3/4/2023 basketball Edit

Tennessee draws No. 5 seed in SEC Tournament

Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James (30) drives against Auburn forward Johni Broome (4) in the Vols' 79-70 loss to the Tigers on Saturday. (The Associated Press)

Noah Taylor • VolReport

Managing Editor

Noah is a graduate of the UT College of Journalism & Electronic Media and has covered Tennessee football since 2019. He joined Rivals in 2022.

The stage is nearly set for Tennessee.

The Vols (22-9, 11-7 SEC), who dropped their regular season finale, 79-70 at Auburn on Saturday, will be the No. 5 seed in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

A double-bye as well as a fourth and possible three seed were in play for Tennessee early Saturday, but its loss–coupled with Missouri and Kentucky wins–regulated the Vols to play on the second day of the tournament on Thursday.

The Vols will face the winner of No. 12 seed South Carolina and No. 13 seed Ole Miss at 3 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

Tennessee swept the Gamecocks (11-20, 4-14) by a combined 83 points in two of their regular season meetings. The Vols won the most recent meeting 85-45 in Knoxville on Feb. 25.

In their lone regular season matchup, Tennessee beat the Rebels 63-59 in Oxford on Dec. 28, 2022.

South Carolina and Ole Miss (11-20, 3-15) will play on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Here is the entire tournament field, seedlings and TV/times:

Wednesday, March 8

Game 1: No. 12 South Carolina vs. No. 13 Ole Miss – 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Game 2: No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 14 LSU – 9 p.m. ET On SEC Network

Thursday, March 9

Game 3: No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Florida – 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 Tennessee – 3 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Game 5: No. 10 Arkansas vs. No. 7 Auburn – 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt – 9 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Friday, March 10

Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. No. 1 Alabama – 1 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. No. 4 Missouri – 3 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. No. 2 Texas A&M – 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. No. 3 Kentucky – 9 p.m. ET on SEC Network

Saturday, March 11

Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 1 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner – 3 p.m. ET on ESPN

Sunday, March 12

SEC Tournament Championship Game: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner — noon ET on ESPN

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