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Who could Tennessee basketball face in their first SEC Tournament game?

The SEC Tournament is under way and Tennessee basketball is preparing for its quarterfinals matchup on Friday.

By Colton Pickard

SEC Men's Basketball Tournament - Alabama v LSU
SEC Men's Basketball Tournament - Alabama v LSU / Brett Carlsen/GettyImages
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Tennessee basketball has earned the one-seed in the SEC Tournament with its SEC Championship, so the Vols have earned a double-bye for the conference tournament. This means the Vols will play on Friday when the quarterfinal games take place.

The SEC has released its bracket for this year's tournament. If Tennessee runs the table, they will play in Games 7, 11, and 13. This gives Tennessee the first game of the day Friday through Sunday, tipping off at Noon CT. Here's another look at what the tournament bracket will look like with each team's seeding.

The Vols hold the one seed, lining up a quarterfinal matchup with nine-seed Mississippi State or eight-seed LSU. Either way, Tennessee will be coming off six days of rest and should be able to put together a solid performance in at least the first round.

Regardless of who the Vols face, they will come into the quarterfinals matchup motivated and looking to earn one of the final spots in the NCAA Tournament. Joe Lunardi has Mississippi State in if they can beat LSU, but even with that win, there is no guarantee. Conversely, LSU might need more than one win in the conference tournament to make the dance.

The final two rounds are setting up a rematch for the Vols. Tennessee is looking at a possible rematch against South Carolina or Auburn in the Semifinals and a rematch against Kentucky or Alabama in the Championship.

We could also see some lower-seeded SEC teams try to make a tournament run for an NCAA Tournament bid. Florida and Texas A&M are two teams that will likely make the dance later this month. Lunardi also has A&M as one of his first teams out with a loss to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament, so expect them to have some motivation coming into the conference tournament.

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The Vols will undoubtedly have their hands full in this year's tournament, with a deep conference looking to upset the regular season champions. Every game Tennessee wins will get them one game closer to securing their first NCAA Tournament one-seed in school history.