SEC Tournament No. 1 Seed Could Be Decided by a Coin Flip Between South Carolina and Texas
When people think of a coin flip, the first image that comes to mind is usually the start of a football game. However, in college basketball, a coin flip can occasionally serve as the ultimate tiebreaker when all other methods fail to separate two teams. Conferences follow strict tiebreaking criteria, including head-to-head records, performance against common opponents, and results against teams ranked in descending order of the standings. But in rare instances where teams remain tied even after exhausting these methods, the conference commissioner or a designated official will resort to a coin flip to determine seeding.
That unusual scenario is now a real possibility for the SEC Tournament, as both South Carolina and Texas women’s basketball teams could finish the regular season with identical records and a split head-to-head matchup.
How Did We Get Here?
SEC officials have already gone through the standard procedures to determine a tiebreaker. They reviewed each team’s results in their head-to-head meetings and compared their performances against mutual opponents, starting from the highest-ranked team in the standings and working downward.
With both teams still locked in a tie, the conference has confirmed that if South Carolina and Texas win their respective games on Sunday, the No. 1 seed for the SEC Tournament will come down to a coin flip.
When and Where Will the Coin Flip Happen?
The decisive coin flip will take place at the SEC Conference office in Birmingham on Sunday. Fans won’t have to wait long for the outcome, as it will be televised live at halftime during the Ole Miss vs. LSU game, which tips off at 4 p.m. EST.
Unlike an ordinary coin pulled from someone’s pocket, this will be a custom-made coin, featuring the South Carolina logo on one side and the Texas logo on the other. The SEC Commissioner himself will conduct the flip, catching the coin and revealing the result by flipping it onto the back of his hand. Whichever team’s logo lands face up will secure the No. 1 seed.
Dawn Staley’s Take on the Coin Flip Situation
If Texas had not been invited to join the Southeastern Conference, this scenario wouldn’t even exist. The expansion of the SEC has led to unexpected situations like this, and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley made her feelings clear after her team’s recent game against Ole Miss.
“I think we should’ve thought a little bit more ahead of this situation knowing that we were bringing a Texas and an Oklahoma into the SEC,” Staley said.
With so much at stake in the SEC Tournament, the fate of the No. 1 seed will come down to a moment of pure chance—a fittingly dramatic twist in what has already been an unpredictable season.
