The 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament kicks off on Tuesday, when eight teams will fight to advance past the opening round.College baseball's powerhouse conference will certainly send a handful of representatives to the2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.Four nationally ranked clubsNo. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 4 Florida and No. 9 South Carolinawill sit out Tuesday's action and receive a free pass to the second round.While a few of Tuesday's participants will comfortably advance to regional play, others need a strong showing to survive.Tuesday's single-elimination action features two top-ranked squads as well as a couple of bubble teams clashing in Hoover, Alabama. Here's the full schedule and a look at all four contests.No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 11 MissouriThe defending SEC champion and College World Series runner-up will open this year's tournament on Tuesday morning. Vanderbilt, used to royal treatment rather than first-round competition, will challenge the 26-29 Missouri Tigers.Vanderbilt swept the three-game series in late March, recording 17 runs in the last victory. Junior outfielder Bryan Reynolds, projected to go No. 31 in a recent mock draft by MLB.com'sJim Callis, pilots the offense with a sizzling .325/.455/.601 slash line.In addition to its star slugger, Vanderbilt's 2.93 ERA leads the SEC. Such depth allows coach Tim Corbin to reserve aces Kyle Wright and Jordan Sheffield. According to Vanderbilt's team page, freshman Patrick Raby (2.91 ERA) will start instead.Per the Tennessean'sAdam Sparks, Corbin isn't worried about his team's abilities. Instead, the 9:30 a.m. CT start has him fretting a peculiar potential problem:Youre going to think Im crazy, but the biggest concern for me is just waking up, taking a shower, going to the bathroom, brushing your teeth and having breakfast. Its a routine that they typically have two or three hours to do, and now theyve got to squeeze it into a half-hour.And if you dont go to the bathroom, youre uncomfortable.Anything can happen in one baseball game, which is why the bracket moves to a double-elimination process after carving the field down to eight. The 41-15Commodores should still be considered overwhelming favorites to advance.Prediction: Vanderbilt 7, Missouri 1No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 GeorgiaHow stacked is the SEC' Ole Miss, ranked No. 11 nationally, settles for a No. 7 seed in the conference tournament.The Rebels don't stand out among their elite peers, placing ninth in runs scored (337) and sixth in runs allowed (23). Yet they also rank No. 6 in RPIwith a 40-16 record on the year.Junior Brady Bramlett, Tuesday's starter per Ole Miss' team page, has struck out 89 batters over 73.1 frames. The righty is also backed by a superb bullpen led by Connor Green, Brady Feigl and closer Wyatt Short. The trio have combined to earn a 2.18 ERA.Georgia, who reaches base at an SEC-worst .337 clip, will have trouble combating those lively arms. Even if the Bulldogs do muster some offense, their pitching staff has registered an unseemly 4.61 ERA. Junior outfielder J.B. Woodman, hitting .319/.407/.565 with a conference-leading 13 home runs, will guide Ole Miss to a statement win.Prediction: Ole Miss 8, Georgia 2No. 8 Kentucky vs No. 9 AlabamaBoth 15-15 in conference play this season, Kentucky and Alabama need a win to keep playing beyond the SEC tournament.Per 247Sports'Brad Crawford, SECNetwork analyst Ben McDonald stressed the importance of this game for both NCAA tournament hopefuls."Fifteen used to be the magic number, but last year with Missouri they won 15 games and had a mid-50 RPI like both of these teams and they lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament and did not get an NCAA bid," McDonald said. "This is either going to make your season or break your season, this game is that important."Alabama enters the crucial play-in game with an offensive deficiency, brandishing an SEC-worst .355 team slugging percentage. Kentucky, meanwhile, ties Texas A&M with a conference-best 51 home runs.Per the Crimson Tide's team site, junior Nick Eicholtz will start for Alabama against Kentucky sophomoreZach Logue. Although Eicholtz sportsa 2.25 ERA, he has also surrendered 10 unearned runs while tallying 35 strikeouts over 60 innings. Logue, who has shifted between the rotation and bullpen, hasn't allowed more than two earned runs (eight earned, 12 total) in any of his eight starts.The Wildcats wield more power against an opponent that pitches to contact, so look for them to bolster their tournament bid with a victory.Prediction: Kentucky 4, Alabama 3No. 5 LSU vs. No. 12 TennesseeAnother lopsided contest has LSU facing overmatched Tennessee, the bottom seed with a 9-21 conference record.LSU doesn't hit for much power, but six contributors boast batting averages above .300. As a team, the Tigers hit .298 with a .390 on-base percentage. Igniting their energetic offense, juniors Jake Fraley and Cole Freeman have each stolen 24 bases while batting over .330.When LSU and Tennessee met for a three-game series from May 13-15, the Tigers twice notched double-digit run totals en route to a sweep. They then ended the season by taking two of three from Florida, bumping the Gators from a possible No. 1 seed to No. 4.As a result, Florida will have an early chance for revenge if LSU prevails on Tuesday. The two clubs would meet on Wednesday night.But first the Tigers must tame Tennessee's Nick Senzel. The junior third baseman, slated to go No. 2 in Callis' mock draft, enters the tournament hitting .354/.459/.602 with eight homers and 21 stolen bases. Although he'll be the best player on the field, LSU boasts too many potent hitters to overcome.Prediction: LSU 7, Tennessee 3
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