SEC Tournament Bracket Released

SEC Tournament Bracket Released

3/5/2006

Vanderbilt will play Auburn in the first round of the 2006 Southeastern Conference Tournament on March 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville.

The Commodores (16-11, 7-9 SEC) earned the Eastern Division No. 4 seed while the Tigers (12-15, 4-12 SEC) received the Western Division No. 5 seed.

The Vanderbilt-Auburn winner will take on LSU, the league’s overall champion, Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Vanderbilt is coming off a 68-59 home setback to Tennessee on Saturday. Shan Foster led the Commodores with 15 points to go along with six rebounds. DeMarre Carroll posted his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Julian Terrell added 10 points and five rebounds.

Auburn suffered a 67-63 home defeat to South Carolina on Saturday. Rasheem Barrett led the Tigers with 13 points while Quantez Robertson and Ronny LeMelle added 12 points each.

Vanderbilt defeated Auburn 74-50 in the SEC opener for both teams earlier this season at Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 7. Foster hit six 3-pointers in tallying a game-high 20 points. The Commodores shot 60.0 percent from 3-point range (12-of-20) while tying a season low in turnovers with six. Frank Tolbert and Robertson scored 12 points each for the Tigers.

Vanderbilt and Auburn met in first round action of the 2005 SEC Tournament in Atlanta on March 10. The sixth-seeded Tigers pulled the 77-73 upset of third-seeded Vanderbilt, ending the Commodores’ hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Vanderbilt owns a 74-50 lead in the all-time series. However, Auburn is 6-0 against the Commodores at the SEC Tournament.

The Commodores are making their 45^th appearance at the SEC Tournament. This season marks the 55^th anniversary of Vanderbilt’s win over Kentucky for the 1951 SEC Tournament crown.