In a surprising turn of events at the SEC men's basketball tournament, the top three seeds, including (1) Tennessee, (2) Kentucky, and (3) Alabama, were defeated in the quarterfinals, marking a historic upset not seen since 1983. Florida triumphed over Alabama with a final score of 102-88, after leading 48-33 at halftime. The game witnessed Alabama struggling with a 6-of-25 performance on three-pointers and allowing 1.34 points per possession. This loss sets the stage for the semifinals, featuring Mississippi State vs. Auburn and Texas A&M vs. Florida. The last time the top two seeds were eliminated on the same day was March 8, 1991, and the last instance when the top three seeds all lost their opening games was in 1983, a tournament eventually won by the Georgia Bulldogs.
Wild stat from the SEC: After the top 3 seeds - (1) Tennessee, (2) Kentucky and (3) Alabama — all lost by double-digits, it’s the first time since 1983 that the 3 top seeds lost in the quarters. https://t.co/swnuk5R0pf
Florida dusts Alabama, 102-88, and the SEC 1, 2 and 3 seeds all got pretty well handled today in the quarterfinals. So it's Mississippi State-Auburn and Texas A&M-Florida in the semis tomorrow. Gonna be some crowd slippage.
first SEC Tournament where the top three seeds lost in the quarterfinals since 1983 who’s gonna capitalize on the chaos
Three of the top four seeds lost today in the SEC tournament. Only Auburn survived.
Final in SEC quarterfinals: Florida 102, Alabama 88. Tide went 6-of-25 on three-pointers and allowed 1.34 points per possession. They'll find out their NCAA seed and site on Sunday night. One game season at this point.
The last time the 1, 2 and 3 seeds all lost their opener of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament – 1983. Played at the BJCC in Birmingham, Ala., the Georgia Bulldogs won the tournament championship title, en route to a trip to the NCAA Final Four.
The last time the top 3 seeds lost on the same day of the SEC tournament (using straight seeding, not divisional seeding) was 1983.
Florida 80, Alabama 58 (7:52, 2H) The Gators have a 20-8 edge in points in the paint and 13-9 edge on the glass in the second half.
Florida 73, Alabama 52 (10:22, 2H) After UA missed 9 straight 3s, Sam Walters knocked down a triple, and Nate Oats quickly called a timeout.
Top-2 seeds at the SEC Tournament go down today. Last time that happen on the same day was March 8, 1991
Florida up 15 on Alabama at halftime: https://t.co/go3iOB1GRT
Alabama’s Defense vs Florida🥴 Florida finished the first half on a 27-8 RUN‼️👀 https://t.co/hrGY88BNRH
At one point, Alabama was up 8-0 on Florida to start the game. Florida leads Alabama 48-33 at halftime.
Uh, wow, Florida. Gators on a 21-2 run and just smacking Alabama. It's 48-33 at the half. SEC No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds could all get bounced in the quarterfinals.
Alabama 22, Florida 21 (8:00, 1H) Both teams are 2-of-8 from deep at the under-8 media timeout. The Tide leads in the paint, 16-12.
Alabama 15, Florida 12 (11:26, 1H) The Gators just made their first FG in almost 3 minutes, but the Tide is 1 for its last 5. UA is up 12-7 on the glass; Pringle has 5 of the boards.
Alabama 11, Florida 5 (16:00, 1H) UA has made 5 of its last 7 shots and has an early 7-4 edge on the glass at the under-16 media TO.
The two top SEC seeds, both among the hottest teams in the nation, beaten soundly in the quarterfinals today.