1951 SEC men's basketball tournament

The 1951 SEC men's basketball tournament took place March 1–3, 1951 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Jefferson County Armory. It was the eighteenth SEC tournament.

1951 SEC men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1950–51
Teams	12
Site	Jefferson County Armory Louisville, Kentucky
Champions	Vanderbilt (1st title)
Winning coach	Bob Polk (1st title)
MVP	None
SEC men's basketball tournaments

1950–51 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Kentucky	14	–	0		1.000			32	–	2		.941
Vanderbilt †	10	–	4		.714			19	–	8		.704
Alabama	10	–	4		.714			15	–	8		.652
Tulane	8	–	6		.571			12	–	12		.500
Auburn	6	–	8		.429			12	–	10		.545
Georgia	6	–	8		.429			13	–	11		.542
Florida	6	–	8		.429			11	–	12		.478
LSU	6	–	8		.429			10	–	14		.417
Georgia Tech	6	–	8		.429			8	–	19		.296
Ole Miss	5	–	9		.357			12	–	12		.500
Tennessee	5	–	9		.357			10	–	13		.435
Mississippi State	2	–	12		.143			3	–	16		.158
† 1951 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The Vanderbilt Commodores won the tournament championship game by beating the Kentucky Wildcats, 61–57. The Commodores season came to a close after the win, while Kentucky would go on to win the 1951 NCAA tournament.

Starting in 1951, the SEC played a round robin schedule and awarded its conference championship to the team with the best regular season record. The winner of the SEC tournament was awarded the title of tournament champion and the conference's bid to the NCAA tournament.

Bracket

	First Round March 1				Second Round March 2				Semifinals March 3				Championship March 3
					Georgia	60
					Vanderbilt	70
	Vanderbilt	88
									Vanderbilt	75
									LSU	63
					LSU	62
					Ole Miss	57
	Ole Miss	44
	Alabama	42
													Vanderbilt	61
													#1 Kentucky	57
					Georgia Tech	63OT
					Tulane	61
	Tulane	66
	Florida	62
									Georgia Tech	56
									#1 Kentucky	82
					Auburn	54
					#1 Kentucky	84
	#1 Kentucky	92
	Mississippi State	70