SEC Tournament 2019: Schedule and Bracket Predictions for Conference Tourney
March 8, 2019
All 14 SEC basketball teams play their regular-season finales on Saturday. Then, it will be time for the conference tournament.
After this weekend, the seedings for this year's SEC tournament will be set, but there are still some things to be decided on the final day of the regular season. That includes the No. 1 seed, which will go to either LSU or Tennessee.
The SEC tournament is back at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, where it was held from 2015-17, after one year in St. Louis. This year's tourney, which will be from March 13-17, is the first of three straight to be held in Nashville.
Kentucky is looking to win its fifth straight SEC tournament championship. The last time the Wildcats didn't win the tourney was 2014, when they lost to Florida in the final.
SEC Tournament Schedule
All Times ET
Wednesday, March 13
No. 12 seed vs. No. 13 seed (7 p.m., SEC Network)
No. 11 seed vs. No. 14 seed (25 minutes after end of previous game, SEC Network)
Thursday, March 14
No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed (1 p.m., SEC Network)
No. 5 seed vs. Winner of No. 12 vs. No. 13 (25 minutes after end of previous game, SEC Network)
No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed (7 p.m., SEC Network)
No. 6 seed vs. Winner of No. 11 vs. No. 14 (25 minutes after end of previous game, SEC Network)
Friday, March 15
No. 1 seed vs. Winner of No. 8 vs. No. 9 (1 p.m., ESPN)
No. 4 seed vs. Winner of No. 5 vs. No. 12/No. 13 (25 minutes after end of previous game, ESPN)
No. 2 seed vs. Winner of No. 7 vs. No. 10 (7 p.m., SEC Network)
No. 3 seed vs. Winner of No. 6 vs. No. 11/No. 14 (25 minutes after end of previous game, SEC Network)
Saturday, March 16
Semifinal No. 1 (1 p.m., ESPN)
Semifinal No. 2 (25 minutes after end of previous game, ESPN)
Sunday, March 17
Championship (1 p.m., ESPN)
Bracket Predictions
1. LSU
2. Tennessee
3. Kentucky
4. South Carolina
5. Ole Miss
6. Mississippi State
7. Auburn
8. Florida
9. Arkansas
10. Alabama
11. Texas A&M
12. Missouri
13. Georgia
14. Vanderbilt
Entering the final day of the regular season on Saturday, LSU is in good position to secure the No. 1 seed. The Tigers play Vanderbilt, which is 0-17 in SEC play, and a victory will clinch the top spot.
Although Tennessee should beat Auburn to win a share of the SEC regular-season championship, LSU owns the tiebreaker over the Vols because the Tigers beat them 82-80 in overtime on Feb. 23.
Kentucky will slot in at No. 3 after the Wildcats end the regular season with a win over Florida.
South Carolina just needs to beat Georgia to secure the No. 4 seed, the lowest seed that receives a double bye, and the Gamecocks should have no trouble doing so on their home court.
After Auburn loses, it will be tied with Ole Miss and Mississippi State, which should each close out the regular season with wins over Missouri and Texas A&M, respectively. The Tigers went 1-3 combined against the Rebels and Bulldogs, so they'll fall to the No. 7 seed, with Ole Miss at No. 5 and Mississippi State at No. 6.
Arkansas has the opportunity to move up to the No. 9 seed with a win over Alabama, which the Razorbacks should be able to pull off on their home court. That would move the Crimson Tide down to No. 10.
Final Prediction
It appears to be a three-team race between LSU, Tennessee and Kentucky for this year's SEC tournament championship. The Tigers should have no problem reaching the final, as they'll be on the lighter top side of the bracket.
A semifinal between the Vols and Wildcats seems inevitable on the bottom half of the bracket, and it will be the Wildcats who not only advance to the final but then also beat the Tigers to again win the tournament championship and secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.