Where the Florida Gators are seeded and how to watch the SEC Tournament
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Saturday marked the first time since 2017 that the Southeastern Conference regular-season title came down to the last day of the season, when the Florida Gators and LSU finished with 21-9 records.
This year the Gators once again found themselves tied with another SEC West school, and sharing the SEC crown. Florida and Arkansas finished with identical 20-10 records in SEC play and were named Co-SEC Champions. The Gators claimed their 16th SEC Regular-Season Championship including the program’s sixth under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
The SEC Tournament will start on Tuesday at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in Hoover, Alabama. Florida will play the winner of Kentucky and Alabama at approximately 5:30 on Wednesday.
How the Gators earned the No. 1 seed
Hollywood writers couldn’t have scripted it any better. On the final day of the season there were three games, all starting within two hours of each other that had major implications on who would win the SEC Championship. Florida, Arkansas, and LSU could all stake their claim. Florida had the hardest path.
The Gators needed to win on the road at Kentucky. They needed Georgia to beat LSU and for Vanderbilt to beat Arkansas. The stars aligned and the scenario played out exactly as it needed to.
With Florida and Arkansas tied, the tiebreaker that came into effect was record against the next highest-ranked similar opponent. That was Vandebrlt. Florida swept Vanderbilt at home, while the Razorbacks had just dropped two of three.
The strong finish to the season will all but assuredly lock in Florida as one of the eight National Seeds for the NCAA Tournament. That means the Gators will be able to play at home the rest of the season after finishing up in the SEC Tournament.
Full SEC Tournament bracket
Tuesday, May 23 (single elimination)
Game 1 (10:30 a.m.) – #6 South Carolina vs. #11 Georgia [SEC Network]
Game 2 (TBD) – #7 Tennessee vs. #10 Texas A&M [SEC Network]
Game 3 (5:30 p.m.) – #8 Kentucky vs. #9 Alabama [SEC Network]
Game 4 (TBD) – #5 Auburn vs. #12 Missouri [SEC Network]
Wednesday, May 24 (Double elimination format)
Game 5 (10:30 a.m.) – #3 LSU vs. Winner Game 1 [SEC Network]
Game 6 (TBD) – #2 Arkansas vs. Winner Game 2 [SEC Network]
Game 7 (5:30 p.m.) – #1 Florida vs. Winner Game 3 [SEC Network]
Game 8 (TBD) – #4 Vanderbilt vs. Winner Game 4 [SEC Network]
Thursday, May 25
Game 9 (10:30 a.m.) – Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 [SEC Network]
Game 10 (TBD) – Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 [SEC Network]
Game 11 (5:30 p.m.) – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 [SEC Network]
Game 12 (TBD) – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 [SEC Network]
Friday, May 26
Game 13 (4 p.m.) – Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11 [SEC Network]
Game 14 (TBD) – Winner Game 10 vs. Loser 12 [SEC Network]
Saturday, May 27 (Single elimination for the duration of the tournament)
Game 15 (1:00 pm) – Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 11 [SEC Network]
Game 16 ( TBD) – Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 12 [SEC Network]
Sunday, May 28
Game 17 (3 p.m.) – Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16 [ESPN2]
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