Kentucky vs. Tennessee's impact on SEC Tournament seeding

Kentucky takes on Tennessee tonight in Knoxville. Even though the Cats beat the Vols by 28 in Rupp last month, they could be without TyTy Washington (leg) and Jacob Toppin (ankle) tonight, which is especially unfortunate because this game could have major implications on SEC Tournament seeding.

Currently, the Cats are in second place in the league behind Auburn with a one-game lead on the Vols. If Kentucky wins, the Cats maintain their hold on second place and therefore the No. 2 seed, which means a Friday night 6 p.m. tip in the SEC Tournament. If Tennessee wins, the two teams will be tied in the standings at 10-3. The head-to-head tiebreaker would be split, so the No. 2 seed would depend on both teams’ records against the No. 1 seed through the No. 14 seed. As of today, Kentucky’s win over Alabama gives them the edge; however, if the Cats drop another game or the Vols beat Auburn on Feb. 26, Tennessee would take the No. 2 spot.

Let’s take a look at the standings, seedings, and bracket heading into tonight’s games.

Current SEC Standings

TEAM	CONF	GB	PCT	OVR
Auburn	11-1	–	0.917	23-2
Kentucky	10-2	1	0.833	21-4
Tennessee	9-3	2	0.750	18-6
Arkansas	8-4	3	0.667	19-6
LSU	6-6	5	0.500	18-7
Alabama	6-6	5	0.500	16-9
Florida	6-6	5	0.500	16-9
Mississippi State	5-6	5.5	0.455	14-10
South Carolina	5-7	6	0.417	14-10
Vanderbilt	5-7	6	0.417	13-11
Missouri	4-7	6.5	0.364	10-14
Texas A&M	4-8	7	0.333	15-10
Ole Miss	3-9	8	0.250	12-13
Georgia	1-11	10	0.083	6-19

Current SEC Tournament Seeds

1. Auburn (11-1, .917)
2. Kentucky (10-2, .833)
3. Tennessee (9-3, .750)
4. Arkansas (8-4, .667)
5. Alabama (6-6, .500)
6. LSU (6-6, .500)
7. Florida (6-6, .500)
8. Mississippi State (5-6, .455)
9. South Carolina (5-7, .417)
10. Vanderbilt (5-7, .417)
11. Missouri (4-7, .364)
12. Texas A&M (4-8, .333)
13. Ole Miss (3-9, .250)
14. Georgia (1-11, .083)

Bracket as of Feb. 14

Here are the remaining schedules for the current top four seeds and KenPom‘s projections for each game.

Auburn

• Feb. 16: Vanderbilt (W)
• Feb. 19: at Florida (W)
• Feb. 23: Ole Miss (W)
• Feb. 26: at Tennessee (L)
• Mar. 2: at Mississippi State (W)
• Mar. 5: South Carolina (W)

Kentucky

• Feb. 15: at Tennessee (W)
• Feb. 19: Alabama (W)
• Feb. 23: LSU (W)
• Feb. 26: at Arkansas (W)
• Mar. 1: Ole Miss (W)
• Mar. 5: at Florida (W)

Tennessee

• Feb. 15: Kentucky (L)
• Feb. 19: at Arkansas (W)
• Feb. 22: at Missouri (W)
• Feb. 26: Auburn (W)
• Mar. 1: at Georgia (W)
• Mar. 5: Arkansas (W)

Arkansas

• Feb. 15: at Missouri (W)
• Feb. 19: Tennessee (L)
• Feb. 22: at Florida (L)
• Feb. 26: Kentucky (L)
• Mar. 2: LSU (W)
• Mar. 5: at Tennessee (L)

If KenPom’s projections hold, Kentucky and Auburn will both finish with a 16-2 league record but the Tigers will hold the tiebreaker and get the No. 1 seed. Kentucky would be No. 2 and Tennessee No. 3. I’ll take it.