SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
| SEC Men's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference Basketball Championship | |
SEC logo
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| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Rotates (Bridgestone Arena in 2015) |
| Current location | Rotates (Nashville, TN in 2015) |
| Played | 1933–34, 1936–1952, 1979–present |
| Last contest | 2016 |
| Current champion | Kentucky Wildcats |
| Most championships | Kentucky Wildcats (29) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN/SEC Network |
| Official website | SECSports.com Men's Basketball |
The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament (sometimes known simply as the SEC Tournament) is the conference tournament in basketball for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is a single-elimination tournament that involves all league schools (currently 14). Its seeding is based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, however the official conference championship is awarded to the team or teams with the best regular season record.[1]
Contents
Format
With the abandonment of divisions in SEC men's basketball starting in 2011–12, the top four teams in the conference standings received first-round byes.[2] Bracketing was identical to that of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament—note that SEC women's basketball has long been organized in a single league table without divisions.
Since the SEC expanded to 14 schools with the arrival of Missouri and Texas A&M in 2012, the 2013 tournament was the first with a new format. Both men's and women's tournaments have the four bottom seeds (#11 throughout #14) playing opening-round games, with the top four seeds receiving a "double-bye" into the quarterfinals.
Before 2012, the top two teams in both the Eastern and Western Divisions received byes in the first round, while #3 in the East played #6 from the West, #4 played #5, etc. The brackets were set up so that #2 would play the winner of the game involving #3 from the other division, and #1 would play the winner of the game involving #4 from the other division. Barring an upset, the semi-finals would pit #1 from one division against #2 from the other division, and the championship game would feature the regular season winners of the two divisions, although this rarely happened in practice.
History
Throughout its history, the SEC Championship basketball game held at various sites, including the Georgia Dome, Louisiana Superdome, Bridgestone Arena, the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, the Pyramid, Rupp Arena, Louisville Gardens and (in an emergency relocation) Alexander Memorial Coliseum at Georgia Tech.
From 1933-50, the SEC Champion was determined by a tournament, except for 1935. Beginning in 1951, a round-robin schedule was introduced and the SEC title was awarded to the team with the highest in-conference winning percentage. From 1951-64, the round-robin consisted of 14 games. In 1965 and 1966, it was expanded to 16 games. From 1967-91, the round-robin schedule was 18 games. In 1992, the SEC split into an Eastern and Western Division but continued to recognize an SEC Champion based on a winning percentage over the new 16-game conference schedule. The league also began awarding division championships. In 1979, the tournament was renewed with the winner receiving the SEC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament,[3] but the official league champion remained the team(s) with the best regular season record.
In 2000, the Arkansas Razorbacks became the first team since the league expansion in 1992 to win the conference tournament by playing all four days, beating Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Auburn to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Basketball Championships. Since then, the feat has been accomplished twice, first in 2008 by Georgia. In 2009, Mississippi State repeated that feat, defeating Georgia, South Carolina, LSU and Tennessee to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Basketball Championships.
The first seven games of the 2008 Men's Tournament were played at the Georgia Dome. During overtime of Game 7 between Mississippi State and Alabama, a tornado struck the downtown Atlanta area, damaging the Georgia Dome and several buildings surrounding it, including CNN Center. MSU and Alabama returned after a 64-minute delay to finish their game, but the last quarterfinal game of the day, between Georgia and Kentucky, was postponed until the next day, and the remaining four games of the tournament were moved to Alexander Memorial Coliseum at Georgia Tech. Only credentialed individuals were allowed to attend, including players' families, bands, cheerleaders, and media. No other spectators were allowed in the building.
Tournaments
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | MVP | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Kentucky | 46–27 | Mississippi State | None | Atlanta Athletic Club (Atlanta, GA) |
| 1934 | Alabama | 41–25 | Florida | None | Atlanta Athletic Club (Atlanta, GA) |
| 1936 | Tennessee | 41–25 | Alabama | None | Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, TN) |
| 1937 | Kentucky | 39–25 | Tennessee | None | Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, TN) |
| 1938 | Georgia Tech | 58–47 | Mississippi | None | Huey Long Field House (Baton Rouge, LA) |
| 1939 | Kentucky | 46–38 | Tennessee | None | Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, TN) |
| 1940 | Kentucky | 51–43 | Georgia | None | Alumni Memorial Gym (Knoxville, TN) |
| 1941 | Tennessee | 36–33 | Kentucky | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1942 | Kentucky | 36–34 | Alabama | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1943 | Tennessee | 33–30 | Kentucky | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1944 | Kentucky | 62–46 | Tulane | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1945 | Kentucky | 39–35 | Tennessee | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1946 | Kentucky | 59–36 | LSU | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1947 | Kentucky | 55–38 | Tulane | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1948 | Kentucky | 54–43 | Georgia Tech | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1949 | Kentucky | 68–52 | Tulane | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1950 | Kentucky | 95–58 | Tennessee | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1951 | Vanderbilt | 61–57 | Kentucky | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1952 | Kentucky | 44–43 | LSU | None | Louisville Gardens (Louisville, KY) |
