capture the SEC crown because it carries an immense amount of youth on its roster.

The Wildcats went through a rough patch in conference play, but they rebounded to earn the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament.

Before falling to Florida on Saturday, the Wildcats reeled off four straight victories to earn a much-needed confidence boost entering March.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

John Calipari's team features five stars who average more than 10 points per game, but it doesn't feature a collection of superstars like squads in the past decade.

Kevin Knox is the leader of the freshmen, but he's going to need contributions from his supporting cast in order to have a chance of defending Kentucky's SEC tournament streak.

Look for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to step up alongside Knox, as he did during the conclusion of the regular season with a quartet of double-digit point performances.

Since this is Kentucky basketball we are talking about, the pressure stacked on the Wildcats is more than any team entering St. Louis. It's hard to argue against the expectations since they haven't lost an SEC tournament game since the 2014 final.

Will an Unexpected Team Make a Push to the Championship?

The SEC tournament has a tendency to produce at least one intriguing underdog story during Championship Week.

A year ago, Vanderbilt upset Florida to reach the semifinals before losing to Arkansas as a No. 7 seed. Georgia experienced the same fate as a No. 6 seed following a victory over South Carolina in 2016.

Three years ago, Auburn won three consecutive games, starting in the first round, as a No. 13 seed before burning out against Kentucky in the semifinals.

There are plenty of candidates to make surges into the semifinals this time around, as a few programs displayed stretches of brilliance during the regular season.

Of the four teams playing on the opening night of the tournament, Georgia has the best chance to make a run. The Bulldogs are led by Yante Maten, who averages 19.4 points per game.

Mike Comer/Getty Images

However, it's more likely one of the squads debuting on the second day of the competition makes a surge into the semifinals given the uncertainty of their respective NCAA tournament hopes.

Star freshman Collin Sexton has the potential to lead Alabama to glory, while Texas A&M is looking to rebound from falling short of high expectations.

Missouri could benefit from the home crowd, Mississippi State could revive its NCAA tournament bid and Arkansas shouldn't be counted out, either.

It's hard to pinpoint which team will pick up eye-catching victories, but there is a lot of potential for at least one team to surprise everyone in St. Louis.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.