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SEC Baseball: Breaking down the most important games of the SEC’s final day
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The SEC’s regular season will come to an end on Saturday afternoon with all 14 teams set to be in action.
Some things have already been decided earlier in the weekend. Arkansas clinched the SEC West title with a win over the Aggies on Friday evening. The 4 teams who will receive a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament are also set in stone: Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas A&M. At the bottom of the league, Auburn and Missouri will be the 2 teams left out of Hoover next week.
However, there’s still a lot on the line during the SEC’s final day — including the No. 1 seed. Here’s a look at what’s at stake on Saturday in the SEC:
Vanderbilt at Kentucky | 12 p.m. ET | SEC Network
Kentucky has won the first 2 games of this series, and would clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the SEC Tournament with a third straight victory over the Commodores. A win would put the Wildcats at 23-7 in conference play, further boosting a résumé that is already one of the best in all of college baseball.
A loss would put UK in jeopardy of falling to the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. If Kentucky loses and Tennessee wins, the Vols would win the SEC East crown (by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker) and the No. 1 seed in Hoover next week. Because division winners are guaranteed the top-2 seeds, UK would fall to the No. 3 seed — behind SEC West-champion Arkansas.
Kentucky is -175 to beat Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon, per the latest lines from DraftKings. Vanderbilt is +135.
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South Carolina at Tennessee | 1 p.m. ET | SEC Network+
Tennessee can potentially win the SEC East with a victory over the Gamecocks on Saturday, pending the results of the Vanderbilt-Kentucky game. The Vols have already won the first 2 matchups of this top-25 series.
South Carolina is merely fighting for seeding at this point. A win would lock in a record of 14-16 and the No. 7 seed for the Gamecocks. However, a loss would mean South Carolina finishes the year at 13-17 in SEC play and could cause it to plummet down the SEC’s final standings. Vanderbilt, Florida, LSU and Alabama could all get to 13 wins on the final day of the regular season — a tiebreaker scenario that South Carolina would prefer to avoid.
Per DraftKings, Tennessee is a -225 favorite over South Carolina on Saturday. The Gamecocks are +170.
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GET THE APPFlorida at Georgia | 2 p.m. ET | SEC Network+
Both teams have something at stake in this game, although most of the pressure will be on Florida. The Gators enter this weekend in an unusual predicament. They have a good enough résumé to make the NCAA Tournament, but are in danger of being ineligible for an at-large bid because their overall record may not be above .500.
Florida enters this weekend with a record of 27-26. A loss would put the Gators at exactly .500 entering the SEC Tournament. Because the SEC Tournament is double-elimination for most of the event, UF would likely need 3 wins in Hoover under this scenario in order to be above .500 before the NCAA Tournament. A win over UGA, however, would guarantee that Florida has a record above .500 entering the NCAA Tournament.
As for Georgia, the Bulldogs are in the mix to earn the No. 5 seed on the season’s final day. They need a win over Florida and they need Mississippi State to lose to Missouri in order to make that happen. The No. 5 seed in Hoover will likely face Ole Miss in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, as the Rebels enter Saturday’s slate with a record of just 11-18 in conference play.
Over at ESPN BET, Florida and Georgia are both priced at -115 to win on Saturday afternoon.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
