John Calipari reveals which SEC teams should earn ticket to March Madness

The SEC’s regular season is now complete. Auburn finished in first place in the conference at 15-3 against SEC foes, while Kentucky and Tennessee finished just behind them at 14-4 and Arkansas trailed behind those two schools at 13-5. On Saturday night after Kentucky’s win at Florida on Saturday, Wildcats head coach John Calipari took to Twitter to share his thoughts on SEC teams when it comes to Selection Sunday, which will take place next weekend.

“Any team in the SEC that’s 9-9 should be in the NCAA Tournament,” Calipari tweeted. “The top four teams in our league went 35-1 at home. Crazy! We are the best league and our teams deserve that respect!!”

If every team that went 9-9 in SEC play made the NCAA Tournament as Calipari wants, there would be nine teams from the conference playing in March Madness: Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, and Florida.

Realistically, the Calipari’s belief of nine SEC teams being tournament worthy is not going to come to fruition when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed. Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU, and Alabama are locks. Florida is likely on the bubble. But it’s tough to imagine more than seven or so SEC teams playing into March.

Regardless of what happens elsewhere in the SEC, Calipari knows that he and his Kentucky team will be playing when the NCAA Tournament begins. Kentucky’s first game in the upcoming SEC Tournament will be on Friday, March 11.

Calipari and Kentucky will need three wins in three days next weekend to win the SEC Tournament

With the regular season in the books, the full SEC Tournament schedule has been revealed.

All times Eastern

First round — Wednesday, March 9
Game 1: No. 12 Missouri vs. No. 13 Missouri | 6 p.m. on SEC Network
Game 2: No. 11 Vanderbilt vs. No. 14 Georgia | 25 minutes after Game 1 on SEC Network

Second round — Thursday, March 10
Game 3: No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 Florida | Noon on SEC Network
Game 4: No. 5 LSU vs. Game 1 winner | 25 minutes after Game 3 on SEC Network
Game 5: No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Mississippi State | 6 p.m. on SEC Network
Game 6: No. 6 Alabama vs. Game 2 winner | 25 minutes after Game 5 on SEC Network

Quarterfinals — Friday, March 11
Game 7: No. 1 Auburn vs. Game 3 winner | Noon on ESPN
Game 8: No. 4 Arkansas vs. Game 4 winner | 25 minutes after Game 7 on ESPN
Game 9: No. 2 Tennessee vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m. on SEC Network
Game 10: No. 3 Kentucky vs. Game 6 winner | 25 minutes after Game 9 on SEC Network

Semifinals — Saturday, March 12
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 1 p.m. on ESPN
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner | 25 minutes after Game 11 on ESPN

ACC Tournament Championship Game — Sunday, March 13
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner | 1 p.m. on ESPN