How the SEC Tournament champion has fared in the NCAA Tournament

The SEC Tournament starts tonight in St. Louis.

Top-seeded Auburn and the other big boys won’t play until the quarterfinals Friday.

Back in my day, conference tournaments meant everything because it was the only way to get into the NCAA Tournament. We’re a long, long way from those days, however.

You wouldn’t know it by recent history, though.

The No. 1 seeds have played like they still need to win this thing to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

The past 9 SEC Championship games have included a No. 1 seed.

Of course, that also could speak to the sizable gap created by Kentucky and Florida.

There’s no such gap this year, which should make the five days in St. Louis more unpredictable than usual.

Also unpredictable: How far the SEC Tournament champion will advance in the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a look at what happened to the champion over the past 10 years:

The last time the SEC Tournament champion actually won the NCAA championship?

Florida, twice in a row in 2006 and 2007.

Here’s the complete list of SEC Tournament champions who won the NCAA Tournament. (Note: There was no SEC Tournament from 1953-1978, so the 1958 and 1978 national champion Kentucky teams didn’t have a chance to pull off the double.)

So, am I saying that winning the SEC Tournament isn’t everything? I’m not saying that, but SEC history might be.

Chris Wright

Managing Editor

A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.