The 2025 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament gets underway on Wednesday night in Nashville. Earlier this year, ESPN's Jay Bilas stated that winning the SEC Tournament would actually be more difficult than winning the NCAA Tournament this year.
The league is as deep and as talented as it has ever been. Heading into the conference tournaments, Joe Lunardi currently has 13 SEC teams projected in his latest Bracketology with another (Texas) as one of the first four teams out.
Arkansas and Oklahoma are far from guaranteed to make it with the Hogs one of the last four byes and the Sooners as one of the last teams in. There's a lot riding on the tournament for the bubble teams.
There's also a lot riding on it for three of the four teams that got double byes. Auburn is locked into a No. 1 seed in the tournament regardless of what happens in Nashville. They'll probably be the No. 1 overall seed even if they lose right away in the Quarterfinals.
Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee are all in competition for the fourth and final No. 1 seed in the Big Dance. It could come down to which team goes the furthest in the SEC Tournament.
Let's take a look at the games and make some predictions on each game and which team ultimately earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. March Madness is here, folks.
Predicting the 2025 SEC Tournament
1st Round - Wednesday, March 12th
No. 9 Arkansas. vs. 16. South Carolina
Arkansas won four of its last five games to finish the regular season and are in solid standing for the NCAA Tournament. Their bubble situation will be tenuous going into Selection Sunday if they lose to South Carolina.
The Gamecocks stunned the Razorbacks at the beginning of the month, but that took an abnormally poor shooting night from John Calipari's crew. I doubt that happens again. Arkansas needs the win, and they should get it.
Pick: Arkansas 78, South Carolina 70
No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Texas
It's a must win for Texas in the opening round against Vanderbilt. The Commodores lost seven of their last 11 games but still look like an NCAA Tournament team regardless of what happens in Nashville. The Longhorns went 2-8 over their final 10 games and will not be an NCAA Tournament team without at least one win this week.
Luckily for Rodney Terry, Texas has SEC Freshman of the Year Tre Johnson on their side. He's the type of player who is built for March. I think he'll put the 'Horns on his back and deliver in Nashville as Texas knocks off Vanderbilt in a close one.
Pick: Texas 86, Vanderbilt 84
No. 10 Mississippi State vs. No. 15 LSU
LSU is one of two teams, along with South Carolina, that have no path to the NCAA Tournament without winning the whole tournament. The Tigers are capable of making this a tight game. In the only regular season meeting between the two, the Bulldogs knocked off the Tigers by 12 in Starkville.
Chris Jans' team lost four of five to end the regular season and will be looking to improve their NCAA Tournament seeding with a run in Nashville. They may not go far, but they should have enough to send the Tigers to Cancun.
Pick: Mississippi State 80, LSU 73
No. 11 Georgia vs. No 14. Oklahoma
A four-game winning streak to end the regular season took Georgia off the bubble. Oklahoma remains there, but the Sooners did win two straight themselves, knocking off Missouri and Texas to get themselves to the right side of the bubble. A win over the Bulldogs would likely be enough to solidify a tournament berth.
But I don't think they get it. Georgia won the regular season meeting by 10 in Athens and Mike White's team is playing as well as they have all year right now.
Pick: Georgia 77, Oklahoma 72
2nd Round - Thursday, March 13th
No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Arkansas
Ole Miss lost four of their last six games to finish the regular season. Arkansas has been playing better basketball recently, although they did lose the one meeting between the two in Fayetteville this season.
John Calipari may not care about the SEC Tournament. But he's got a track record of a lot of success in it. The Hogs advance.
Pick: Arkansas 70, Ole Miss 67
No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Texas
Tre Johnson vs. Wade Taylor IV in March? Yes, please. The two Texas rivals split the two regular season meetings. This would be the rubber match assuming the Longhorns can win the opening round game.
The Aggies play harder than the Longhorns. Buzz Williams will have his team attacking the glass and Texas has been vulnerable in that department. A&M wins.
Pick: Texas A&M 79, Texas 68
No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Mississippi State
Missouri dominated Mississippi State on the road in Starkville earlier in the season. The Tigers have been struggling, losing three in a row and four of their last five to close the regular season. But this is a bad matchup for the Bulldogs.
Pick: Missouri 96, Mississippi State 87
No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 11 Georgia
Kentucky is dealing with a lot of injuries and Georgia actually knocked off the Wildcats in the one regular season meeting. I like the way Georgia is playing right now and I think their run will continue with a win over Mark Pope's 'Cats.
Pick: Georgia 88, Kentucky, 86
Quarterfinals - Friday, March 14th
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 9 Arkansas
Auburn finished the season on a two-game losing streak and don't look quite as invincible as they once did this year. But the Tigers are clearly the better team here. It would be asking a lot for the Hogs to beat Auburn on a perfect day; doing so playing a third game in three days seems far-fetched.
Pick: Auburn 92, Arkansas 76
No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 5 Texas A&M
This will be a rock fight between two teams who love making games into backyard brawls. The Vols are the better team, as they proved with an eight-point win in College Station earlier this season. Let's not overthink it.
Pick: Tennessee 67, Texas A&M 62
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Missouri
This would be a revenge opportunity for a Florida team that lost at home to Missouri back in January. But the Gators went 9-1 down the stretch and that included road wins over Auburn and Alabama. I'm not sure there's a team playing better than the Gators right now. They advance.
Pick: Florida 90, Missouri 78
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 11 Georgia
This is where Georgia's Cinderella run would end. Alabama is a poor matchup for the Bulldogs, as evidenced by the Crimson Tide's 90-69 rout of them in Tuscaloosa just a few weeks ago.
Alabama seemed to get its swagger back with the road win over Auburn. I think that's going to continue in Nashville.
Pick: Alabama 93, Georgia 78
Semifinals - Saturday, March 15th
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 4 Tennessee
I do wonder how much motivation Auburn is going to have in Nashville. It seemed like the motivation that got them to where they were waned over the final two games, especially in the loss to Texas A&M.
Tennessee matched up well with Auburn in the regular season matchup on the Plains. The Tigers survived in an ugly 53-51 affair. If Auburn hasn't solved its issues on the glass, Rick Barnes' team could take advantage and pull an upset here.
Pick: Tennessee 73, Auburn 72
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 Alabama
Alabama got punked in the meeting in Tuscaloosa. The Gators dominated the glass and walked into Coleman Coliseum and walked out with a five-point win. You could say that Florida isn't the best matchup for the Tide, but Alabama has been one of the better rebounding teams in the country this season and I would think in a chance to do it over again, we'd see a different kind of effort from Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.
This one is a toss-up, but I like Alabama's chances in a rematch.
Pick: Alabama 89, Florida 87
Championship - Sunday, March 16th
No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 4 Tennessee
I'm sure Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide would relish a second crack at Tennessee after how the first game went. Alabama self-destructed down the stretch in Knoxville and Jahmai Mashack made them pay with a 30-footer at the buzzer.
I'm bullish on believing that Alabama was the better team and this would be the opportunity to prove it. Alabama wins and clinches a No. 1 seed.
Pick: Alabama 80, Tennessee 72