SEC Tournament Day 1: TV schedule, how to watch online, odds, and picks

Tonight’s Schedule

• Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Georgia Bulldogs, 7:00 PM ET, SEC Network/WatchESPN
• Ole Miss Rebels vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, approx. 30 minutes after Game 1, SEC Network/WatchESPN

The 2018 SEC Tournament kicks off tonight, and the Wednesday night fare seems a bit more palatable than it has been in years past. For one thing, the SEC Player of the Year (according to the media, anyway; the coaches selected Tennessee’s Grant Williams) will be playing tonight. Technically this could be Yante Maten’s final college game, though the Bulldogs should wind up in the NIT either way. (This also might be Mark Fox’s last game as Georgia’s head coach if the rumors are true.) This will almost certainly be the final game for Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson and Riley LaChance if the Commodores lose.

The early game is probably the considerably more interesting one. For one thing, if there’s a team playing tonight that might be capable of making a run in the tournament, it’s probably Georgia — though Vanderbilt is still playing hard and can get hot from the floor. For another thing, Ole Miss has lost 9 of 10 to close the season and has an average scoring margin of -14.1 ppg over that stretch, and the Rebels fired their coach a few weeks ago. There doesn’t seem to be a ton of intrigue in the second game.

Odds and Picks

• Vanderbilt (+2) vs. Georgia: This is a tough call, and if the premise of this were not to pick every game, I’d probably advise you to stay away from it. I do feel like this game could go either way, though, so the smarter move is to take the points.
• Ole Miss vs. South Carolina (-3): There always seems to be one team playing on Wednesday night that just wants the season to be over, and from all outward appearances that’s Ole Miss. I am frankly shocked the line is only 3.