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For the first time in NCAA history, one conference makes up nearly half of the Sweet 16. Seven of the remaining 16 teams hail from the Southeastern Conference, which is the conference’s second NCAA basketball record of the tournament after 14 teams were selected to the field of 68 — another record.
The remaining teams from the SEC include Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Kentucky. With two No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds, the SEC is looking to break another record for the most teams from one conference in the Elite Eight.
Of the eight Sweet 16 matchups Thursday and Friday, only two do not feature an SEC team. One of the most highly anticipated games is the only SEC-on-SEC showing — Tennessee vs. Kentucky.
Despite opening SEC play as the No. 1 overall seed, Tennessee has fallen to Kentucky in both of the regular season games. Both at home and on the road, the Volunteers lost by single digits to the Wildcats. Their final face off of the season will begin at 7:39 p.m. on Friday.
On Thursday at 7:39 p.m. the Florida Gators will face their first Big Ten opponent of the season. The Maryland Terrapins are coming off of a buzzer-beater win against Colorado State. In the last round, Florida knocked off the reigning back-to-back national champions in a two-point game. With both teams scrapping together last-minute wins in the second round, fans will be watching to see who has the consistency to make it to the Elite Eight.
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The Ole Miss Rebels will test their success against the Michigan State Spartans on Friday night at 7:09. After beating Iowa State by double digits, the Rebels look to knock off another top seed. The Spartans had a tough showing in their second-round game against New Mexico. In order to capitalize, Ole Miss will have to stay hot from beyond the arch and take over the rebounding efforts.
The Sweet 16’s first game will be between Alabama and BYU. Both teams had a strong showing in their conferences and among the tournament games. BYU’s only loss in its last five games was against No. 1 overall Auburn, while Alabama’s was against the No. 1 seeded Gators. However, in the SEC Tournament, Alabama was able to put together an overtime win against Auburn. The game begins at 7:09 p.m. on Thursday.
On Friday at 9:39 p.m., the No. 1 overall Auburn Tigers will face the Big Ten champion. Michigan dominated its first SEC opponent of the tournament when it defeated Texas A&M by double digits in round two. Unlike Florida, Auburn faced two Big Ten teams in the regular season and the team came out victorious in both matchups.
The final team to punch a ticket to the Elite Eight will be either Texas Tech or Arkansas. As a No. 10 seed, Arkansas is the lowest seeded team still in the Dance. To get to the Sweet 16, Arkansas knocked off two teams which were predicted to have Final Four potential. As the seventh SEC team in the Sweet 16, Arkansas looks to become the seventh No. 10 seed in tournament history to make it to the Elite Eight. This final game of the Sweet 16 starts on Friday at 10:09 p.m.
