SEC Tournament 2025: Men's Bracketology, TV Schedule, Dates, Live Stream and Picks
The deepest conference in men's college basketball descends upon Nashville next week to name a postseason champion.
The Auburn Tigers head into the 2025 SEC tournament as the top seed, but a case could be made for numerous teams to cut down the nets next Sunday.
Auburn is the reigning champion of the event, and while it does have the luxury of the top seed, it comes into Nashville off a loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. A third Auburn-Alabama matchup can only happen in the final.
The Tigers, Crimson Tide, Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers landed the top four seeds and automatic spots in the quarterfinals.
Winning the SEC tournament from a first-or-second-round start seems impossible looking at the bracket, but it has been done recently.
2025 SEC Tournament Schedule and Bracket
Wednesday, March 12
No. 9 Arkansas vs. No. 16 South Carolina (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 10 Mississippi State vs. No. 15 LSU (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 14 Oklahoma (9:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Thursday, March 13
No. 8 Ole Miss vs. Arkansas/South Carolina winner (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 5 Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt/Texas winner (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 7 Missouri vs. Mississippi State/LSU winner (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 6 Kentucky vs. Georgia/Oklahoma winner (9:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Friday, March 14
No. 1 Auburn vs. Ole Miss-Arkansas/South Carolina winner (1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 4 Tennessee vs. Texas A&M-Vanderbilt/Texas winner (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 2 Florida vs. Missouri-Mississippi State-LSU winner (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 3 Alabama vs. Kentucky-Georgia/Oklahoma winner (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Saturday, March 15
Semifinal No. 1 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Semifinal No. 2 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sunday, March 16
Championship Game (1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
All games can be live-streamed on ESPN.com and ESPN app.
SEC Tournament Expected to Be As Competitive As Regular Season
The SEC regular season produced some of the best men's basketball games of the year.
The second Auburn-Alabama clash, won by the Crimson Tide on Saturday, was the final one of those thrillers.
Each of the top four seeds in the SEC tournament won at least 12 games in league play. No. 5 seed Texas A&M had 11 wins and three others had 10 victories.
Auburn, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama have the advantage on paper since they do not start play until Friday's quarterfinals.
However, if there is a team that knows how to go on a long run, it's A&M, who reached the final as a No. 8 seed under Buzz Williams in 2022.
A&M and Alabama handed Auburn back-to-back losses to end the regular season.
You could even go down the list to No. 6 seed Kentucky as a potential SEC tournament winner. The Wildcats beat Tennessee twice, have a win over Florida and finished with wins in three of their last four regular-season games.
No matter who wins, the quarterfinals, semifinals and final should produce some of the highest intensity basketball we'll see during Championship Week.
Are Any Bubble Teams Capable of Making Deep Run in Nashville?
The Arkansas Razorbacks, Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are the only SEC teams hovering around the NCAA tournament bubble.
Arkansas is in the best shape of the trio. The Hogs won four of their last five games and held on to a solid win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday.
Arkansas resides on the Last Four Byes line, per ESPN's Joe Lunardi, Oklahoma is the Last Team in and Texas is the Second Team Out.
John Calipari's Razorbacks have the best path to the quarterfinals as the No. 9 seed. They should enact revenge against the South Carolina Gamecocks and will be on a level playing field with the Ole Miss Rebels.
Oklahoma would get Kentucky in the second round if it beats the Georgia Bulldogs, while Texas has a potential rivalry game lined up with A&M in the second round if it beats the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Oklahoma and Texas probably need to get to the quarterfinals to feel comfortable in case any bid stealers emerge. Arkansas should be safe as long as it avoids a second loss to South Carolina.
Winning five games in five days is the only to guarantee a spot in the field of 68, but with how deep the SEC is, there are quality wins there for the taking starting in the second round.
A run even to the final eight might be enough for any of the three teams to confirm their spot in the Big Dance.
Prediction
Auburn over Florida
A case could be made that Auburn needs a good week in Nashville more than any of the top seeds.
The Tigers ended the regular season with two losses to Texas A&M and Alabama. It was the first time this season they dropped consecutive games.
Auburn is still a national title contender, but it needs a few wins to restore some confidence ahead of the NCAA tournament.
Florida has one loss since February 4 and it owns wins over each of the other top-four seeds in the SEC.
Auburn is the SEC's best team, when it is at its best, and Florida is the hottest team in the league right now.
As much as a third Auburn-Alabama game would be fun to see, an Auburn-Florida matchup seems more likely with the way the Gators are playing.