What happened to SEC men’s basketball teams in opening rounds of 2025 NCAA Tournament?
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Game day: Kentucky 76, Troy 57
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Friday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Troy at the NCAA Tournament in Milwaukee.
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Over the last few days, the SEC put its reputation as the best conference in men’s college basketball on the line.
The SEC set a record this year by placing 14 of its schools into the 68-team NCAA Tournament field. This broke the previous March Madness record of 11 teams from one conference, set by the Big East Conference in 2011. LSU and South Carolina were the only SEC schools that didn’t make the national postseason this year.
By having 14 schools in the Big Dance, the SEC made up 20.6% of March Madness entrants.
How did the opening rounds of the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament go for those 14 SEC teams?
Seven SEC schools — exactly half of the 14 that qualified for March Madness — are still alive in the tournament with a chance to win the national championship. Yes, seven SEC teams reached the Sweet 16.
Alabama, Arkansas Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Tennessee are all still dancing.
According to ESPN, this marks the most schools from one conference in the Sweet 16 since the round was introduced in 1975. This topped the previous record of six ACC schools that made the Sweet 16 in 2016.
Here are the SEC winners and losers from the opening days of March Madness.
SEC schools that won their first game in 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament
Auburn and Florida, the two SEC schools that were No. 1 seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament, both cruised to victory in their first-round contests.
Auburn struggled early before easing its way to an 83-63 win over No. 16 seed Alabama State in an opening-round game that was played at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The Tigers then went on to beat No. 9 seed Creighton, 82-70, on Saturday night in Lexington to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. Previously, the Bluejays had upset No. 8 seed Louisville in the first round.
Auburn will take on No. 5 seed Michigan in the Sweet 16.
Florida had no issues whatsoever in a 95-69 crushing of No. 16 seed Norfolk State in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Gators were then pushed to the limit in a second-round matchup against No. 8 seed UConn, but the Gators executed better than the two-time defending national champions down the stretch to win by a 77-75 score and lock up a spot in the Sweet 16.
Florida will face No. 4 seed Maryland in the regional semifinals.
Both of the SEC schools that were given No. 2 seeds — Alabama and Tennessee — triumphed in the first round.
Alabama was pushed all the way by No. 15 seed Robert Morris, but the Crimson Tide came away with a 90-81 win over the Colonials in Cleveland. Alabama then beat No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s on Sunday in the second round.
The Crimson Tide will play No. 6 seed BYU in the Sweet 16.
Also advancing as a No. 2 seed was Tennessee. Rick Barnes’ Volunteers kept No. 15 seed Wofford — coached by former UK walk-on Dwight Perry — at arm’s length in a 77-62 win on Thursday night in Lexington. Tennessee then beat No. 7 seed UCLA on Saturday at Rupp Arena by a 67-58 final score to earn a spot in the regional semifinals.
Also moving on to the Sweet 16 of March Madness? The Kentucky Wildcats.
Mark Pope picked up his first March Madness win as a head coach Friday night in UK’s 76-57 rout of Troy in Milwaukee. The No. 3 seed Wildcats led for more than 36 minutes against the No. 14 seed Trojans, a welcomed change compared to some of UK’s recent NCAA Tournament performances.
UK then beat No. 6 seed Illinois on Sunday to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
And wouldn’t you know it? The Wildcats and Volunteers will be playing each other in the regional semifinals. Friday night’s matchup in Indianapolis will be the first ever NCAA Tournament meeting between the longtime rivals.
Another highly rated SEC squad that won its NCAA Tournament opener was No. 4 seed Texas A&M, which beat No. 13 seed Yale 80-71 on Thursday in Denver. But, the Aggies lost to No. 5 seed Michigan on Saturday, as Texas A&M’s season ended in the round of 32.
Despite leading by as many as 22 points, No. 6 seed Ole Miss was taken to the wire in the first round by No. 11 seed North Carolina in a game that Ole Miss eventually won by seven points in Milwaukee. Ole Miss then pulled off a significant upset in the round of 32, trouncing Iowa State to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001.
Ole Miss draws No. 2 seed Michigan State in the Sweet 16.
Last, but certainly not least, let’s talk about John Calipari.
Coach Cal and No. 10 seed Arkansas were the only double-digit seed SEC school to win a game in the first round. The Hogs topped No. 7 seed Kansas 79-72 on Thursday night to set up a dream second-round matchup against No. 2 seed St. John’s, coached by Rick Pitino, on Saturday.
The Razorbacks won that headline contest over the Red Storm, and Calipari’s Hogs are now heading to the Sweet 16 in San Francisco. Arkansas will play No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the regional semifinals.
SEC schools that lost their first game in 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament
Only two SEC schools — Missouri and Mississippi State — suffered upset losses in the first round of March Madness, according to the seed lines.
Missouri, a No. 6 seed, lost to No. 11 seed Drake 67-57 on Thursday night in Wichita, Kansas.
Mississippi State, a No. 8 seed, lost to No. 9 seed Baylor 75-72 on Friday afternoon in Raleigh.
Three SEC schools that were underdogs, by seed lines, all lost their NCAA Tournament games.
No. 9 seed Oklahoma was turned back by two-time defending national champions UConn 67-59 on Friday night in Raleigh.
No. 9 seed Georgia was eviscerated by No. 8 seed Gonzaga 89-68 on Thursday in Wichita.
And No. 10 seed Vanderbilt had a chance to tie the game with just seconds remaining, but the Commodores missed a 3-pointer that would have sent the game to overtime in a 59-56 loss to No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s in Cleveland.
Texas, the lone SEC school that was selected to play in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio failed to advance from the field of 68 to the traditional field of 64: The Longhorns lost 86-80 to Xavier in a play-in game on Wednesday night. Over the weekend, the Longhorns dismissed head coach Rodney Terry, despite three straight NCAA trips.
This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
