The SEC has been, hands-down, the best conference in college basketball during the 2024-25 season. At least two-thirds of the league is expected to be in or considered for the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday.
But prior to that will be the conference tournament, which is setting up to be an absolute bloodbath; a must-watch event if you love the sport.
Projecting the 2025 SEC Tournament
The SEC tournament format is different from a simple No. 1 vs No. 16 bracket. Instead, seeds 9 through 16 will face off, with the winners facing seeds 5-8. Waiting for them in the quarterfinals are seeds 1-4.
We’ll project an SEC tournament bracket with explanations on each possible game leading up to the quarterfinals, where the top teams four teams will be waiting.
Our seeds will be based off of TeamRank, which uses odds and average projected seeds to establish a predicted SEC tournament field, beginning with a near sure-fire NCAA Tournament team facing off against a squad that’s winless in the conference so far.
First Round
No. 9 Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. No. 16 South Carolina Gamecocks
The Gamecocks’ failure to win a single conference game up to this point won’t bode well for their chances against the Bulldogs. This would be their third matchup of the season; Mississippi State won by 35 points at home and only 5 points — in overtime — on the road.
The Bulldogs should easily roll — but we’ve seen crazier things happen. With how strong the SEC has been this season, the Gamecocks are not an ordinary winless No. 16 seed in a conference tournament. No team should be taken lightly in this conference.
No. 10 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 15 LSU Tigers
If this turns out to be the matchup for the Tigers, they’ll likely be wishing it was against someone else. On Feb. 1, the Longhorns visited LSU and came out with a 31-point victory — easily their best performance of the season.
The Tigers had trouble stopping anyone defensively, as four of five Texas starters scored in double-figures.
LSU has won two in a row, so there is potential for a “peaking at the right time” scenario. Almost every year, a high seed makes a run through the conference tournament. Why not the Tigers?
No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks vs. No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners
This would be a tremendous first-round matchup. These two teams met in late January with the Sooners pulling out a 65-62 win on the road. Both teams still harbor slim hopes of making the NCAA Tournament field — a loss in this game would be devastating for those chances.
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Both teams have top players that are able to lead a deep run through the tournament; Oklahoma has freshman point guard Jeremiah Fears while the Razorbacks have forward Adou Thiero. Each will be considered for All-SEC honors.
Whoever wins this game will likely be considered a sneaky upset pick in their next matchup against the No. 6 seed, Texas A&M Aggies.
No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt Commodores
These squads have yet to meet this season, with their first and only matchup being the last game of the regular-season. A back-to-back meeting would be intriguing — especially with both teams believing they can make the Big Dance.
The Bulldogs are led by freshman forward Asa Newell, who’s dominated in SEC play while the prolific scoring of guard Jason Edwards makes the Commodores go.
This one would be tightly-contested with loads of NCAA Tournament implications.
Second Round
No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 9 Mississippi State/No. 16 South Carolina
How fun would an in-state rivalry taking place in the SEC tournament be? That’s exactly what we may have here, barring a huge upset by the Gamecocks.
They’ve played twice this season, with the Bulldogs coming out on top in both. They recently went to Oxford and came away with a 10-point victory — but beating the same team three straight times would be an extremely tough feat, especially against a rival.
No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats vs. No. 10 Texas/No. 15 LSU
The Wildcats would await the winner of the Longhorns and Tigers. While they don’t play LSU this season, Kentucky lost to Texas on Feb. 15, falling 82-78.
The Wildcats had no answer for freshman guard Tre Johnson, who poured in a season-high 32 points. If they meet again, Kentucky will need a better plan or else they’ll risk Johnson’s hot shooting sparking another upset win.
No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 11 Arkansas/No. 14 Oklahoma
There are no easy draws in the SEC this year, even for a team like the Aggies who sport six Quad 1 wins this season. The Razorbacks have already shown their ability to upset opponents, as evidenced by their convincing victory over Kentucky on the road.
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Oklahoma is in a free fall, having not won since Feb. 1. But their talent isn’t lacking, as they do have the duo of Fears and forward Jalon Moore.
No game will be easy in this tournament, but especially with this potential draw for Texas A&M.
No. 5 Missouri Tigers vs. No. 12 Georgia/No. 13 Vanderbilt
Missouri has handled both of these teams this season, making for a rather favorable matchup with either squad. The arrow is pointing up for the Tigers as the regular season comes to a finish in the next two weeks; they’ve won three games in a row, including a 12-point victory over the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Tigers have the potential to be a dark-horse SEC champion with their sheer offensive firepower. They should make it past this game — but don’t put it past the Bulldogs or Commodores to put up a fight.
Top-4 Seeds
No. 1 Auburn Tigers
To date, the Tigers have suffered just one loss in SEC play, undoubtably planting themselves as the best team in the conference across the regular-season.
SEC Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome has been the catalyst; but behind him, five more Tigers average double-digit scoring, with multiple players coming into their own as of late.
Auburn will be looking to pair a likely SEC regular-season championship with a conference title as well.
No. 2 Florida Gators
The only team to beat Auburn during the regular-season, the Gators sport a 10-3 conference record and 23-3 overall record.
Their three-headed monster of guards Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, and Will Richard have led the way for them this season. Forward Alex Condon has surged recently as well, providing a scoring punch in the front court.
Florida has sort of flown under the radar this season — but poses as big of a threat as anyone to Auburn.
No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama will be looking to repeat as SEC tournament champions, but it won’t be easy. Once again, they have a terrific team led by star point guard Mark Sears.
Backup guard Aden Holloway has continued to earn head coach Nate Oats’ trust as the season has gone along; he could be a key difference maker for the Tide.
However, two consecutive losses to Auburn and Missouri have pundits questioning if Alabama has what it takes to beat the best. They finish the season playing Tennessee, Florida, and Auburn again — the outcomes of those games will go a long way towards their confidence level come SEC tournament time.
No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers
The Volunteers have steadily been one of the best teams in the conference this season led by point guard Zakai Ziegler and the scoring of transfer guard Chaz Lanier. Fellow transfer, forward Igor Milicic Jr., is having an excellent season as well as a do-it-all glue-guy.
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Tennessee suffered a two-point loss to Auburn in January, but showed they could compete with the very best throughout the entire game. The Volunteers pose as a team that nobody wants to play due to their physical presence defensively.
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