2026 SEC men's basketball tournament

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2026 SEC men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2025–26
Teams16
SiteBridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee
ChampionsArkansas (2nd title)
Winning coachJohn Calipari (7th title)
MVPDarius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas)
TelevisionSEC Network, ESPN
2025–26 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 9 Florida16–2 .88927–8  .771
No. 16 Alabama13–5 .72225–10  .714
No. 13 Arkansas †13–5 .72228–9  .757
No. 19 Vanderbilt11–7 .61127–9  .750
No. 12 Tennessee11–7 .61125–12  .676
Texas A&M11–7 .61122–12  .647
Georgia10–8 .55622–11  .667
Missouri10–8 .55620–13  .606
Kentucky10–8 .55622–14  .611
No. 22 Texas9–9 .50021–15  .583
Oklahoma7–11 .38921–16  .568
Auburn7–11 .38922–16  .579
Mississippi State5–13 .27813–19  .406
South Carolina4–14 .22213–19  .406
Ole Miss4–14 .22215–20  .429
LSU3–15 .16715–17  .469
† 2026 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2026 SEC men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the 2025–26 season for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The tournament was held from March 11–15, 2026 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][2] The winner, Arkansas, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament.

Seeds

All 16 members of the SEC participated in the tournament. The top eight seeds earned a bye to the second round, with the top four seeds earninh a double bye to the quarterfinals. Ties were broken by head-to-head results, results vs. the top-seed and going on down until the tie is broken, and finally a coin toss (or a drawing of lots if three or more teams are involved).[3]

Seed School Conference record Tiebreaker 1 Tiebreaker 2
1 Florida 16–2
2 Alabama 13–5 1–0 vs. Arkansas
3 Arkansas 13–5 0–1 vs. Alabama
4 Vanderbilt 11–7 2–1 vs. Tennessee/Texas A&M 1–0 vs. Alabama
5 Tennessee 11–7 2–1 vs. Vanderbilt/Texas A&M 1–1 vs. Alabama
6 Texas A&M 11–7 0–2 vs. Vanderbilt/Tennessee
7 Georgia 10–8 2–0 vs. Missouri/Kentucky
8 Missouri 10–8 1–1 vs. Georgia/Kentucky
9 Kentucky 10–8 0–2 vs. Georgia/Missouri
10 Texas 9–9
11 Oklahoma 7–11 1–0 vs. Auburn
12 Auburn 7–11 0–1 vs. Oklahoma
13 Mississippi State 5–13
14 South Carolina 4–14 1–0 vs. Ole Miss
15 Ole Miss 4–14 0–1 vs. South Carolina
16 LSU 3–15

Schedule

Game Time Matchup Score Television Attendance
First round – Wednesday, March 11
1 11:30 a.m. No. 9 Kentucky vs. No. 16 LSU 87–82 SECN 12,722
2 2:00 p.m. No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 13 Mississippi State 79–61
3 6:00 p.m. No. 10 Texas vs. No. 15 Ole Miss 66–76 10,701
4 8:30 p.m. No. 11 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 South Carolina 86–74
Second round – Thursday, March 12
5 11:30 a.m. No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9 Kentucky 72–78 SECN 15,719
6 2:00 p.m. No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 12 Auburn 72–62
7 6:00 p.m. No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 15 Ole Miss 72–76 11,457
8 8:30 p.m. No. 6 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 Oklahoma 63–83
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 13
9 12:00 p.m. No. 1 Florida vs. No. 9 Kentucky 71–63 ESPN 17,864
10 2:30 p.m. No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. No. 5 Tennessee 75–68
11 6:00 p.m. No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Ole Miss 79–80 SECN 15,085
12 8:30 p.m. No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 11 Oklahoma 82–79
Semifinals – Saturday, March 14
13 12:00 p.m. No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt 74–91 ESPN 16,612
14 2:30 p.m. No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 15 Ole Miss 93–90OT
Championship – Sunday, March 15
15 12:00 p.m. No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt 86–75 ESPN 18,377
Game times in CT. Rankings denote tournament seeding.

Bracket

First round
Wednesday, March 11
SECN		Second round
Thursday, March 12
SECN		Quarterfinals
Friday, March 13
ESPN/SECN		Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
ESPN		Championship
Sunday, March 15
ESPN
1Florida71
8Missouri729Kentucky63
9Kentucky879Kentucky781Florida74
16LSU824Vanderbilt91
4Vanderbilt75
5Tennessee725Tennessee68
12Auburn7912Auburn624Vanderbilt75
13Mississippi State613Arkansas86
2Alabama79
7Georgia7215Ole Miss80
10Texas6615Ole Miss7615Ole Miss90
15Ole Miss763Arkansas93*
3Arkansas82
6Texas A&M6311Oklahoma79
11Oklahoma8611Oklahoma83
14South Carolina74

Source:[4]

* denotes overtime period

Awards and Honors

All-Tournament Team

Player Team
Darius Acuff Jr. Arkansas
Trevon Brazile
AJ Storr Ole Miss
Duke Miles Vanderbilt
Tyler Tanner

MVP in bold

Source:[5]

References

  1. "Men's Basketball Championship". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  2. Organ, Mike. "SEC basketball tournament to stay in Nashville through 2035". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  3. "Tournament Tiebreakers". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  4. "2026 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  5. "Men's Basketball Weekly Release". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved May 15, 2026.