Sec Tournament 2026: Bracket set as Florida enters Nashville surging
sec tournament 2026 tips off Wednesday, March 11, running through the title game Sunday, March 15 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The 16-team bracket is in place, and the first of 15 games is scheduled to start at 12: 30 p. m. ET with LSU facing Kentucky. Florida arrives as the defending SEC tournament champion after beating Tennessee 86-77 in the 2025 final, and the Gators also went on to win the NCAA tournament title.
Bracket and schedule: 15 games in Nashville, starting 12: 30 p. m. ET
The tournament is set for a full 16-team run at Bridgestone Arena, with Wednesday’s opening round launching a week of constant movement in the bracket. The slate begins with LSU vs. Kentucky at 12: 30 p. m. ET, followed by Mississippi State vs. Auburn at 3 p. m. ET, Ole Miss vs. Texas at 7 p. m. ET, and South Carolina vs. Oklahoma at 9: 30 p. m. ET.
As the bracket advances, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas A& M are positioned to meet Wednesday’s winners in the next set of games, with quarterfinal matchups later bringing Florida, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Arkansas into play. The title game is scheduled for Sunday, March 15.
Sec Tournament 2026 spotlight: Florida’s surge and the race behind it
Florida enters Nashville with momentum after an 11-game win streak to close the season, capped by an 84-77 win over Kentucky on Saturday. The Gators finished the season 25-6, losing just twice since the turn of the new year, and secured their first regular-season SEC title since 2014, winning it by three full games.
The broader field still has contenders lining up behind Florida. Alabama won nine of its last 10 games to climb the standings and earn a double bye, even after a 23-point loss at Florida. Arkansas has looked solid at times, and Vanderbilt held its own in the SEC after a 16-0 start before leveling out later. Tennessee, Texas A& M, Georgia, and Missouri are also slotted into the next tier of the bracket structure with single byes.
Historically, Kentucky remains the program with the most SEC tournament titles, with 32. Florida is the defending champion, and the tournament now turns to Nashville to decide whether the Gators can repeat or whether the field can disrupt them early.
Immediate reactions and stakes entering Nashville
With the SEC regular season complete, the bracket reflects a conference that ended with clear separation at the top and a crowded middle ready to fight through Wednesday. Florida’s late-season form has made the Gators the central team to watch entering Bridgestone Arena, while Kentucky’s opening matchup with LSU puts immediate pressure on a traditional power from the first tip.
Quick context
Florida won the 2025 SEC tournament title by defeating Tennessee 86-77 and later captured the NCAA tournament championship. Conference expansion has made the SEC tournament bigger than ever, increasing the urgency of every early-round result.
What’s next
All eyes now shift to Wednesday’s opening games in Nashville, where the bracket’s first results will determine the matchups that feed into the top seeds waiting later in the week. As the field compresses toward the weekend, sec tournament 2026 will be defined by whether Florida’s surge holds up under quick-turn postseason pressure and whether any challenger can force a different path to Sunday’s title game.
