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baseball Edit

How the SEC race is shaping up with 4 weeks left

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Arkansas and Vanderbilt are currently tied in the SEC's overall standings.
Arkansas and Vanderbilt are currently tied in the SEC's overall standings. (SEC Media Portal/USA TODAY Sports)
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With four weeks remaining in the regular season, Arkansas and Vanderbilt are still locked in a dead heat for the overall SEC title.

Both schools are coming off big series wins and sit atop their respective divisions. The Razorbacks have a two-game lead over Mississippi State in the West, while the Commodores have a one-game lead over Tennessee in the East.

It's also worth mentioning that each of those leads is essentially a game more because Arkansas and Vanderbilt have already won their series against the second-place team.

Barring an unexpected collapse, which is always possible in this conference, those two schools will likely be the top two seeds in next month's SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., because the division champions take those spots regardless of their record.

Which team gets the No. 1 seed if they finish with identical SEC records is a little murky, though, thanks to the fact that Arkansas and Vanderbilt do not play each other in the regular season.

According to the SEC's tiebreakers, it appears the top seed would be determined by the two teams' win-loss record against the No. 3 seed and continuing through the No. 12 seed, using only common opponents, until the tie is resolved.

Only two games separate the five teams immediately behind Arkansas and Vanderbilt in the overall standings, so it could definitely change over the next four weeks, but Tennessee is currently sitting in that No. 3 spot.

The Volunteers are a common opponent for the division leaders. The Commodores have already won two of three games against their in-state rival, while the Razorbacks won't play Tennessee until May 14-16.

Each of the other four teams within two games of the No. 3 seed are also common opponents. Neither Arkansas nor Vanderbilt have played Florida yet, but the Razorbacks swept Mississippi State, while the Commodores won just two of three. Vanderbilt has yet to play Ole Miss, a team Arkansas beat two out of three times. (Arkansas and Vanderbilt both went 2-1 against South Carolina, so that won't factor into the tiebreaker.)

A few other tidbits about the current standings and seeding situation...

~Auburn will have to make up a lot of ground and quickly if it's going to make the SEC Tournament, as it is two games behind every other SEC team.

~The second team to get left at home appears to be a two-team race between Missouri and Texas A&M. Despite the Tigers being just 12-25 overall, they would get the No. 12 seed if the tournament started today because they won two of three games against the Aggies earlier this month and they are tied at 5-13 in SEC play.

~LSU is also at risk of being in that mix, sitting at 6-12. However, it has a relatively easy remaining schedule. After hosting Arkansas this weekend, it gets to play Auburn, Alabama and Texas A&M.

~The top four seeds in the SEC Tournament receive a bye into the brief double-elimination portion of the event and there is currently a three-way tie for the No. 4 seed. Florida, Mississippi State and South Carolina are each 11-7 and, because they aren't all common opponents, seeding would be determined by their records against the No. 1 seed - which, as described above, is still up in the air.

Listed below are the division standings, as well as each team's remaining series, and the current SEC Tournament seeding...

(REMINDER: In the SEC Baseball Tournament, the two division winners receive the top two seeds, regardless of record. For seeds 3-12, divisions don't matter and the order is based solely on record in SEC play.)

SEC West Standings (as of April 26)
Team SEC Record Overall Record Remaining

1. Arkansas

13-5

32-7

at LSU

vs. UGA

at TENN

vs. FLA

2. Mississippi State

11-7

29-10

vs. A&M

at SC

vs. MIZZ

at ALA

3. Ole Miss

10-8

28-12

vs. SC

at A&M

vs. VANDY

at UGA

4. Alabama

8-10

24-15

vs. MIZZ

at VANDY

at LSU

vs. MSU

5. LSU

6-12

24-15

vs. ARK

at AUB

vs. ALA

at A&M

6. Texas A&M

5-13

23-19

at MSU

vs. MISS

at AUB

vs. LSU

7. Auburn

3-15

17-20

at UGA

vs. LSU

vs. A&M

at MIZZ

SEC East Standings (as of April 26)
Team SEC Record Overall Record Remaining

1. Vanderbilt

13-5

31-7

at FLA

vs. ALA

at MISS

vs. KENT

2. Tennessee

12-6

32-9

vs. KENT

at MIZZ

vs. ARK

at SC

t-3. South Carolina

11-7

25-12

at MISS

vs. MSU

at KENT

vs. TENN

t-3. Florida

11-7

28-12

vs. VANDY

at KENT

vs. UGA

at ARK

t-5. Georgia

9-9

26-13

vs. AUB

at ARK

at FLA

vs. MISS

t-5. Kentucky

9-9

24-13

at TENN

vs. FLA

vs. SC

at VANDY

7. Missouri

5-13

12-25

at ALA

vs. TENN

at MSU

vs. AUB

SEC Tournament Seeding (as of April 26)
Seed Tiebreaker

t-1. Arkansas

ARK and VANDY tied @ 13-5... Tiebreaker undetermined

t-1. Vanderbilt

3. Tennessee

t-4. Florida

FLA, MSU and SC tied @ 11-7... Tiebreaker undetermined

t-4. Mississippi State

t-4. South Carolina

7. Ole Miss

8. Georgia

UGA and KENT tied @ 9-9, UGA won 2 of 3 vs. KENT

9. Kentucky

10. Alabama

11. LSU

12. Missouri

MIZZ and A&M tied @ 5-13, MIZZ won 2 of 3 vs. A&M

OUT - Texas A&M

OUT - Auburn

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