NASHVILLE — Four teams departed in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. Four more teams will take the court for the first time in today’s second round.
Among them: Kentucky basketball, led by first-year coach Mark Pope. The three other teams making their Bridgestone Arena debut this week are Missouri, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Wednesday’s four victors are back in action again: Arkansas (a 72-68 winner over South Carolina), Texas (a 79-72 winner over Vanderbilt), Mississippi State (a 91-62 winner over LSU) and Oklahoma (an 81-75 winner over Georgia).
Ninth-seeded Arkansas and coach John Calipari start the proceedings for the second straight day, facing 8-seed Ole Miss. Then 13-seed Texas takes on in-state rival Texas A&M (the 5-seed). Seventh-seeded Missouri starts off the nightcap with a matchup against 10-seed Mississippi State.
Then Pope and the sixth-seeded Cats close the proceedings when it squares off with 14-seed Oklahoma, which felled Georgia.
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As the SEC aims to set a single-season record for most NCAA Tournament bids by one league, the top-eight seeds are the conference tourney are all but guaranteed to be part of March Madness. The Razorbacks’ win Wednesday should have locked up their at-large berth; Mississippi State also should be breathing easier. After its seven-point victory over Vanderbilt, Texas enters today listed as the “first team out” of the Big Dance, per ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, so it still has more work to do in Nashville. And the Sooners, among Lunardi’s “last four in” to the NCAA Tournament if it started today, only continued to help themselves thanks to their win over UGA.
With four more high-profile contests on tap today, it should be an exciting day of hoops from the Music City.
Follow along below with live updates from Nashville:
How to watch second-round games in 2025 SEC Tournament
All second-round matchups today in the SEC Tournament will air on SEC Network.
Authenticated subscribers can access SEC Network via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
You also can stream SEC Network on Fubo, which offers a free trial.
SEC Tournament schedule
All times Eastern
Wednesday, March 12
First round
Game 1: No. 9 Arkansas 72, No. 16 South Carolina 68
Game 2: No. 13 Texas 79, No. 12 Vanderbilt 72
Game 3: No. 10 Mississippi State 91, No. 15 LSU 62
Game 4: No. 14 Oklahoma 81, No. 11 Georgia 75
Thursday, March 13
Second round
Game 5: No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Arkansas, 1 p.m., SEC Network
Game 6: No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Texas, 3:30 p.m.*, SEC Network
Game 7: No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Mississippi State, 7 p.m., SEC Network
Game 8: No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oklahoma, 9:30 p.m.*, SEC Network
Friday, March 14
Quarterfinals
Game 9: No. 1 Auburn vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
Game 10: No. 4 Tennessee vs. Game 6 winner, 3:30 p.m.*, ESPN
Game 11: No. 2 Florida vs. Game 7 winner, 7 p.m.*, SEC Network
Game 12: No. 3 Alabama vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.*, SEC Network
Saturday, March 15
Semifinals
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 3:30 p.m.*, ESPN
Sunday, March 16
Final
Championship game: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
*Denotes approximate start times
SEC Tournament bracket
SEC tournament predictions
Who will win 2025 SEC Tournament?
While an argument could legitimately be made that any of the top-eight seeds will capture this year’s conference tourney title, we’re picking Florida to return to the championship game for the second straight season. But this time, the Gators bring home the title instead of settling for runner-up.
Florida will drop Missouri in the quarterfinals and Alabama in the semifinals before facing Tennessee (which upsets Auburn in the other semifinal) in the championship contest. In the third meeting between the Gators and Volunteers this season, Florida wins the rubber match for its first league tournament crown since 2014.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
