A look at SEC Tournament seeding

Well, last night looked promising for Kentucky when it comes to seeding in the SEC Tournament, but this morning, not as much.

The Wildcats were in play for seeds 1-4 in the SEC Tournament before last night’s games, but with Auburn and Arkansas each picking up wins, Kentucky is now eliminated from possibly getting either the 1 or 2 seed.

Mississippi State looked poised to complete a major upset over Auburn in Starkville last night after coming back from down 19 in the first half, but overtime proved to be too much for a Bulldogs team that has consistently struggled late in games all season.

And then LSU took Arkansas down to the wire in Fayetteville, but some questionable calls and poor execution down the stretch doomed Will Wade’s squad and Arkansas continued its hot streak.

So where do things stand now? Basically, Kentucky can either earn a 3-seed in the SEC Tournament or a 4-seed.

The Cats control their own destiny in that regard. Win against Florida Saturday and get the 3. Lose and get the 4.

Right now, a lot of scenarios could play out with seeds 5-10, so based off the standings this morning, as the 3-seed, Kentucky would face either (6) Florida or (11) Vanderbilt/(14) Georgia.

The obvious issue with the 3 seed is being the final game on Friday night, which won’t tip off until after 9 p.m. most likely and turning around for an afternoon tip on Saturday where Kentucky would likely take on Arkansas.

As a 4-seed, Kentucky would play in the second game on Friday. And based on the current standings, would take on (5) Alabama or (12) Missouri/(13) Ole Miss. With a win, there would likely be a Kentucky/Auburn rematch in the semifinals on Saturday.

These matchups are all, of course, hypothetical as the middle of the SEC is a logjam right now.

Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina all sit at 9-8 in conference, while LSU, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State are each 8-9.

Saturday’s games will shift the standings quite a bit.

This year’s SEC Tournament is maybe as wide open as it has ever been in recent years. There are legitimately five teams that I can see winning with a couple others that I can see making a run and knocking off some of the top contenders.

Kentucky would be in a lot better position as a 1 or 2 seed in Tampa, but this year’s tournament will be a tough road for no matter who wins.