SEC is looking into moving basketball championship off of Sunday

The SEC Tournament is one of the highlights of the basketball calendar for Kentucky fans. However, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has often not given the games played in the postseason the attention they deserve.

Multiple times under John Calipari, Kentucky often felt underseeded despite going on deep runs in the SEC Tournament. Back in 2016, Kentucky knocked off Texas A&M to win the title and split the season series, but the Aggies were handed a No. 2 seed with Kentucky getting a No. 4 seed despite of that head-to-head result with similar resumes. We saw it happen again this year as Tennessee was given a No. 3 seed despite a deep run in Tampa with two wins over Kentucky in the last month of the season.

While not confirmed, the fact of the matter is that the committee finalizes the bracket on Saturday night and is only changing things on Sunday if there is an automatic bid at stake. Therefore, SEC and Big Ten champs often don’t get the points in the selection process that they deserve. This has been a gripe for years among many fanbases in the SEC.

The head coaches in the league are ready for a change.

#SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says men's basketball coaches asked if it's possible to move SEC Tournament final from Sunday to Saturday. Sankey said he doesn't know if it's immediately possible. #LSU

— Scott Rabalais (@RabalaisAdv) June 1, 2022

Per Brandon Marcello of 247 Sports, the coaches are ready to move now due to the competitive advantage other leagues seem to be getting on championship weekend.

“The SEC’s coaches questioned the valuation of the game for the two teams participating in the championship game since it is conducted mere hours before the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee unveils its 68-team field,” Marcello wrote.

A change is unlikely in the near future as the league has a contract with Bridgestone Arena that runs through the 2030 season that includes the dates of the tournament along with the broadcast rights to ESPN. So don’t hold your breath.

Sankey also went on record for wanting the SEC Tournament to have a permanent home in Nashville similar to the football championship having a home in Atlanta. Expect short trips to the Music City from here moving forward.

Football is getting all of the buzz at SEC Meetings this week, but some important basketball topics are being discussed as the league is slowly becoming one of the best in college hoops.