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Tennessee enters SEC men’s tourney as defending champs for first time in 43 years
For the first time since 1980, the Tennessee Volunteers are heading to the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament as the reigning champions.
The Vols entered last year’s 14-team extravaganza in Tampa having closed their regular season with a 9-1 record, and they waltzed through Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M by an average victory margin of 11.7 points. This year’s Tennessee team is just 4-6 since the start of February, though one of its wins was over Alabama, the SEC’s top seed later this week.
Tennessee, which concluded the regular season with a 22-9 overall record and an 11-7 league mark, will begin its title defense as the fifth seed Thursday afternoon against Wednesday night’s winner of 12th-seeded South Carolina and 13th-seeded Ole Miss.
Here is a rundown of the 65th SEC tournament — the 45th since its renewal in 1979 following a quarter-century hiatus — which is back in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena through 2030 with an option to extend through 2035:
ALABAMA
Seed: 1
Record: 26-5, 16-2 SEC
Next up: Friday afternoon (1 on ESPN) vs. Florida/ Mississippi State winner
Summary: The Crimson Tide will enter this weekend seeking a second SEC tournament title in three years, which could lead to the top overall seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Alabama has won seven SEC tourney titles, with five coming within the 10-year stretch from 1982-91.
TEXAS A&M
Seed: 2
Record: 23-8, 15-3 SEC Next up: Friday night (7 on SEC Network) vs. Auburn/ Arkansas winner
Summary: The Aggies are coming off Saturday’s downing of Alabama in College Station, and their 15 conference wins are the most since joining the league 2012. Texas A&M has reached the league championship game twice, losing to Kentucky in 2016 and to Tennessee last year, so this may be the most motivated team of the four with byes into Friday’s quarterfinals.
KENTUCKY
Seed: 3
Record: 21-10, 12-6 SEC
Next up: Friday night (9:30 on SEC Network) vs. Vanderbilt/Georgia/LSU
Summary: The Wildcats have won 31 SEC tournament titles through the years compared to 30 by the rest of the league combined, which includes the 1938 crown earned by former member Georgia Tech. John Calipari has never been the biggest fan of this event but has won it six times, topping the five by Wimp Sanderson, Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith since its reinstatement in 1979.
MISSOURI
Seed: 4
Record: 23-8, 11-7 SEC Next up: Friday afternoon (3:30 on ESPN) vs. Tennessee/ South Carolina/Ole Miss
Summary: The Tigers can credit their double bye to DeAndre Gholston’s heave from nearly 30 feet that sank Tennessee in Knoxville 86-85 on Feb. 11. Mizzou has a hideous SEC tournament history since joining the league 11 years ago, having yet to reach the semifinals and having been ineligible for the 2016 event.
TENNESSEE
Seed: 5
Record: 22-9, 11-7 SEC
Next up: Thursday afternoon (3:30 on SEC Network) vs. South Carolina/Ole Miss winner
Summary: The Vols ended their lengthy SEC tournament title drought a year ago and have been a factor in recent seasons, losing the title to Kentucky in 2018 and to Auburn in 2019. Tennessee also lost to Alabama in the 2021 semifinals, so in the last four tourneys staged by the league, the Vols have either won it or lost to the eventual champion.
VANDERBILT
Seed: 6
Record: 18-13, 11-7 SEC Next up: Thursday night (9:30 on SEC Network) vs. Georgia/LSU winner
Summary: The Commodores struggled in nonconference play, losing at home to Grambling State, but made so much noise down the stretch that they are now among NCAA tournament analyst Joe Lunardi’s “Next Four Out.” Vanderbilt needs to capitalize in its hometown, having won just the 1951 and 2012 SEC tournaments and last reaching the semifinals in 2017.
AUBURN
Seed: 7
Record: 20-11, 10-8 SEC
Next up: Thursday night (7 on SEC Network) vs. Arkansas
Summary: The Tigers secured their NCAA tournament spot with Saturday’s win over Tennessee and actually drew an opening foe in Arkansas that shouldn’t penalize them much should they go one-anddone for a second straight year. Auburn’s two SEC tournament titles transpired in 1985 and 2019, with the Tigers having to win four games in four days in each case.
FLORIDA
Seed: 8
Record: 16-15, 9-9 SEC
Next up: Thursday afternoon (1 on SEC Network) vs. Mississippi State
Summary: The Gators of Todd Golden went 7-0 against other first-year SEC coaches this winter, and another opportunity presents itself with Chris Jans and Mississippi State. Florida had never won the SEC tournament until 2005, when the Gators claimed the first of three straight. They added a fourth in 2014 but haven’t reached the semifinals since 2019.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Seed: 9
Record: 20-11, 8-10 SEC Next up: Thursday afternoon (1 on SEC Network) vs. Florida
Summary: The Bulldogs are the league’s chief NCAA tournament bubble team. Mississippi State, which won SEC tournaments in 1996, 2002 and 2009, is among the last four teams in the projected field according to CBS and ESPN, so multiple victories could be needed this week in Nashville to avoid a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.
ARKANSAS
Seed: 10
Record: 19-12, 8-10 SEC Next up: Thursday night (7 on SEC Network) vs. Auburn
Summary: The Razorbacks may be the league’s top mystery team given the injuries they’ve endured and given runs the past two seasons to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight. Arkansas has landed just one SEC tournament title (2000) since first competing in 1992, with the Hogs having been hampered by their 1-6 record in championship contests.
GEORGIA
Seed: 11
Record: 16-15, 6-12 SEC Next up: Wednesday night (9:30 on SEC Network) vs. LSU
Summary: The Bulldogs improved in Mike White’s first season but struggled down the stretch. Georgia won SEC tournament titles in 1983 and 2008 and has every right to still savor them both. The 1983 Bulldogs went on to reach the NCAA tournament’s Final Four, and the memorable 2008 SEC tourney had to be relocated to Georgia Tech after a tornado struck the Georgia Dome.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Seed: 12 Record: 11-20, 4-14 SEC
Next up: Wednesday night (7 on SEC Network) vs. Ole Miss
Summary: The Gamecocks of first-year coach Lamont Paris were picked last before the season, so earning the 12th seed could be deemed as a mild overachievement. South Carolina enters its 31st SEC tournament still seeking its first championship, with the Gamecocks having reached the title games of 1998 and 2006.
OLE MISS
Seed: 13
Record: 11-20, 3-15
Next up: Wednesday night (7 on SEC Network) vs. South Carolina
Summary: The Rebels are 32-58 all-time at the SEC tournament, with their 35.6% success clip the worst in the league. Ole Miss won unexpected titles in 1981 and 2013, but this season’s Rebels struggled in close contests and already have parted ways with fifth-year coach Kermit Davis.
LSU
Seed: 14
Record: 13-18, 2-16 SEC
Next up: Wednesday night (9:30 on SEC Network) vs. Georgia
Summary: The Tigers have a proud basketball history that includes four trips to the NCAA Final Four, but the SEC tournament has been an annual quagmire. LSU has a 6-21 record in SEC tourney semifinals and a 1-5 mark in title games, with its one championship occurring back in 1980.