SEC Tournament 2022: Bracket Seeds, Odds, Matchups and Predictions
Auburn won the SEC regular-season championship this season. Alabama is the defending SEC tournament champion. Kentucky has had the most past SEC tourney success, having won the event a whopping 31 times. Yet it's possible none of those three schools win this year's tournament.
The 2022 SEC tournament is set to begin Wednesday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, and there's no overwhelming favorite for this year's competition. No. 1-seeded Auburn, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 4 Arkansas are the top contenders, but there's also the potential for upsets.
The top four seeds are the best teams in the SEC this year, though, as they are the only squads that finished the regular season with winning records in conference play. Five teams finished at 9-9, including Alabama.
Here's everything you need to know heading into the 2022 SEC tournament.
2022 SEC Tournament Schedule
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1st Round (Wednesday)
Game 1: No. 12 Missouri vs. No. 13 Ole Miss, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 2: No. 11 Vanderbilt vs. No. 14 Georgia, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network
2nd Round (Thursday)
Game 3: No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 Florida, noon ET, SEC Network
Game 4: No. 5 LSU vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 5: No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Mississippi State, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 6: No. 6 Alabama vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Quarterfinals (Friday)
Game 7: No. 1 Auburn vs. Game 3 winner, noon ET, ESPN
Game 8: No. 4 Arkansas vs. Game 4 winner, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 9: No. 2 Tennessee vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 10: No. 3 Kentucky vs. Game 6 winner, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Semifinals (Saturday)
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Championship (Sunday)
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Odds to Win SEC Tournament Title
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Kentucky: +190 (bet $100 to win $190)
Auburn: +260
Tennessee: +330
Arkansas: +750
LSU: +1000
Alabama: +1500
Florida: +4000
Mississippi State: +5000
Texas A&M: +7000
South Carolina: +10000
Vanderbilt: +25000
Ole Miss: +50000
Missouri: +50000
Georgia: +50000
Tournament Predictions
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Auburn and Tennessee may be the top two seeds in this year's SEC tournament, but there's a decent chance that neither ends up in the championship game Sunday. That's because Kentucky and Arkansas are formidable opponents that will pose plenty of challenges in the projected semifinals.
While upsets are always possible—especially in March—it seems highly likely that the top four seeds will reach the semifinals of this tourney. All four received a byes into the quarterfinals, and each should beat an inferior opponent in its first game of the event.
No. 1 Auburn will face off against No. 4 Arkansas, while No. 2 Tennessee and No. 3 Kentucky will go head-to-head. These should be exciting matchups, not least because there are championship game berths on the line.
When Auburn and Arkansas faced off at Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 8, it was a thrilling contest. The Razorbacks pulled out an 80-76 win in overtime after scoring 14 points in the final three minutes and eight seconds to come away with the victory. Will the Razorbacks have similar success against Auburn on a neutral court?
The prediction here is that the Razorbacks will again knock off the Tigers in another close game. The difference will be the play of Arkansas senior guard JD Notae, who has consistently put up big scoring totals throughout the season.
As for the other semifinal, despite Tennessee's higher seeding, the smart pick is Kentucky. The teams split their pair of regular-season matchups, but Wildcats head coach John Calipari will guide his team to victory in the rubber match.
Kentucky has a talented lineup and a history of succeeding in March, especially under Calipari.
That will set up another exciting rematch in the championship game. In the previous meeting, the Razorbacks beat the Wildcats 75-73 on Feb. 26, shooting 48.3 percent from the field and getting 30 points from Notae.
Notae's leadership and Arkansas' confidence in its ability to take down the SEC's other top teams will lead it to more success on the conference's biggest stage. The Razorbacks' lone previous SEC tournament victory came in 2000, but they are finally going to end that title drought this year.
Prediction: Arkansas beats Kentucky in the championship game.
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