The 2024 SEC Tournament will take place from Wednesday, March 13 through Sunday, March 17 from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. All 14 of the conference’s programs will participate in this single-elimination bracket and the winner will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Several SEC teams are already considered locks for the NCAA Tournament and what they do in Nashville this week has no bearing on their inclusion into the Big Dance. Meanwhile, there are several teams whose only path to the NCAA’s is through winning the league tournament and grabbing the automatic qualifier.
And then there’s the bubble teams, whose performance in the SEC tourney can make or break their shot at getting into the field of 68. We’ll take a look at those teams below.
2024 March Madness bubble watch
SEC Tournament
Teams that are in: Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Florida
Teams that are out: LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Missouri
Teams on the bubble
Mississippi State – 19-12, 8-10 SEC (42 NET, 39 KenPom)
Quad 1: 4-8
Quad 2: 3-3
Quad 3: 6-0
Quad 4: 6-1
Mississippi State was a team that would’ve been considered safely in the Big Dance a few weeks ago, but a brutal four-game losing streak to end the regular season has placed it back into bubble territory. The Bulldogs’ resume includes signature wins over Washington State, Tennessee, and Auburn, but a horrible Quad 4 home loss to Southern drags them down. Still, the metrics still have them as a top 45 team in the country and both ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Bracketometry’s Dominic Lese have them sneaking into the NCAA Tournament field.
MSU has a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament and as the No. 9 seed, it will face No. 8 LSU on Thursday. If the Bulldogs win just that game, they should be in. If they get tripped up and eliminated right out the gate, then they could possibly be in trouble come Selection Sunday.
Texas A&M – 18-13, 9-9 SEC (46 NET, 48 KenPom)
Quad 1: 5-6
Quad 2: 6-3
Quad 3: 2-4
Quad 4: 5-0
The end of the season was a rollercoaster for Texas A&M as a three-game win streak preceded a five-game losing streak, which was then followed up with another three-game win streak. 11 combined victories against Quad 1 and 2 opponents is impressive, but the team’s inconsistent throughout SEC play is what has it on the bubble.
Lese has TAMU in his “Next Four Out” category, so that means that it will most likely have to run the gauntlet in the SEC Tournament as the No. 7 seed to have a shot at the NCAA’s. The Aggies open against No. 10 Ole Miss on Thursday and should they win, they’ll be immediately confronted with No. 2 Kentucky in the quarterfinals on Friday.