SEC Tournament 2022: Quarterfinals Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions

Last year, Alabama won its first SEC tournament championship since 1991. This year, it's a guarantee that a different team will be winning the event's title.

On Thursday night, the Crimson Tide, who were the No. 6 seed in the 2022 SEC tournament, were knocked off by No. 11-seeded Vanderbilt in a second-round matchup. It was an impressive 82-76 victory for the Commodores, who previously defeated No. 14 Georgia in Wednesday's opening round.

If Vandy is going to keep its surprise run going, it will have to take down an even more challenging opponent, as it's set to take on No. 3-seeded Kentucky in one of Friday's four quarterfinal matchups. The Wildcats are among the four teams that received a double-bye and will be taking the court at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, for the first time on Friday.

Here's everything else you need to know heading into the quarterfinals of this year's SEC tournament.

Quarterfinals Schedule

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Friday, March 11

No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 8 Texas A&M, noon ET, ESPN

No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 5 LSU, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Mississippi State, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network

No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 11 Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Games can be streamed live on the ESPN app.

Auburn, Arkansas Will Advance to Semifinal Matchup

Michael Woods/Associated Press

There should be plenty of people who want to see a rematch between Auburn and Arkansas. The two teams played a thrilling game on Feb. 8, when the Razorbacks notched an 80-76 overtime victory against the Tigers. Could they meet again in the semifinals of the SEC tournament?

It's highly likely that will be the case, as both Auburn and Arkansas should be victorious in their respective first games of the conference tourney on Friday.

The Tigers are set to open the quarterfinal action with a matchup against No. 8-seeded Texas A&M, which pulled out an overtime win over No. 9 Florida on Thursday. However, there's a good chance that will be the Aggies' only victory of the tournament.

When Auburn and Texas A&M played on Feb. 12, the Tigers cruised to a 75-58 win. And as the No. 1 seed in the SEC tourney, Auburn has proved that it's too talented to get knocked off in the quarterfinals. Expect freshman forward Jabari Smith (17.1 points per game) to continue his impressive campaign with a big game.

Meanwhile, Arkansas will face a bit of a tougher test in going up against No. 5-seeded LSU. The Tigers reached this point by beating Missouri 76-68 in the second round. However, the Razorbacks have beaten LSU twice already this season.

The margins of victory in those matchups were seven and one, though, so it's quite possible that the Tigers will keep things close with the Razorbacks yet again.

Arkansas has the talent to close out a tight game, and that's what will happen on Friday. Then, it will be time to shift its focus to that exciting rematch against Auburn.

Predictions: Auburn beats Texas A&M; Arkansas beats LSU.

Tennessee, Kentucky Will Both Stave off Underdog Opponents

Wade Payne/Associated Press

After Auburn and Arkansas secure their spots in the semifinals, it will be time for Tennessee and Kentucky to try to do the same. While upsets are always possible in conference tournaments, it seems likely that isn't going to be the case in this year's SEC tourney.

No. 10-seeded Mississippi State and No. 11 Vanderbilt are both in the quarterfinals, which is something that not a lot of people may have predicted. It was a great feat achieved by both teams, but neither will advance any further.

Tennessee went on the road and secured a 72-63 win at Mississippi State on Feb. 9. That came during a stretch in which the Vols won nine of their final 10 games to close the regular season.

With a talented backcourt featuring freshman Kennedy Chandler (13.7 points per game) and junior Santiago Vescovi (13.5), Tennessee is clearly a stronger team than Mississippi State. The Vols should have no trouble earning a sizable victory over the Bulldogs.

Vanderbilt has been the surprise team of the SEC tournament thus far, as it's the only one of the four teams that played in the first round that's still standing. But the Commodores face a huge challenge in going up against Kentucky in the quarterfinals.

The Wildcats have won the SEC tourney title 31 times, while no other school has won more than seven championships. And it's hard to imagine that a John Calipari-coached team with this much talent could possibly lose their first game of the event to an underdog like Vandy.

So expect to see Tennessee and Kentucky cap off a day featuring the four favorites advancing to the SEC tournament semifinals.

Predictions: Tennessee beats Mississippi State; Kentucky beats Vanderbilt.