SEC Teams in the 2022 Men’s Basketball Tournament
Selection Sunday has come and gone and the 68-team field is set, including six teams from the SEC who will be dancing in this year's March Madness.
Here's a look at the six SEC teams and how they've performed up until this point:
Auburn Tigers
Auburn (27-4, 15-3) claimed a No. 2 seed in the tournament, and is in the Midwest Region.
The Tigers started of the season with an impressive 22-1 record, with wins against the likes of Kentucky, Alabama, and the Ohio Valley Conference champions, Murray State, who clinched a No. 7 seed in the tournament. The team struggled to the end of the season though, recording 5-3 in its last eight games with each of their three losses coming on the road. Auburn still ended up getting the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, where they got stunned against No. 8 Texas A&M in its first game, losing to the Aggies 67-62.
No. 2 Auburn will play No. 15 Jacksonville State in its first round game on Friday, March 18 at 11:40 a.m. CT on truTV.
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky (25-6, 14-4) clinched a No. 2 seed in the tournament, and is in the East Region.
The Wildcats began its season with a loss to blue blood rival Duke, but rebounded to have a good season, claiming wins against Big 12 Tournament champion Kansas, North Carolina, split their season series with Tennessee, and swept Alabama in its season series. Kentucky went undefeated at home, but struggled on the road down the stretch, losing two of their last three road match-ups of the regular season. In the SEC Tournament, they got the No. 3 seed, where the Wildcats proceeded to beat Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals, but lost to Tennessee in the semifinals.
No. 2 Kentucky will play No. 15 Saint Peter's in its first round game on Thursday, March 17 at 6:10 p.m. CT on CBS.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee (23-7, 14-4) received a No. 3 seed in the tournament, and is in the South Region.
The Volunteers started its season off with 11 out of conference games, going 9-2 and getting some impressive non SEC wins against teams like: Pac 12 Tournament champion Arizona, who received a No. 1 seed in the tournament, and North Carolina, but losing to Big East Tournament champion Villanova and Texas Tech. Tennessee lost its first SEC game of the season to Alabama, but bounced back, going undefeated at home and getting wins against other tournament teams like Auburn, as well as splitting their season series against both Tennessee and Arkansas. Due to beating Kentucky in a tiebreaker, the Volunteers got the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament and ended up beating Mississippi State in the quarterfinals, Kentucky in the semifinals, and Texas A&M in the finals to win the tournament.
No. 3 Tennessee will play No. 14 Longwood in its first round game on Thursday, March 17 at 1:45 p.m. CT on CBS.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas (24-7, 13-5) locked up a No. 4 seed in the tournament, and will play in the West Region.
The Razorbacks' season seesawed between winning and losing spurts, as the team started out 9-0, before immediately going 1-5, then ending the season 14-2. Arkansas got some impressive wins on its 14-2 run to end the season, including: against Auburn, who as ranked No.1 at the time, Kentucky, and Tennessee in its first game, but ended up losing to the Volunteers in the final game of the season and dropped from two to four in the SEC standings. The Razorbacks also received a No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament, where they beat LSU before losing to Texas A&M 82-64 in the semifinals.
No. 4 Arkansas will play No. 13 Vermont in its first round game on Thursday, March 17 at 8:20 p.m. CT on TNT.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama (19-12, 9-9) secured a No. 6 seed in the tournament, and will play in the West Region along with Arkansas.
The Tide may be the ultimate wild card team in this tournament, with season that includes beating top teams in the nation like: the West Coast Tournament champion Gonzaga, AAC Tournament champion Houston, and Baylor, but also losing to some of the worst teams in the SEC such as Georgia and Missouri, two of the bottom three seeds in the SEC. Alabama ended the last week of its season 0-2, losing at home to Texas A&M and to LSU, which pushed them behind both the Tigers and the Aggies in the SEC standings. The Tide ended up with the No. 6 seed in the SEC Tournament, where the team lost to Vanderbilt in their first game.
No. 6 Alabama will play the winner of the Rutgers vs. Notre Dame game in its first round game on Friday, March 18 at 3:15 p.m. CT on TNT.
LSU Tigers
LSU (22-10, 9-9) got a No. 6 seed in the tournament, and will play in the Midwest Region along with Auburn.
The Tigers, like many of the SEC teams in the tournament, started out the season with an impressive record, going 12-0 before getting into conference play, where the Tigers finished the season 10-10. Some of its more impressive wins of the season are in the form of series splits, against teams like: Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. LSU claimed the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament after beating Alabama in its regular season finale; then, proceeded to beat Missouri in the second round of the tournament before losing to Arkansas in the quarterfinals.
No. 6 LSU will play No. 11 Iowa State in its first round game on Friday, March 18 at 6:20 p.m. CT on TBS.
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