SEC Tournament 2020: Nashville Schedule, Bracket and Storylines to Watch

Keegan PopeMar 8, 2020

The status of the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament has been sewn up for the better part of a week, but the final few days of the regular season weren't short on intrigue.

Kentucky cinched up its sixth SEC regular-season title this decade with a 73-66 win over No. 15 Auburn, avenging one of its three conference losses. On the other end of the standings, losses Saturday by Arkansas, Ole Miss and Georgia moved Missouri into the No. 10 seed, and Cuonzo Martin's squad now avoids the dreaded Wednesday night play-in game.

The loss for Arkansas, as well as Tennessee's defeat at the hands of Auburn and South Carolina's loss to last-place Vanderbilt, didn't do anything for the league's NCAA tournament bubble hopes. Mississippi State, meanwhile, moved itself onto the bubble with its season-ending win over Ole Miss.

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Key Storylines to Watch

Who Plays Their Way In or Out of the NCAA Tournament?

Any of the four SEC bubble teams—Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and Mississippi State—will almost certainly need a minimum of two wins in Nashville, and most likely three, to guarantee themselves an at-large bid.

For the Razorbacks, making the tournament off the 11-line would have seemed like a pipe dream a month ago when guard Isaiah Joe went down with an injury and Arkansas lost five straight games. But with Joe back in the lineup, the Razorbacks have won three of their final five games and have a chance to play their way in by beating Vanderbilt on Wednesday, South Carolina on Thursday and LSU on Friday.

Meanwhile, Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi State, despite having better SEC records than Arkansas, will almost certainly need to win a minimum of three games in three days to lock themselves into a berth.

As the No. 4 seed, Mississippi State will wait until Thursday night to learn its fate, though a showdown with the fifth-seeded Gators, whom the Bulldogs beat in their only matchup this season, is likely.

For the Vols, if they can top Alabama on Thursday, a date with Kentucky awaits in the quarterfinals. The teams split their two matchups in SEC play, with the Vols getting a rare road win at Rupp Arena on Tuesday.

Does Ashton Hagans Return to Kentucky's Lineup?

Speaking of Kentucky, shortly before the Wildcats tipped off against Florida on Saturday, head coach John Calipari announced on Twitter that starting guard Ashton Hagans did not travel with the team and would be taking a brief leave of absence because of personal reasons.

Kentucky pulled off a somewhat miraculous comeback over Florida without him, getting big contributions from Nate Sestina, Johnny Juzang and Keion Brooks Jr. The win was undoubtedly impressive, considering how heavily the 'Cats rely on him, but the question then becomes whether he'll be available when Kentucky opens play Friday against the winner of Alabama and Tennessee. Hagans is the team's offensive catalyst from the point guard spot—averaging 6.4 assists per game—and arguably its best perimeter defender.

Below is the complete 2020 SEC tournament schedule (note that all times are Central):

Wednesday, March 11

First round

Game 1—No. 12 Ole Miss vs. No. 13 Georgia, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 2—No. 11 Arkansas vs. No. 14 Vanderbilt, approximately 8:30 p.m., SEC Network

Thursday, March 12

Second round

Game 3—No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 9 Alabama, noon, SEC Network

Game 4—No. 5 Florida vs. Winner Game 1, approximately 2:30 p.m., SEC Network

Game 5—No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Missouri, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 6—No. 6 South Carolina vs. Winner Game 2, approximately 8:30 p.m., SEC Network

Friday, March 13