SEC Basketball Tournament Bracket Revealed: Who's in Alabama's Path?

Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears' game-winning buzzer-beater played a pivotal role in officially determining Alabama's conference tournament seed.

Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats arrives at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN on Friday, Mar 15, 2024. | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

No. 7 Alabama basketball took down No. 1 Auburn on the road 93-91 in overtime via a game-winning buzzer-beater by guard Mark Sears.

This was Alabama's final game of the regular season and Sears ended it on the highest of notes to silence a once-deafening Neville Arena with his floater. The final result also helped the Crimson Tide in terms of postseason status.

The win cemented Alabama as the No. 3 seed in the highly anticipated SEC Tournament.

SEC Basketball Tournament Bracket | Jon Rothstein's X/Twitter

Kentucky will face the winner of Oklahoma vs. Georgia and then who ever comes out on top of that game will go head-to-head with the Crimson Tide.

Nevertheless, had the Crimson Tide not beaten Auburn, it would've been the 4-seed behind Tennessee due to the Volunteers not only having the tiebreaker, but they also defeated South Carolina 75-65 on Saturday. Instead, Alabama has now finished SEC play with a 13-5 record while the Vols ended 12-6.

How did Alabama get to the No. 3 seed?

Alabama men's basketball's loss to Florida at home on Wednesday night became the Crimson Tide's fourth defeat in the last six games––all of which came against ranked teams.

Throughout the cold stretch, Alabama has gone from the AP Top 25's No. 2 team in the nation, then to No. 4, then to No. 6, and following the loss to the Gators, the Tide could move in the wrong direction from its current No. 7 rank.

Alabama had also gone from being tied with Auburn for the No. 1 spot in the SEC standings and is now No. 3 after the loss to Florida. The Crimson Tide was once a solidified one-seed for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but now sits at a No. 2 seed in bracketology.

While the Alabama-Florida postgame press conferences were in session, Oklahoma completed a 96-84 home upset over No. 15 Missouri. Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears led his team to victory with a dominant 31-point performance.

So why was this good for Alabama? Well, Missouri came into Wednesday with the No. 5 spot in the SEC standings and was a game behind the Crimson Tide and Tennessee. The Tigers' loss prevented them from a shot at gaining one of the top-4 seeds as only one matchup remained before the conference tournament.

In other words, Alabama clinched one of the top-4 seeds, meaning it will have a double-bye for the SEC Tournament next week. Instead of playing next Thursday, head coach Nate Oats and company will play on Friday.

Alabama came into Wednesday night on the wrong side of a tiebreaker for the No. 2 spot in standings with Florida and the loss pushed the Tide into the third-seed. The win for the Gators officially gives them that runner-up spot behind Auburn.

Oddly enough, Tennessee was also upset on Wednesday night as it fell to Ole Miss 78-76 on the road. Rebels forward Jaemyn Brakefield scored 19 points off the bench but three other players finished in double-figures to help get the win.

The Volunteers were then one game behind the Crimson Tide and Alabama's win over Auburn clinched head coach Nate Oats and company the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament.