Sec Women’s Basketball Tournament: South Carolina Top Seed as Kentucky Rolls, Bracket Tightens in Greenville
sec women’s basketball tournament action is underway this week in Greenville, South Carolina, with the bracket already moving after Kentucky opened with a 94-64 win over Arkansas. The event runs Wednesday through Sunday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, with games carried on, ESPN2, and SEC Network. The urgency now shifts to a field framed as unusually deep, with the top seed South Carolina trying to navigate what’s described as the most competitive conference tournament across the country.
Greenville schedule takes shape after Kentucky’s 94-64 opener
The first day’s results immediately set the board for what comes next. In Game 1, No. 9 Kentucky defeated No. 16 Arkansas 94-64. In Game 2, No. 12 Florida beat No. 13 Mississippi State 86-68.
Next on the slate are Game 3, No. 15 Auburn vs. No. 10 Texas A& M at 5: 30 p. m. ET on SEC Network, followed by Game 4, No. 14 Missouri vs. No. 11 Alabama at 8: 30 p. m. ET on SEC Network. From there, the bracket rolls into Game 5, No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Kentucky at 11 a. m. ET on SEC Network, and Game 6, No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Florida at 1: 30 p. m. ET on SEC Network.
Game 7 places No. 7 Ole Miss against the Game 3 winner at 6 p. m. ET on SEC Network, while Game 8 has No. 6 Tennessee facing the Game 4 winner at 8: 30 p. m. ET on SEC Network. Those results feed directly into the quarterfinals on and SEC Network: Game 9, No. 1 South Carolina vs. the Game 5 winner at 12 p. m. ET on; Game 10, No. 4 LSU vs. the Game 6 winner at 2: 30 p. m. ET on; Game 11, No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. the Game 7 winner at 6 p. m. ET on SEC Network; and Game 12, No. 3 Texas vs. the Game 8 winner at 8: 30 p. m. ET on SEC Network.
Sec Women’s Basketball Tournament field called “most competitive, ” with five teams defining the top tier
The top of the bracket is anchored by No. 3 South Carolina as the No. 1 seed, with No. 4 Texas also positioned among the national front-runners. The conference is described as being on track to claim two top seeds in the NCAA tournament, but the path to an SEC title in Greenville is presented as far from a two-team race.
Half of the top 10 in the ’ latest poll are from the SEC, with Vanderbilt, LSU, and Oklahoma joining South Carolina and Texas. Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes is averaging a nation-best 27. 1 points per game and has 12 30-point games this season—marked as the most by an SEC player this century.
South Carolina enters as the top seed after closing the regular season on a 10-game win streak, capped by a late win over Kentucky on Sunday. LSU, led by head coach Kim Mulkey, was within seven points of upsetting South Carolina last month. Oklahoma ended the regular season on a six-game win streak. Texas finished 28-3 this season and handled Oklahoma without much issue, but its only losses came against the other three teams at the top of the league; Rori Harmon and Madison Booker, who shot just shy of 51% from the field, are identified as leaders for the Longhorns, who finished second in the conference.
Immediate reactions: tournament stakes framed by seeding, streaks, and margins
With the bracket tightening, the stakes are being framed in competitive terms: South Carolina has the edge of playing in its home state and has won nine of the past 11 tournaments, yet this season’s field is described as potentially the best in recent memory. The central question hanging over Greenville is whether any of the other four teams at the top of the league can “send them home early. ”
Quick context
The event is set at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, spanning Wednesday through Sunday. The television lineup includes, ESPN2, and SEC Network.
What’s next: bracket funnels toward quarterfinals and a Sunday title game
The immediate focus is on Wednesday’s late matchups—Auburn vs. Texas A& M at 5: 30 p. m. ET and Missouri vs. Alabama at 8: 30 p. m. ET—because those winners feed directly into second-round games against Ole Miss and Tennessee. From there, the bracket turns into a direct runway to the quarterfinals, where South Carolina, LSU, Vanderbilt, and Texas wait on Saturday with set tip times.
By Sunday, the bracket resolves through Game 13 (4: 30 p. m. ET on ESPN2) and Game 14 (7 p. m. ET on ESPN2) into the championship: Game 15 at 3 p. m. ET on —where the sec women’s basketball tournament will crown a champion in a field defined, from the outset, as loaded.
