| Year: | 2021 |
| Conference: | SEC |
| Division: | I |
| Gender: | Men's |
| Teams: | 13 |
| Arena: | Bridgestone Arena |
| City: | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Champions: | Alabama |
| Titlecount: | 7th |
| Coach: | Nate Oats |
| Coachcount: | 1st |
| Mvp: | Jahvon Quinerly |
| Mvpteam: | Alabama |
| Attendance: | 14,782 |
| Television: | SEC Network, ESPN |
The 2021 Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southeastern Conference at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, which took place March 10–14, 2021.[1]
On November 22, 2020, Auburn announced a self-imposed, one year postseason ban due to former assistant coach Chuck Person's involvement in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal.[2] As a result, the #11 seed in the tournament was awarded a first-round bye, leaving the #12 seed–#13 seed game as the only game to be played on March 10. Teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records. The top 11 teams received a first round bye and the top four teams received a double bye, automatically advancing them into the quarterfinals.
| Seed | School | Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 16–2 | |
| 2 | Arkansas | 13–4 | |
| 3 | LSU | 11–6 | |
| 4 | Tennessee | 10–7 | |
| 5 | Florida | 9–7 | |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 10–8 | |
| 7 | Missouri | 8–8 | |
| 8 | Kentucky | 8–9 | |
| 9 | Mississippi State | 8–10 | |
| 10 | Georgia | 7–11 | |
| 11 | South Carolina | 4–12 | |
| 12 | Vanderbilt | 3–13 | |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 2–8 |
| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup# | Score | Television | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Wednesday, March 10 | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 6:00 pm | No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Texas A&M | 79–68 | SECN | 1,149 | |
| Second round – Thursday, March 11 | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | 11:00 am | No. 8 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Mississippi State | 73–74 | SECN | 1,733 | |
| 3 | 1:30 pm | No. 5 Florida vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt | 69–63 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 6:00 pm | No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Georgia | 73–70 | 1,809 | ||
| 5 | 8:30 pm | No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 South Carolina | 76–59 | ||||
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 12 | |||||||
| 4 | 6 | 11:00 am | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 9 Mississippi State | 85–48 | ESPN | 2,186 | |
| 7 | 1:30 pm | No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 5 Florida | 78–66 | ||||
| 5 | 8 | 6:00 pm | No. 2 Arkansas vs. No. 7 Missouri | 70–64 | SECN | 2,155 | |
| 9 | 8:30 pm | No. 3 LSU vs. No. 6 Ole Miss | 76–73 | ||||
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 13 | |||||||
| 6 | 10 | 12:00 pm | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Tennessee | 73–68 | ESPN | 3,164 | |
| 11 | 2:45 pm | No. 2 Arkansas vs. No. 3 LSU | 71–78 | ||||
| Championship – Sunday, March 14 | |||||||
| 7 | 12 | 12:00 pm | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 LSU | 80–79 | ESPN | 2,586 | |