The SEC tournament, which begins Wednesday, March 8 and runs through Sunday, is back in Music City after a year-long stint in Florida. The tournament will be broadcast live on fuboTV (free trial).
Eight teams are currently expected to compete in the NCAA tournament when Sunday’s bracket is announced, with Mississippi state in the bubble. The SEC has five ranking teams, led by No. 4 Alabama, with both Vanderbilt and Arkansas also receiving votes.
Alabama is able to repeat the same double dip that the 2021 Crimson Tide managed in Nashville when they combined the regular-season SEC title with the tournament championship.
First the Tide (26-5) must shake off its slowly beginning woes. They have suffered double-digit deficits in each of their last three games, including a 67-61 loss in the regular-season finals at Texas A&M. Alabama will not play either Mississippi State or Florida until Friday.
No. 17 Tennessee (22-9) is the tournament’s defending champion after surviving its own 41-year drought. The Volunteers can only hope that this experience and playing near Knoxville will help them finish their five-game SEC road sled.
And then there’s AP SEC Coach of the Year Buzz Williams, who has No. 18 Texas A&M on the same side of the table as No. 23 Kentucky, who hasn’t won that event since 2018.
When is the SEC tournament?
The SEC tournament begins Wednesday, March 8th and runs through Sunday, March 12th.
Will it be streamed live?
Football TV
The SEC tournament will be broadcast live on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic plan is the “fubo pro” package, which includes 146+ channels for $74.99 per month. As with all cord cutting alternatives, there are many options, especially for sports. It comes with 1,000+ hours of cloud-based DVR and up to 10 screens simultaneously.
There is also the “fubo elite” package which includes 205+ channels for $84.99 per month. It comes with fuboExtra (48 more channels) and News Plus (11 more channels). Plus 1,000+ hours of cloud-based DVR and up to 10 screens simultaneously.
The fubo Premiere package is fubo elite with the addition of Showtime for $94.99 per month.
Which TV station will broadcast the SEC tournament?
SEC tournament games will be broadcast on the SEC Network and ESPN.
tournament schedule
Wednesday March 8th
- Game 1: No. 12 South Carolina vs. No. 13 Ole Miss, 6 p.m., SEC Network
- Game 2: #11 Georgia vs. #14 LSU, 8 p.m., SEC Network
Thursday, March 9th
- Game 3: No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Mississippi State, Noon, SEC Network
- Game 4: No. 5 Tennessee vs. Winner Game 1, 2 p.m., SEC Network
- Game 5: No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 10 Arkansas, 6 p.m. SEC Network
- Game 6: No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. Winner Game 2, 8 p.m., SEC Network
Friday March 10th
- Game 7: No. 1 Alabama vs. Winner Game 3, noon, ESPN
- Game 8: No. 4 Missouri vs. Winner Game 4, 2 p.m., ESPN
- Game 9: No. 2 Texas A&M vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m., SEC Network
- Game 10: No. 3 Kentucky vs. Winner Game 6, 8 p.m., SEC Network
Saturday March 11th
- Game 11: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, Noon, ESPN
- Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 2 p.m. ESPN
Sunday March 12th
- Championship game, noon, ESPN
preview
KENTUCKY’S DROUGHT: The Wildcats have not won the SEC tournament title since finishing 31st in 2018. They teetered on the NCAA bubble for much of the SEC roster before securing the No. 3 seed. They play the final game on Friday night, giving coach John Calipari time to find a point guard.
Hours after Sahvir Wheeler underwent a medical procedure that Calipari said would sideline him for a couple of weeks, starting supervisor Cason Wallace injured his left leg in a loss to Vanderbilt last week. Calipari is hoping Wallace and CJ Fredrick (ribs) can train this week. He also needs more from his reserves.
“The guys on the bench, the best thing is that they all had a chance now,” Calipari said on his radio show.
MISSING PLAYERS: Several teams will be missing key contributors in Nashville. The Volunteers lost starting point guard Zakai Zeigler to a cruciate ligament tear in the win against Arkansas last week. Vanderbilt lost last week in his Kentucky M Liam Robbins win to a lower leg injury that required season-ending surgery.
Florida big man Colin Castleton has missed the last five games with a broken right hand, with the Gators going 2-3 in his absence. He is the Gators’ top scorer and rebounder and still ranks eighth nationally with 78 blocked shots and fourth with an average of three blocks per game.
MILLER AT HOME: Alabama freshman Brandon Miller, the AP SEC player and Newcomer of the Year, will play in his hometown. Being back in Nashville won’t protect him from fans of opposing teams who have been taunting the SEC’s top scorer with a variety of chants.
Police said Miller supplied the gun used in the January shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Harris, although Miller’s attorney said he never touched it and was unaware it would be used in a crime.
STRIPES: Coach Jerry Stackhouse lets Vanderbilt do his best at the right time. The Commodores have won three straight games and eight of nine, including their first win at the Rupp Arena since 2007, a stunning win over Tennessee and a win over Florida.
No. 25 Missouri won’t play until Friday after racking up four straight wins in coach Dennis Gates’ debut season. Georgia has the longest deficit in the league with five consecutive defeats.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.