ESPN analyst lays out seeding stakes for SEC Tournament title game
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Unlike some of their conference rivals, both Arkansas and Vanderbilt know they’ll be in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks and Commodores are, for the tournament committee’s intents and purposes, just playing for seeding today when they face off in the SEC Championship.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello analyzed the seed outlook for Arkansas and Vanderbilt late Saturday night. He wondered if the winner of Sunday’s battle is capped at a No. 4 seed, or if they could potentially climb higher.
“Could [Arkansas or Vanderbilt] jump to a 3-seed with an SEC tournament championship?” Borzello asked. “They would likely have to surpass Nebraska for that spot. Vanderbilt has one more Quad 1 win than Nebraska, and two more Quad 1 and 2 wins, with slightly superior metrics. Arkansas has two fewer Quad 1 wins and the same number of Quad 1 and 2 wins, but the Razorbacks don’t have the metrics edge.”
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has Vanderbilt as his No. 14 team (second No. 4 seed) and Arkansas as his No. 17 team (first No. 5 seed).
The Razorbacks and Commodores could theoretically swap positions if John Calipari’s squad prevailed on Sunday. However, with the two so closely aligned, the committee may have already made up its mind on where each school will be, regardless of today’s result. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show begins at 6:00 p.m. E.T.
