2010 SEC Tournament Preview

When: March 11-14
Where: Nashville Convention Center - Nashville, TN
Championship Game: March 14 - ABC
Defending Champs: Mississippi State
The Format: 12 teams, 4 rounds

(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

First Round (Mar. 11)
Game 1 - #5E South Carolina vs. #4W Alabama - 12:00pm ET
Game 2 - #6W LSU  vs. #3E Tennessee - 2:15pm ET
Game 3 - #5W Auburn vs. #4E Florida - 6:30pm ET
Game 4 - #6E Georgia vs. #3W Arkansas - 8:45pm ET

Second Round (Mar. 12)
Game 5 - #1E Kentucky vs. Game 1 winner - 12:00pm ET
Game 6 - #2W Mississippi vs. Game 2 winner - 2:15pm ET
Game 7 - #1W Mississippi St vs. Game 3 winner - 6:30pm ET
Game 8 - #2E Vanderbilt  vs. Game 4 winner - 8:45pm ET

Third Round (Mar. 13)
Game 9 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 12:00pm ET
Game 10 - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner - 2:15pm ET

Championship Round (Mar. 14)
Game 11 - Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner - 12:00pm ET

Bubble Teams Needing a Win: Florida, Mississippi State, Mississippi

Florida - RPI (54) - SOS (32) - KenPom (48)
Miss. St. - RPI (67) - SOS (101) - KenPom (51)
Ole Miss - RPI (57) - SOS (69) - KenPom (50)

The Verdict: Because the SEC insists on being split into two divisions, Mississippi State and Mississippi each lucked out by landing a first round bye when they clearly didn't deserve it. Both are now forced to win at least one game, with Ole Miss likely facing off against Tennessee and Miss. St. drawing Florida. A loss for either of these schools could be devastating to their chances. The Gators, on the other hand, own the most impressive resume of this bunch, and probably only need an opening round win over Auburn to punch their ticket.

Player to Watch: Jarvis Varnado-Mississippi State
The most prolific shot blocker in the history of college hoops, Varnado is the type of player who excels in a tournament setting. As long as he can stay out of foul trouble, future NBA big man gives the Bulldogs a physical presence that can match up with the likes of Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins/Pat Patterson and Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy. It's also worth noting that Mississippi State nearly beat the heavily favored Wildcats back in February, but foul trouble ultimately held Varnado to a mere 23 minutes.

Prediction: Kentucky
For as good as John Calipari's team might be, naysayers continue to take jabs at him and his new program. The biggest might have come from his fellow coaches in the SEC, who voted Vandy's Kevin Stallings as the league's Coach of the Year when Calipari was clearly the runaway candidate. Remember, this is a squad that lost a mere two games all season long. They have more talent in their starting five than anybody in the country. The crazy thing is that they can play at 80% of their potential and still beat everybody in the league by double digits. How many other schools can you say that about? Kentucky didn't need any extra motivation heading into this tournament, but after Calipari's obvious snub, it seems they might have just found some.

Other Previews:
ACC Tournament
Atlantic 10 Tournament
Big East Tournament
Big Ten Tournament
Big 12 Tournament
Pac-10 Tournament