Getty Kentucky and Tennessee are two of the favorites heading into the 2019 SEC tournament.
The SEC tournament is upon us as teams play a few final games before March Madness tips off. The 2019 SEC tournament begins on Wednesday, March 13th with the championship taking place on Sunday, March 17th just before the NCAA tournament field is revealed. Kentucky head coach John Calipari has been open about his disdain for the SEC tournament.
“You know I can’t stand (conference) tournaments,” Calipari told 247 Sports. “I’m not a big proponent of playing three or four days in a row here at the end of the year. We already have a league champ or will have one. What are we doing this for? So that’s me. But our fans at Kentucky love this tournament. They love it, so we go and try to play as well as we can for our fans but the only thing we’ll use this weekend is for the next weekend. That’s it. I’m not a big conference tournament guy. Never have been. Never was at UMass and I never was at Memphis. The (NCAA) tournament is the real one.”
Calipari has been vocal about his belief that the selection committee does not factor in the SEC tournament into their seeding. This is partly why the Wildcats coach believes there is little incentive for teams to win the tournament if they do not benefit in their March Madness seeding.
Kentucky and Tennessee are viewed as the two favorites to win the SEC title. For either team to have a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, they will likely have to win the SEC tournament.
LSU has also been playing well and proved they can hang with any team in the conference. The Tigers could be without their coach Will Wade who has been suspended indefinitely as the school investigates his alleged involvement in a pay-for-play scheme.
Here’s a look at the SEC tournament schedule, seeds and bracket based on the current standings.
SEC Tournament Bracket 2019
Here is a look at the SEC tournament schedule based on the current standings. We will be updating this throughout the day as SEC games are completed.
| FIRST ROUND | SECOND ROUND | QUARTERFINALS | SEMIFINALS | CHAMPIONSHIP |
| 9 Arkansas | ||||
| 1 LSU | ||||
| 8 Florida | ||||
| 13 Georgia | 4 South Carolina | |||
| 5 Auburn | ||||
| 12 Missouri | ||||
| 10 Alabama | ||||
| 2 Kentucky | ||||
| 7 Ole Miss | ||||
| 14 Vandy | 3 Tennessee | |||
| 6 Miss St. | ||||
| 11 TAMU |
SEC Tournament Schedule 2019
Here is a look at the SEC tournament schedule based on the current seeding. We will be updating this throughout the day as SEC games are completed.
| DATE | TEAMS | TIME (ET)/TV |
| Wed., March 13 | 12 Missouri vs. 13 UGA | 7 p.m. SECN |
| Wed., March 13 | 14 Vandy vs. 11 TAMU | 9 p.m. SECN |
| Thurs., March 14 | 9 Arkansas vs. 8 Florida | 1 p.m. SECN |
| Thurs., March 14 | TBD vs. 5 Auburn | 3 p.m. SECN |
| Thurs., March 14 | 10 Alabama vs. 7 Ole Miss | 7 p.m. SECN |
| Thurs., March 14 | TBD vs 6 Miss. St. | 9 p.m. SECN |
| Fri., March 15 | TBD vs. 1 LSU | 1 p.m. ESPN |
| Fri., March 15 | TBD vs. 4 South Carolina | 3 p.m. ESPN |
| Fri., March 15 | TBD vs. 2 Kentucky | 7 p.m. SECN |
| Fri., March 15 | TBD vs. 3 Tennessee | 9 p.m. SECN |
| Sat., March 16 | Semifinals | 1 p.m. ESPN |
| Sat., March 16 | Semifinals | 3 p.m. ESPN |
| Sun., March 17 | Championship | 1 p.m. ESPN |