I was wondering how the league would modify the tournament to handle 16 teams. The tournament will continue to run Wednesday to Sunday. Apparently they are sticking with single byes for teams 5-8 and double byes for teams 1-4, with teams 9-16 squaring off on Wednesday. 2025 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket - Southeastern Conference
I like it! 4 games Wednesday through Friday, 2 games Saturday, and then the big one on Sunday. Gives the 4 top teams a three-game maximum which is less chance for any injuries/fatigue for the big dance.
I like it too. Really gives the top 4 teams in the regular season a big advantage- so the regular season means something. And teams 5-8 still has an advantage- so being in the top half helps too. Teams in the bottom half will have a grind to make it to Sunday, but if they can pick up 2-3 wins during the tourney perhaps that will help them in the big dance. Assuming the NCAA committee takes the conference tourney into account...
I like the format too, but keep in mind it's this way partially out of necessity. You could do a straight 16-team bracket without byes, but you can't play 8 games at one venue in one day. So every conference uses a format that tops out at 4 games in one day.
Good point. Given the unique nature of how stacked the conference is this year, this could have a big impact near the bottom.
Obviously they can't play 8 games in one day at a single venue but you could play 4 games on Wed, 4 games on Thurs, 4 games on Fri, 2 games on Sat and 1 championship game on Sunday. That would obviously be a heck of a grind (and the coaches would hate it) for teams a week before NCAAs and gives no reward to the teams who finished highest during the regular season. Think they were trying to include everyone while also rewarding/protecting the top teams.
Wednesday 1v16 2v15 3v14 4v13 Thursday 5v12 6v11 7v10 8v9 Top seeds would get Thursday off, after winning Wednesday ideally. So they do get a break before playing Friday-Sunday. Friday 1v8 2v7 3v6 4v5 Saturday 1v4 2v3 Sunday 1v2
