New SEC Conference scheduling format approved for Men's Basketball for the 2025-26 athletic year when OU and tu join the SEC.

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Men's Basketball

• Regular season: Each season a team will play two permanent opponents home and away, one rotating opponent home and away, plus the 12 remaining teams in single contests either home or away, for a total of 18 conference games.
• SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: All 16 teams will compete in a single-elimination format, consistent with the current format but with two additional games. The top four seeded teams will continue to receive a bye through the first two rounds of the tournament.

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Who do we want as our two permanent rivals? tu and LSU? Arkansas?

Current Permanent Rivals (3 since 2015/16 season)
Alabama: Auburn, Mississippi State, LSU
Arkansas: Missouri, Texas A&M, LSU
Auburn: Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia
Florida: Kentucky, Georgia, Vanderbilt
Georgia: South Carolina, Florida, Auburn
Kentucky: Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
LSU: Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas
Ole Miss: Mississippi State, Auburn, Missouri
Mississippi State: Ole Miss, Alabama, South Carolina
Missouri: Arkansas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss
South Carolina: Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi State
Tennessee: Vanderbilt, Kentucky, South Carolina
Texas A&M: LSU, Arkansas, Missouri
Vanderbilt: Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky

Here is my prediction for 2025/26:
Alabama: Auburn, Mississippi State
Arkansas: Missouri, LSU
Auburn: Alabama, Ole Miss
Florida: Kentucky, Georgia
Georgia: South Carolina, Florida
Kentucky: Florida, Tennessee
LSU: Texas A&M, Arkansas
Oklahoma: Texas, Missouri
Ole Miss: Mississippi State, Auburn
Mississippi State: Ole Miss, Alabama
Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma
South Carolina: Georgia, Vanderbilt
Tennessee: Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Texas A&M: LSU, Texas
Texas: Texas A&M, Oklahoma
Vanderbilt: Tennessee, South Carolina

pretty much agree with you on the two permanent rivals. I could see ours being Texas and Arkansas as well.

I'm ok with it being Arkansas and LSU. The basketball rivalry with the Horns hasn't ever been anything like in football honestly. But I'm sure Texas will be one of them in basketball too

I think the two permanent rivals does lock in we don't need. Imagine if we had instead a more fluid scheduling process that rotated to obtain best matchup in any given year for the two home and home opponents.

But I'm not exactly opposed to it. We play every team at least once every year.

By far the only possible game that could matter for the program is to have it so that we play Texas at Reed every year. LSU, Arkansas, whoever else hardly matters vs any other SEC game.

JJxvi said:

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By far the only possible game that could matter for the program is to have it so that we play Texas at Reed every year. LSU, Arkansas, whoever else hardly matters vs any other SEC game.

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Kentucky at home annually is a very good ticket draw…

Is there much discussion about this or do the Presidents / Chancellors just approve what is is presented to them from the conference?

Anchorhold said:

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Is there much discussion about this or do the Presidents / Chancellors just approve what is is presented to them from the conference?

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Football is getting most of the attention. Plus the extra-curricular activities have engendered the most news coverage…

Hop said:

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It's asinine to have a conference tournament and give the four best teams two rounds of byes. It makes it almost impossible for a team outside the NCAA Tourney field to win it all and grab the auto bid.

One bye is more than enough advantage for those that earned it in the regular season.

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No one needs a bye in a 16-team field. Resolves neatly in four games.

The format with byes spreads out the games more evenly though (in terms of actually putting on a tournament and selling tickets for it and everything). The first round of the full single elimination tournament bracket would be 8 games which would have to take two days or multiple arenas, and then the third day would be 4 teams who had a day off and 4 who didnt etc

Hop said:

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It's asinine to have a conference tournament and give the four best teams two rounds of byes. It makes it almost impossible for a team outside the NCAA Tourney field to win it all and grab the auto bid.

One bye is more than enough advantage for those that earned it in the regular season.

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Does the conference get more money the more teams that are in the tourney? I believe the answer is yes

So I agree, asinine

I think LSU would be irritated with taking two of the newbie teams A&M and Texas. I could see them absorbing A&M and Arkansas however. Until you would have Oklahoma and maybe Missouri or somebody else.

MarcAg said:

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I'm ok with it being Arkansas and LSU. The basketball rivalry with the Horns hasn't ever been anything like in football honestly. But I'm sure Texas will be one of them in basketball too

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It's nothing like football, but still light years better than anyone else.

Even in 2012 when we absolutely sucked almost 10,000 people were at the Texas game on a Monday night at 8:00.

After Texas, I don't really care who the other one is.

I want Arkansas as one of our rivals.

I think there is a solid shot that it will be Arkansas instead of LSU for hoops.

Arkansas is in a weird position in hoops. Texas is not in play for them with 2 rivals like it will be in football with 3. Auburn is kinda the team that I don't know who to pair them with. Do they need to be with Georgia?

I'm thinking it could easily go like this...

Alabama: Auburn, Miss State
Arkansas: Missouri, Texas A&M
Auburn: Alabama, LSU
Florida: Georgia, South Carolina
Georgia: Florida, South Carolina
Kentucky: Tennessee, Vanderbilt
LSU: Ole Miss, Auburn
Ole Miss: Miss St, LSU
Miss St: Ole Miss, Alabama
Missouri: Oklahoma, Arkansas
Oklahoma: Texas, Missouri
South Carolina: Georgia, Florida
Tennessee: Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Texas: Oklahoma, Texas A&M
Texas A&M: Texas, Arkansas
Vanderbilt: Tennessee, Kentucky


If you start trying to put us with LSU instead.

Alabama: Auburn, Miss State
Arkansas: Missouri, LSU
Auburn: Alabama, Ole Miss
Florida: Georgia, South Carolina
Georgia: Florida, South Carolina
Kentucky: Tennessee, Vanderbilt
LSU: Arkansas, Texas A&M
Ole Miss: Miss St, LSU
Miss St: Ole Miss, Auburn
Missouri: Oklahoma, Arkansas
Oklahoma: Texas, Missouri
South Carolina: Georgia, Florida
Tennessee: Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Texas: Oklahoma, Texas A&M
Texas A&M: Texas, LSU
Vanderbilt: Tennessee, Kentucky

I would think we are going to some Arkansas vs Oklahoma promoted too. In the grand scheme of things, those campuses are pretty close with about a 3 1/2 hour drive.

It's hard to see Oklahoma not being with both Texas and Missouri

I'd like to see Arkansas-Oklahoma in football for that reason, but for us, it probably puts us as one of the prime candidates to be the winner of the "random school that's going to get paired with South Carolina" sweepstakes.