West’s #2 Seed And Tourney Bye Come Down To Final Game

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The second seed in the SEC West — and the first-round tournament bye that goes along with it — will be decided on the final weekend of regular season play.

With Ole Miss’ 72-59 win over LSU last night, the Rebels assured themselves of a tie for that #2 slot.  Currently, they are 8-7 in the SEC.  Arkansas is 7-8.

But the Rebels will be traveling to Fayetteville on Saturday afternoon.  If Rebels win, obviously, they’ll claim the #2 seed (and the bye) by virtue of their conference record.  If Arkansas wins, however, the Hogs will claim the seed by virtue of a tiebreaker.

If UA topples UM, both schools would have identical 8-8 league records.  The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record.  And if the Razorbacks when on Saturday, they will have beaten the Rebels in both regular season contests this year.  Thus, the tie would go to the Hogs.

Whoever earns the #2 seed will play the winner of Tennessee and LSU.  Being that the Vols are the best team in the league not receiving a bye, that’s the worst draw for any of the teams earning byes.

If Ole Miss loses on Saturday, they will grab the #3 seed from the West and likely take on South Carolina in the first round of the tournament.  The winner of that game would earn a date with Vanderbilt. 

But there are other possibilities for Arkansas.

If UA loses Saturday, the Hogs would claim the West’s third seed IF Auburn loses at Alabama.  The Razorbacks would finish a game ahead of the Tigers in the standings.

However, if Arkansas loses to Ole Miss and falls to 7-9, Auburn could actually tie their 7-9 league record by beating Bama.  In terms of tiebreakers, AU and UA split their season series at one game a piece.  So divisional record would come into play.  Arkansas would have five West Division wins… but with a win at Alabama, Auburn would have six wins in the division.

Want the simplified version? 

* Ole Miss could still tie for the West’s #1 seed — though it wouldn’t get the bye — with a win over Arkansas and a Mississippi State loss to Tennessee.  Either way, a win over the Hogs Saturday clinches the #2 seed (at least) and the bye for the Rebels.

* Arkansas could still land the #2 seed and the bye (with a win over Ole Miss), the #3 seed with a loss to Ole Miss and an Auburn loss to Alabama, or the #4 seed with a loss to UM and an Auburn win.

* Auburn could still land anywhere from third to fifth… but we’ll cross that bridge if/when we get there.

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