SEC Tournament 2022: Betting Tips for Round 1 Odds, Spreads and Over-Under
Conference championship week is well underway, and it's time for the SEC to join the fray on Wednesday.
The SEC tournament opens with a pair of first-round matchups at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., which is hosting the event for only the second time (and the first since 2009).
Wednesday's matchups will feature the four teams that finished at the bottom of the SEC standings this season. No. 10-seeded Vanderbilt will take on No. 14 Georgia, while No. 12 Missouri and No. 13 Ole Miss will go head-to-head.
The path to a tournament championship will be more challenging for these four teams, as they'll need to win five games in five days. And they'll have to go through some tough competition, including the top four seeds, each of which received a double bye into the quarterfinals.
Here's a look at the schedule for the 2022 SEC tournament, followed by odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook) and betting tips for the first-round contests.
2022 SEC Tournament Schedule
1st Round (Wednesday)
Game 1: No. 12 Missouri vs. No. 13 Ole Miss, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 2: No. 11 Vanderbilt vs. No. 14 Georgia, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network
2nd Round (Thursday)
Game 3: No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 Florida, noon ET, SEC Network
Game 4: No. 5 LSU vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 5: No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Mississippi State, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 6: No. 6 Alabama vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Quarterfinals (Friday)
Game 7: No. 1 Auburn vs. Game 3 winner, noon ET, ESPN
Game 8: No. 4 Arkansas vs. Game 4 winner, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 9: No. 2 Tennessee vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Game 10: No. 3 Kentucky vs. Game 6 winner, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Semifinals (Saturday)
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Championship (Sunday)
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
No. 12 Missouri vs. No. 13 Ole Miss
Spread: Ole Miss -3
Over/Under: 131.5 total points
Although Ole Miss is the favorite for this matchup, it hasn't fared well in its previous meetings with Missouri this season. The Tigers went on the road and cruised to a 78-53 win over the Rebels on Jan. 18 and was victorious again on Feb. 12, when it notched a 74-68 home victory over Ole Miss.
The Rebels haven't been playing well over the past month, as they lost eight of their final nine regular-season games. The Tigers aren't faring much better of late, as they had dropped six consecutive games before winning their regular-season finale over Georgia.
This likely won't be a high-scoring contest. Ole Miss (68.4 points per game) and Missouri (65.2) ranked 13th and 14th, respectively, in the SEC in scoring during the regular season. And neither team has efficient shooters, as the Rebels ranked ninth in the conference in field-goal percentage (43.6) and the Tigers ranked last (42.3). So it will likely be wise to bet the under on this game.
Mizzou may not be a strong offensive team, but it has junior forward Kobe Brown on its roster. He led the team with 12.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, which earned him All-SEC second-team honors. He will be the top player to watch in this first-round matchup, especially because he had a pair of strong showings against Ole Miss earlier this season.
Considering the Tigers are a three-point underdog, bettors should capitalize on this spread and pick them to cover it. There's a good chance they're going to beat the Rebels for a third time, and if they somehow do lose, it shouldn't be by more than three points.
Betting tips: Missouri +3; Under 131.5 total points
No. 11 Vanderbilt vs. No. 14 Georgia
Spread: Vanderbilt -9
Over/Under: 144.5 total points
Vanderbilt may have only gone 7-11 in SEC play this season, but it has one of the top players in the conference. Junior guard Scotty Pippen Jr. led the SEC with 20.5 points per game, which made him the lone Commodores player to earn All-SEC first-team honors.
The 21-year-old is an exciting player to watch, and he's been on a hot shooting streak of late, having scored at least 22 points in each of his past seven games. It's going to be hard for Georgia, which went an SEC-worst 1-17 in conference play, to find a way to stop him.
When these two teams met on Jan. 29, Pippen tallied 23 points and nine assists to lead Vandy to an 85-77 win. That was the second time that the Commodores defeated the Bulldogs, as they also notched a 73-66 victory on Jan. 15.
It's highly likely Vanderbilt is going to beat Georgia a third time in the SEC tourney. But can the Commodores win by a wider margin this time and clear the nine-point spread?
The safest bet on this game is to take the over, as Vandy and Georgia should combine for 145 or more points. The Commodores should get another big performance from Pippen, but their defense isn't strong enough to hold the Bulldogs to a low point total.
Although it's a bit risky to bet on Vanderbilt to win by 10 or more points, it's worth taking a chance on, especially given Georgia is on an 11-game losing streak and has dropped 19 of its past 20 contests.
So, still bet on the Commodores to win big, which will be a much more likely scenario if Pippen plays at the level he is capable of.
Betting tips: Vanderbilt -9; Over 144.5 total points
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