Played in Hoover, Alabama every year since 1998, the SEC Tournament has given SEC teams one last chance to jockey for NCAA Tournament hosting position. Just last year, a run to the tournament championship game secured Ole Miss a spot as a Regional host (and possibly knocked Texas A&M out).
In the four plus decades since the SEC has played a conference tournament, LSU leads the way with 12 tournament championships. Winning six of the last twelve tournaments has solidified the Tigers' lead.
The current SEC Tournament format was adopted in 2013 with 12 of 14 teams participating. A single elimination game between the 5-12 seeds narrows the tournament to eight teams before double elimination shortens the list of competitors to four. The last four teams compete in single-elimination games to determine a champion.
The 90s were an interesting time for the SEC as conference expansion forced changes in the tournament. From 1993-1995, the SEC held separate tournaments for the East and West divisions. Tennessee was the largest benefactor of this format, winning the East's tournament all three years.
In 1990, LSU shared the tournament championship with Mississippi State after weather issues forced the finals to be abandoned. LSU led 6-0 in the third inning when the game was cancelled.
Prior to 1977, a best-of-three series between the top team in each division determined the champion. During this era, Mississippi State led with six championships, followed by Ole Miss (5) and Alabama (4).
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