1988 SEC men's basketball tournament

The 1988 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 10–13, 1988 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.^[2] Kentucky won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, defeating Georgia by a score of 62–57.^[3][4][5] Kentucky's championship was later vacated due to NCAA violations.^[6][7] The Wildcats were also placed on probation.^[8]

1988 SEC men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1987–88
Teams	10
Site	Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Champions	Kentucky (16th title)
Winning coach	Eddie Sutton (2nd title)
MVP	Rex Chapman (Kentucky)
Attendance	126,832
Television	Jefferson-Pilot Teleproductions (First and Second Rounds, and semifinals) NBC (Kentucky-LSU Semifinal)[1] ABC (Championship Game)
SEC men's basketball tournaments ← 1987 1989 →

1987–88 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 6 Kentucky †	13	–	5		.722			27	–	6		.818
Auburn	11	–	7		.611			19	–	11		.633
Florida	11	–	7		.611			23	–	12		.657
LSU	10	–	8		.556			16	–	14		.533
Vanderbilt	10	–	8		.556			20	–	11		.645
Tennessee	9	–	9		.500			16	–	13		.552
Georgia	8	–	10		.444			20	–	16		.556
Ole Miss	6	–	12		.333			13	–	16		.448
Alabama	6	–	12		.333			14	–	17		.452
Mississippi State	6	–	12		.333			14	–	15		.483
† 1988 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Jefferson-Pilot Teleproductions (in its second season of producing regionally syndicated SEC basketball games) provided television coverage of the first round, the quarterfinals, and the semifinals. Coverage of the championship game was broadcast on the ABC Television Network through its sports division, ABC Sports.

Bracket

^[4][5]

	First Round Thursday, March 10 Jefferson-Pilot Teleproductions					Second Round Friday, March 11 Jefferson-Pilot					Semi-Finals Saturday, March 12 Jefferson-Pilot/NBC					Finals Sunday, March 13 ABC
	8	Ole Miss	64
	9	Alabama	59OT
						8	Mississippi	64
						1	#6 Kentucky	82
											1	#6 Kentucky	86
											4	LSU	80
						5	Vanderbilt	80
						4	LSU	87
																1	#6 Kentucky	62
																7	Georgia	57
						6	Tennessee	60
						3	Florida	67
											3	Florida	70
											7	Georgia	72
						7	Georgia	65
						2	Auburn	60
	7	Georgia	64
	10	Mississippi State	43

References

1. "CBB: 3/12/88 Kentucky vs. LSU (SEC Tournament Semifinals)". April 27, 2020 – via YouTube.
2. 2014-2015 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, page 134
3. Note: Unofficial Result. Kentucky defeated Georgia in the tournament final, but the championship was vacated later because of NCAA violations.
4. "1987-88 Men's Southeastern Conference Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
5. "1987-88 Men's Southeastern Conference Season Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
6. 2014-15 Kentucky Men’s Basketball Media Guide, page 133
7. 2014-15 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, page 128
8. “Kentucky Cheats”. BigBlueHistory.net, the Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Page. Retrieved September 3, 2015.