SEC Tournament Bracket: Tennessee misses out on double bye, will play Thursday

Tennessee more than likely had to win on Saturday to hold on to a double bye in the SEC Tournament next week, and they couldn’t get that done. The Volunteers fell to Auburn on the road, while Missouri took care of business against Ole Miss.

That half-court buzzer beater from a few weeks back paid dividends for the Tigers, as they now get to avoid a Thursday matchup in Nashville next week. Instead, it will be Tennessee getting the winner of Ole Miss-South Carolina.

Tennessee will be heavily favored in that matchup, regardless of who wins it. Should the Volunteers win on Thursday, they’d take on Missouri on Friday.

Tennessee’s first game will take place in the second game slot of the day on Thursday, following Florida-Mississippi State to open the day. Tip-off is slotted for approximately 2 p.m. central time.

Tennessee is the defending SEC Tournament champion, winning last year’s bracket in Tampa Bay. This year is a bit different though, as they’re dealing with the loss of point guard Zakai Zeigler for the year. Zeigler suffered a torn ACL earlier this week.

The Volunteers are a projected No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament as things stand. A couple of wins next week would solidify that standing, but a loss could send them tumbling further.

We’ll see how things play out in Nashville.