March Madness gets going for the SEC on Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee.
The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament tips off Wednesday before a conference champion is crowned on Selection Sunday. The tournament is bigger than it's ever been before with 16 teams after the addition of the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns.
With the new 16-team bracket, start dates will vary by team with not everyone playing Day 1. Half the conference will start things Wednesday, while the other half of the league earned at least one bye.
Seeds 5-8 got a first-round bye, leaving Texas A&M, Kentucky, Missouri and Ole Miss tipping off on Thursday. Top-4 seeds Auburn, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee won't play until Friday after getting to rest the first two days.
Here's the schedule for the entire first round on Wednesday.
How to watch
Game 1 already shows how stacked the SEC is this season. South Carolina is certainly the worst team in the conference, but the 16 seed Gamecocks still beat 9 seed Arkansas 72-53 less than two weeks ago.
The Razorbacks cannot afford for that to happen again, though. Another loss like that, and Arkansas could miss out on the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of this one will play 8 seed Ole Miss in the quarterfinals.
Both of these teams are lumbering into March Madness, but Texas certainly needs the win more. Vanderbilt will go dancing no matter what, but after losing to Oklahoma on Saturday, Joe Lunardi said Texas' only chance to make the NCAA Tournament is to make a run this week and notch some Quad 1 wins. A loss, though, would erase the Longhorns' already tiny chances.
If the Longhorns do win, they'll have another Quad 1 opportunity against 5 seed Texas A&M.
This game has the least on the line in the first round. Mississippi State has already secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament, and LSU doesn't have a chance. The Bulldogs beat LSU 81-69 less than two weeks ago.
The winner will get 7 seed Missouri.
The Sooners' season and Porter Moser's job are probably on the line Wednesday night. Another win likely gets OU into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four seasons under Moser. A loss could mean disappointment on Selection Sunday.
Georgia might also not be able to afford another loss if there are enough bid stealers, including the Sooners. The Bulldogs already beat OU once before this season way back on Jan. 11.
The winner will get 6 seed Kentucky.
Watch the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament using a FuboTV free trial here
See the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament full schedule here