2024 NCAA Tournament Bracket: Here's how each SEC squad advanced to the Field of 68

Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have a bracket for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The 2024 field is set after all 32 conference tournament championship games came and went. The NCAA Selection Show seeded all 68 teams that will compete in next week’s tournament, which starts in Dayton with the First Four on Tuesday, March 19.

As expected, 8 SEC teams cracked the field: Tennessee, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The Aggies had to sweat it out after withstanding a truly unbelievable bubble that was moved after upset wins by teams such as Temple, NC State, Oregon and more in their respective conference tournament games.

As of right now, Tennessee has the top odds out of the SEC to win the National Title, sitting at +1600 on DraftKings. New users who sign up with DraftKings can earn $150 in Bonus Bets for signing up and making any wager of $5 or more.

As a refresher, let’s take a look at each team’s journey to this point, all the way from November to March (in just a paragraph or 2). Let’s start at the top of the bracket and work our way down.

Tennessee

Tennessee earned the 2-seed and the top seed of any team in the SEC on Sunday, but did it while backpedaling into the field. The Vols had a very real shot at a 1-seed heading into Friday’s SECT quarterfinal matchup against Mississippi State and proceeded to play their worst game of the season.

But don’t count these Vols out just for facing a Mississippi State team that was playing for its tournament hopes (something they earned on the court, by the way.) Tennessee holds wins over the SEC, B1G and ACC tournament champions this season with an outright SEC Regular season title on their belt.

Finally, its worst loss on the year came to Texas A&M back in early February. That’s a strong worst loss, folks.

The Vols’ real danger comes from star wing Dalton Knecht, who needs no introduction. Knecht has struggled some by his standards since dropping 39 in a win over Auburn and the Vols will need more of that mid-season fire back to make a deep run.

The Vols draw Saint Peter’s in the first round.

Auburn

Auburn entered March as a team that had earned respect from those around it, but had struggled to pick up any strong, strong wins. The Tigers beat Baylor all the way back in November and downed Alabama at home in early February, but that’s where their resume really started and ended.

That is, until the SEC Tournament. The Tigers blitzed South Carolina, downed a Mississippi State team fresh off a dominant performance against Tennessee and brushed off Florida to win the SEC Tournament title.

The Tigers have an elite post presence in Johni Broome, one of the best defenses in the entire country and some strong guard play from Aden Holloway and Denver Jones. Oh, and did we mention Jaylin Williams being one of the most efficient scorers in the country?

Auburn will face Yale in the First Round of the tournament.

Kentucky

The Wildcats were a flawed team at the start of SEC play this season, let’s just go ahead and admit it. HC John Calipari’s guys had unbelievable and obvious talent, but it was a bit like strapping a V8 to a tricycle. There just is not any way to control all that power.

But as the season wore on, this Wildcats team has blossomed. Reed Sheppard might be the most accurate shooter in the country. Rob Dillingham and Justin Edwards especially turned it on late. Antonio Reeves is a top 3 player in the SEC. But more than anything else, this Kentucky team really started to lock in on defense around February.

The Wildcats have won 7 of their last 9 with wins over Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn in that stretch. There are some concerns in the frontcourt, but you’re going to have a tough time finding a defense that can slow this Kentucky offense down when they’re going.

The Wildcats will face Oakland in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Alabama

Alabama has taken the opposite approach Kentucky. The Tide started SEC play guns ablazing and faltered down the stretch, culminating with a quarterfinals loss to Florida. The Crimson Tide have dropped 4 of their last 6 heading into the Big Dance.

The Tide like to go fast and lean on an incredible offense that can play with the very best in the country. But the downside is that Nate Oats’ bunch is not exactly concerned with playing tough defense and hasn’t been all season. According to KenPom, Alabama boasts the nation’s No. 2 offense and No. 112 defense.

The Tide boast wins over Auburn, Oregon, Indiana State and Mississippi State and fell in close contests against Purdue and Creighton. The Tide also fell to Clemson and Arizona in what was a uber-tough non-conference slate.

Alabama will face Charleston as a 4-seed.

South Carolina

Who in the world guessed this South Carolina team would be a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament? Put your hand down.

Lamont Paris was named the SEC Coach of the Year for a reason, folks. The Gamecocks are infinitely clutch, inherently lovable and led by Meechie Johnson, one of the most underrated guards in the conference.

The Gamecocks beat Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Grand Canyon, Florida and Mississippi State on the way to a 5-seed in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks, of course, ran into Auburn during the Tigers’ march to the SEC Title.

South Carolina will face Oregon in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Florida

Todd Golden’s squad exceeded expectations and then some this season. The Gators saw some huge help out of the transfer portal with Walter Clayton Jr and Zyon Pullin both earning All-SEC honors.

The Gators played a strong non-conference slate, downing Pitt and Florida State but falling to Baylor by 4 and Wake Forest by 11. In SEC play, the Gators downed Auburn, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State before winning 3 games in the SEC Tournament, including a quarterfinals win over the Crimson Tide.

The Gators do a lot right on offense and despite not being the greatest shooting team in the tournament, can rebound and protect the ball with the best of them. The loss of Micah Handlogten in the SEC Tournament may throw a wrench into Golden’s plans for the Field of 68, though.

The Gators (7-seed) will face the winner of Boise State or Colorado on Friday in Indianapolis.

Mississippi State

Chris Jans and Mississippi State have had as strong a March as any team in the country. The Bulldogs embarrassed Tennessee and LSU after losing 4 straight games to end the regular season.

The Bulldogs started the year without star Tolu Smith and were a little slow to start SEC play as he worked his way back into the speed of the college game.

The Bulldogs will face Tom Izzo and Michigan State

Texas A&M

The Aggies have an impressive number of Q1 wins, but lack in the lower quadrants with losses to Arkansas twice, Vanderbilt and LSU.

The Aggies made another strong run in the SEC Tournament with a huge win over Kentucky, which may have saved their hopes of dropping off the bubble.

The Aggies are a 9-seed and will face Nebraska in Memphis.