The top SEC teams don't suit up until Friday, but the bottom four teams in the conference play in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. It is a long haul to make it through the SEC Tournament, which has a format that favors the top dogs -- the top four seeds have byes through the first two rounds.
SEC Tournament 2014 schedule and bracket: Bottom of the barrel opens on Wednesday
Kentucky, Florida and the other top teams in the SEC have a bye until Friday.
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
No. 12 Auburn faces No. 13 South Carolina to tip off the tournament. Auburn finished close to .500 overall but the Tigers struggled in conference play. Auburn ended the regular season with a 6-12 mark in SEC play, one game better than South Carolina at 5-13. Chris Denson led Auburn to two wins over South Carolina this year, scoring 25 points in the first meeting and 22 points in the second. As good as he was, Brenton Williams was even better for South Carolina, scoring a total of 55 points in the two games. Unfortunately for Williams, the rest of the South Carolina offense struggled to get going.
The second game of the evening pits No. 11 Vanderbilt against No. 14 Mississippi State. Vanderbilt finished conference play tied with Alabama at 7-11, but the Tide held the edge on the tiebreaker. The Commodores come into the SEC Tournament on a four-game slide that featured their worst performance this season in a 76-38 loss to Tennessee. That offense probably won’t struggle against Mississippi State, who had the worst defense in SEC play. Conference opponents shot 47.1 percent against the Bulldogs to the tune of 75.3 points per game, the worst marks in the SEC.
Onions!: Presenting POPPIN' THURSDAY
Here is the schedule for the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday, March 12:
No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 13 South Carolina, 7 p.m. ET, SEC TV/ESPN3
No. 11 Vanderbilt vs. No. 14 Mississippi State, 25 minutes after Game 1, SEC TV/ESPN3
A link to the full SEC Tournament can be viewed here.
See More:
