2022 SEC Tournament
The Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament makes a return trip to Tampa as it takes a one-year break from its long-running spot at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The March 2022 event will be held at the AMALIE Arena, the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL. It will be the second time the event has been held in Tampa with the tournament last held at what was then the St. Pete Times Forum in 2009. Mississippi State defeated Tennessee, 64-61, to win the league championship. LSU lost to State in the semifinals that year. Since the tournament’s last appearance, AMALIE Arena has had more than $62 million in improvements that have made it the premier entertainment venue in the state of Florida. The Lightning are also the 2004, 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup Champions. The building was originally called the Ice Palace when it first opened in Oct. 12, 1996. The Arena hosts more than 150 events per year, which ranks among the top venues in North America. The winner of the 13-game tournament receives the SEC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The tournament seeds are determined by the 18-game conference schedule during the regular season. Teams are seeded 1-14 based on their regular season conference finish. Atlanta served as host of the inaugural SEC Tournament played following the 1932-33 season and did so again after the 1933-34 season. The event was held every year through 1952, with the exception of 1935. After a 26-year layoff (1953-78), the tournament was renewed in 1979. The 2021 tournament will be the 62nd in league history and the 43rd since the renewal. The event has helped set the stage for SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament, as 24 of the tournament champions since the tournament resumed in 1979 have advanced to at least the Sweet 16. Three of the last 13 SEC&Tournament champions have gone on to win the national championship. Kentucky leads the league with 31 SEC Tournament titles. Alabama is second with seven, while Tennessee and Florida are tied for third with four. Mississippi State has three championship trophies while Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt have two. Arkansas, LSU and former league member Georgia Tech have each won one SEC Tournament championship.
2022 SEC Tournament March 9-13 • AMALIE Arena • Tampa, Florida
First Round - March 9 (Wednesday) Game 1 Seed #12 vs. Seed #13 (SEC Network) 7 p.m. ET Game 2 Seed #11 vs. Seed #14 (SEC Network), 25 minutes after Second Round - March 10 (Thursday) Game 3 Seed #8 vs. Seed #9 (SEC Network) 1 p.m. ET Game 4 Seed #5 vs. Winner of Game 1 (SEC Network) 25 minutes after Game 5 Seed #7 vs. Seed #10 (SEC Network) 7 p.m. ET Game 6 Seed #6 vs. Winner of Game 2 (SEC Network) 25 minutes after Quarterfinals - March 11 (Friday) Game 7 Game 3 Winner vs. Seed #1 (ESPN) 1 p.m. ET Game 8 Game 4 Winner vs. Seed #4 (ESPN) 25 minutes after Game 9 Game 5 Winner vs. Seed #2 (SEC Network) 7 p.m. ET Game 10 Game 6 Winner vs. Seed #3 (SEC Network) 25 minutes after Semifinals - March 12 (Saturday) Game 11 Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (ESPN), 1 p.m. ET Game 12 Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner (ESPN), 25 minutes after Championship - March 13 (Sunday) Game 13 Gm 11 Winner vs. Gm 12 Winner (ESPN), 1 p.m. ET
Future SEC Tournament Dates & Sites March 2023-2035 Nashville, Tennessee (Bridgestone Arena)
2021-22 MEN’S BASKETBALL RECORD BOOK
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