Blue is getting in and ready for a late night at the SEC Tournament

Greetings, friends, and good evening from Bridgestone Arena. No. 10 Mississippi State vs. No. 7 Missouri is underway, 45 minutes later than expected due to No. 13 Texas vs. No. 5 Texas A&M going to double overtime. That means Kentucky vs. Oklahoma won’t tip off until 10:15 p.m. ET at the earliest. Given the way this season has gone, just go ahead and prepare for a 10:30 p.m. ET tipoff.

The delayed tip times have led to some grumbling in the media room — which got even worse when the drink machine broke — but it’s good vibes only with the KSR crew. One of my favorite SEC Tournament rituals is going up to the concourse before the gates open for Kentucky’s session and taking a picture of the crowd through the big windows on the front of Bridgestone. Kentucky Blue dominated, even with the Cats playing the late game. It was a beautiful sight.

After finding a coffee shop still open, I took a lap around Broadway and am now settled in for the long haul. Before I dive into some notes, here is the updated SEC Tournament bracket with today’s results thus far:

— As Jack Pilgrim outlined earlier, Texas’ win over Texas A&M was a good result for Kentucky. The Aggies are near Kentucky on the projected No. 3 seed line, just below the Cats as the No. 10 overall team in Lunardi’s projections. Iowa State, Lunardi’s No. 12 team, also lost today, to BYU in the Big 12 Tournament. Kentucky needs to take care of its own business, of course, but the path to a No. 2 seed is there if the Cats can make some noise in Nashville.

Good sign from Texas pic.twitter.com/kPpqrJaJjc

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 13, 2025

— Spotted so far in Nashville: Perry Stevenson, Travis Ford, and Otega Oweh’s family making the rounds on Broadway. Kentucky fans have taken over Broadway, and even at 5 p.m., everyone seemed in very, very good spirits. I can only imagine what this place will look like when the game finally tips off.

— Here’s a random, but true sentence: a cobbler may have helped me break Kentucky’s March Sadness curse. On the day Kentucky played Oakland in the NCAA Tournament last year in Pittsburgh, the sole of one of my boots started to peel off from the base. I got it fixed when I got home, but when I got to Bridgestone Arena today, I noticed the sole on the other boot was starting to do the same thing. That can’t be a coincidence, right? I wear these boots all the time.

Instead of just dealing with it or running back to my house to change shoes, I decided to stop this bad mojo in its tracks. I found a shoe repair shop in downtown Nashville and carefully walked there to see if they could help. Tony and his wife fixed my boot, gluing the sole back on and screwing it to the wooden base, and also put some screws in the other one to make sure it didn’t budge in the future. They even threw in a free buff and shine. By far the best $25 I’ve spent in downtown Nashville in probably a decade. Shoutout to Tony’s in the Arcade for fixing me up and hopefully breaking the curse. Give them your business.

— After that, I was in such a good mood that I stopped in to see some of Shannon the Dude and Alice Blue Gown’s set at Tin Roof Broadway. It never gets old seeing Shannon be a rockstar. It was especially cool to see them perform their new single, “Helios.” The second floor of Tin Roof was absolutely packed, adding to the good vibes.

Shannon the Dude has the crowd at Tin Roof ready for Kentucky vs. Oklahoma. pic.twitter.com/aeKQledm8k

— KSR (@KSRonX) March 13, 2025

— Once back in the media room, I tucked into dinner, which was actually pretty good. Cobb salad, hot chicken (which was not that hot), mac and cheese, and cornbread. I passed on the cobbler. We’ve got a long night. The drink machine is still down, but thankfully, they brought in some Gatorade so we can stay hydrated.

— I woke up nervous about this game, which I think is perfectly natural considering how the past few Marches have gone. It’s easy to talk yourself into worry. Oklahoma’s got the revenge angle, Kentucky needed a nuclear second half from Otega Oweh to win in Norman, that game was insanely chippy, etc. Thankfully, those nerves have dissipated. Maybe it’s seeing all the Kentucky fans around town, the other game results going Kentucky’s way, Arkansas losing, or just the general excitement leading up until tipoff, but I’m feeling good. Hopefully, I’m still feeling that way in four and a half hours.

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