SEC Basketball Tournament 2016: Bracket, Schedule, Start Times, TV Channels For Conference Championship

Ben Simmons LSU Kentucky — Ben Simmons watches the action in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on March 5, 2016 in Lexington, Kentucky. Getty

The SEC Tournament is set to get underway on Wednesday with Selection Sunday less than a week away. It could have more 2016 NCAA Tournament implications than any other Power Five conference tournament, considering only a few SEC teams are locks to make the Big Dance.

Following the end of the regular season, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has just four SEC teams in the field of 68. Kentucky and Texas A&M are listed as No.4 seeds, while South Carolina is a No.8 seed and Vanderbilt is a No.9 seed. Florida is among the first four teams out, and LSU is a part of the next four teams that are projected to miss the cut.

Both Texas A&M and Kentucky finished with a 13-5 conference record, but the Aggies get the edge in the standings because they won the only head-to-head meeting between the two teams. South Carolina tied LSU with an 11-7 SEC record, though their overall 24-7 mark is better than Kentucky’s 23-8 record. The Wildcats (16) and Aggies (17) are the only SEC teams ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Florida might be in a better position than LSU entering March Madness, even though the Tigers have a bye in the SEC Tournament and the Gators are the No.8 seed in the conference. Six of Florida’s losses have come against ranked opponents, and the Tigers have 13 losses overall.

Finishing near the bottom of the conference standings with 25 combined losses in the SEC, Auburn and Tennessee will need to win five games if they hope to win the tournament. Missouri had the worst record of any SEC team, and they’ll miss all of March Madness because of a one-year postseason ban relating to NCAA violations from the 2013-14 season.

The SEC Tournament will be played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament will span five days, being broadcast on the SEC Network and ESPN. Every game can be streamed live online for free with WatchESPN.