March is here, and sports fans know what that means — the apex of the college basketball season. But before we get to see who will be cutting down the nets as the late, great Luther Vandross’ “One Shining Moment” plays, conference tournaments will be taking place across the map.
Some teams will have to win their conference title to make it to the Big Dance while others have built a sufficient résumé to be one of the 68 teams vying for a national title. In the SEC, which consists of Mississippi State and Ole Miss as member institutions, action on the hardwood will tip off in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday to determine this year’s conference’s banner holder.
A conference deemed the toughest in the nation, the SEC has 13 teams projected to be featured in the NCAA Tournament, which would break the Big East’s record 11-team showing in 2011. With that being said, the SEC Tournament is anticipated to showcase a collection of some of the sport’s heavyweights. The four highest-seeded teams — Auburn, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee — are ranked in the top eight, per the Associated Press.
Ole Miss (21-10, 10-8 SEC), which defeated two of the aforementioned squads, came in as a No. 8 seed, whereas Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10 SEC) was handed the No. 10 seed. The Bulldogs will take on No. 15 seed LSU in the penultimate matchup of Wednesday’s action. The winner of that matchup will face No. 7 seed Missouri on Thursday night.
The Rebels will enjoy a day off and await the winner of the contest between No. 9 seed Arkansas and No. 16 seed South Carolina to know who they will be playing on Thursday at noon. The full bracket can be found below:
The single-elimination tournament will be whittled down to just a pair of teams who will compete on Sunday to be the newest SEC champion. Will one of the frontrunners don the crown or will a Cinderella emerge? That will all be determined over the next few days.
How to watch
The first two rounds of the SEC Tournament will air on the SEC Network. Mississippi State’s 6 p.m. CT matchup against LSU and Ole Miss’ 12 p.m. CT outing on Thursday will also be broadcast on participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
On Friday, the first two contests will air on ESPN and the final two will be televised on the SEC Network. ESPN will carry the semi-finals on Saturday and Sunday’s championship game.
What’s next
For the first time in history, Mississippi State and Ole Miss are projected to be in the NCAA Tournament in both men’s and women’s basketball at the same time. Though the results of Selection Sunday will officially determine each team’s fate, industry experts have made educated projections of where each team will be when March Madness officially begins.
On the men’s side, Ole Miss sits in the No. 7 seed range while Mississippi State is anticipated to be in the No. 8-9 seed ballpark. Meanwhile, the Lady Rebels are projected to host in the early rounds of the tournament as a No. 4 seed. The Lady Bulldogs are listed as a No. 9 seed.
The men’s NCAA Tournament selection show will air on CBS this Sunday beginning at 5 p.m. CT, while the women’s will begin at 7 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN. And before you know it, brackets will be overflowing.
