Kentucky Begins SEC Tournament as No. 2 Seed on Friday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kentucky men’s basketball team will be the No. 2 seed in the annual Southeastern Conference Tournament when action begins Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. The Wildcats, who earned the coveted double bye (automatically advancing to the quarterfinals), will play the winner between No. 7 seed Texas A&M and No. 10 seed Ole Miss, on Friday in Nashville at 7 p.m. ET.
Kentucky completed its 2023-24 regular season 23-8 overall and 13-5 in league play. Kentucky earned the No. 2 seed based on several tiebreakers. UK was powered by an 85-81 triumph over No. 4/4 Tennessee on Saturday as Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard both poured in 27 points each for the upset victory on the road. UK eclipsed a 20-win season for an NCAA-leading 67th time this season.
The Wildcats are seeking their seventh SEC Tournament championship under head coach John Calipari and 32nd overall. UK will need two wins to advance to its ninth SEC Tournament title game in the last 14 tournaments played.
UK’s quarterfinal SEC Tournament game will be televised by SEC Network. If Kentucky wins Friday, it would play Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Sunday’s championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
Kentucky leads the league with 31 SEC Tournament titles. The Wildcats are 135-29 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 46-12 in the quarterfinals.
Calipari’s teams at UMass, Memphis and Kentucky have been to 19 conference championship games, winning a remarkable 15 of them. Calipari is 58-15 (.795) all-time in conference tournaments, including 24-7 (.774) at UK. Calipari ranks third in SEC Tournament wins in the tournament’s history.
The Wildcats are 1-0 all-time against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament, only meeting once in the championship game in 2016. The Aggies won the team’s lone matchup during the regular season with a 97-92 win in College Station, Texas, in a game that went to overtime.
UK is 15-0 all-time against the Rebels in the league tournament, including 6-0 when the teams meet in the quarterfinals. The last time the teams squared off during the SEC Tournament was in the quarterfinals of the 2011 tournament. Kentucky claimed a 75-63 win over Ole Miss during the 2023-24 regular season.
Also on Kentucky’s side of the bracket is No. 3 seed Alabama, No. 6 Florida, No. 11 Georgia and No. 14 Missouri.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