| 1979 | Tennessee | 75–69OT | Kentucky | Kyle Macy, UK | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1980 | LSU | 80–78 | Kentucky | DeWayne Scales, LSU | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1981 | Mississippi | 66–62 | Georgia | Dominique Wilkins, UGA | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1982 | Alabama | 48–46 | Kentucky | Dirk Minniefield, UK | Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY) |
| 1983 | Georgia | 86–71 | Alabama | Vern Fleming, UGA | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1984 | Kentucky | 51–49 | Auburn | Charles Barkley, AUB | Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, TN) |
| 1985 | Auburn | 53–49OT | Alabama | Chuck Person, AUB | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1986 | Kentucky | 83–72 | Alabama | John Williams, LSU | Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY) |
| 1987 | Alabama | 69–62 | LSU | Derrick McKey, ALA | Omni Coliseum (Atlanta, GA) |
| 1988 | Kentucky[4] | 62–57 | Georgia | Rex Chapman, UK | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, LA) |
| 1989 | Alabama | 72–60 | Florida | Livingston Chatman, UF | Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, TN) |
| 1990 | Alabama | 70–51 | Mississippi | Melvin Cheatum, ALA | Orlando Arena (Orlando, FL) |
| 1991 | Alabama | 88–69 | Tennessee | Allan Houston, UT | Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, TN) |
| 1992 | Kentucky | 80–54 | Alabama | Jamal Mashburn, UK | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, AL) |
| 1993 | Kentucky | 82–65 | LSU | Travis Ford, UK | Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY) |
| 1994 | Kentucky | 73–60 | Florida | Travis Ford, UK | The Pyramid (Memphis, TN) |
| 1995 | Kentucky | 95–93OT | Arkansas | Antoine Walker, UK | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 1996 | Mississippi State | 84–73 | Kentucky | Dontae' Jones, MSU | Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, LA) |
| 1997 | Kentucky | 95–68 | Georgia | Ron Mercer, UK | The Pyramid (Memphis, TN) |
| 1998 | Kentucky | 86–56 | South Carolina | Wayne Turner, UK | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 1999 | Kentucky | 76–63 | Arkansas | Scott Padgett, UK | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2000 | Arkansas | 75–67 | Auburn | Brandon Dean, ARK | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2001 | Kentucky | 77–55 | Mississippi | Tayshaun Prince, UK | Gaylord Entertainment Center (Nashville, TN) |
| 2002 | Mississippi State | 61–58 | Alabama | Mario Austin, MSU | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2003 | Kentucky | 64–57 | Mississippi State | Keith Bogans, UK | Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, LA) |
| 2004 | Kentucky | 89–73 | Florida | Gerald Fitch, UK | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2005 | Florida | 70–53 | Kentucky | Matt Walsh, UF | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2006 | Florida | 49–47 | South Carolina | Taurean Green, UF | Gaylord Entertainment Center (Nashville, TN) |
| 2007 | Florida | 77–56 | Arkansas | Al Horford, UF | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2008 | Georgia | 66–57 | Arkansas | Sundiata Gaines, UGA | Georgia Dome/Alexander Memorial Coliseum[5][6] (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2009 | Mississippi State | 64–61 | Tennessee | Jarvis Varnado, MSU | St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa, FL) |
| 2010 | Kentucky | 75–74OT | Mississippi State | John Wall, UK | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) |
| 2011 | Kentucky | 70–54 | Florida | Darius Miller, UK | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2012 | Vanderbilt | 71–64 | Kentucky | John Jenkins, VAN | New Orleans Arena (New Orleans, LA) |
| 2013 | Mississippi | 66–63 | Florida | Marshall Henderson, MISS | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) |
| 2014 | Florida | 61–60 | Kentucky | Scottie Wilbekin, UF | Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA) |
| 2015 | Kentucky | 78–63 | Arkansas | Willie Cauley-Stein, UK | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) |
| 2016 | Kentucky | 82–77OT | Texas A&M | Tyler Ulis, UK | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) |
| 2017 | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) | ||||
| 2018 | Scottrade Center (St. Louis, MO) | ||||
| 2019 | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) | ||||
| 2020 | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) | ||||
| 2021 | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) | ||||
| 2022 | Amalie Arena (Tampa, FL) | ||||
| 2023 | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) | ||||
| 2024 | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) | ||||
| 2025 | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) |
Notes
Note A: No tournament was held in 1935.
Note B: No tournament was held from 1953-1978.
Note C: No MVP Selection made from 1933-1952.
Television coverage
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Tournament championships by school
| School | # of Tournament Championships | Last Tournament Championship |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 29 | 2016 |
| Alabama | 6 | 1991 |
| Florida | 4 | 2014 |
| Tennessee | 4 | 1979 |
| Mississippi State | 3 | 2009 |
| Mississippi | 2 | 2013 |
| Vanderbilt | 2 | 2012 |
| Georgia | 2 | 2008 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 2000 |
| Auburn | 1 | 1985 |
| LSU | 1 | 1980 |
| Georgia Tech† | 1 | 1938 |
| Missouri | 0 | - |
| South Carolina | 0 | - |
| Texas A&M | 0 | - |
| Tulane† | 0 | - |
- †Former member of the SEC
- Kentucky defeated Georgia in the 1988 SEC Tournament final, but the tournament title was vacated later because of NCAA violations.[7]
Venues
Notes
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- ↑ SEC Men's Basketball Tournament History
- ↑ Unofficial Result. Kentucky defeated Georgia in the tournament final, but the championship was vacated later because of NCAA violations.
- ↑ 2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament#Game delays and relocation
- ↑ Because of a tornado that struck the Atlanta area, the Georgia Dome was declared unsafe to finish the tournament midway through Friday's session. The fourth quarterfinal, semifinals, and final were moved to Alexander Memorial Coliseum with only a few hundred spectators permitted at each game."
- ↑ Kentucky defeated Georgia in the 1988 SEC Tournament final, but the tournament title was vacated later because of NCAA violations.
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