2022 SEC Tournament Day 3 LIVE UPDATES: Scores, results, news

Thursday saw the first full day of SEC Tournament action including upsets, buzzer-beaters, blowout wins and more, setting up the quarterfinals perfectly as the top-4 seeds finally get to grace Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Friday had even more excitement — starting with an upset of the No. 1 seed. No. 3 Kentucky and No. 11 Vanderbilt squared off in the final game of the day.

The Commodores put up a valiant fight, but ultimately fell short in a 77-71 loss. Although Vanderbilt trailed by just a point with 7:10 remaining, Kentucky used a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to create separation needed for the victory.

TyTy Washington scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half to propel the Wildcats to the win. Star forward Oscar Tshiebwe added another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Vanderbilt’s Jordan Wright added 27 points on an efficient 10-for-11 shooting from the floor.

Kentucky will move on to face Tennessee in the semifinals on Saturday for a trip to the championship game.

The SEC still has multiple bids waiting to hear whether or not their names will be called on Selection Sunday, and On3’s latest Bracketology projects it to be a six-bid league in this year’s tournament, but there could be more based on how the selection committee evaluates some of the lower-seeded teams left in the tournament, and if they can pull off any upsets on Friday and beyond.

Here’s the full schedule for the 2022 SEC Tournament.

The full 2022 SEC Tournament schedule:

All times eastern

Wednesday, March 9
First round

Game 1: No. 12 Missouri (72) vs. No. 13 Ole Miss (60)

Game 2: No. 11 Vanderbilt (86) vs. No. 14 Georgia (51)

Thursday, March 10
Second round

Game 3: No. 8 Texas A&M (83) vs. No. 9 Florida (80)

Game 4: No. 5 LSU (76) vs. No. 12 Missouri (68)

Game 5: No. 10 Mississippi State (73) vs. No. 7 South Carolina (51)

Game 6: No. 11 Vanderbilt (82) vs. No. 6 Alabama (76)

Friday, March 11
Quarterfinals

Game 7: No. 1 Auburn (62) vs. No. 8 Texas A&M (67)

Game 8: No. 4 Arkansas (79) vs. No. 5 LSU (67) 

Game 9: No. 2 Tennessee (72) vs. No. 10 Mississippi State (59)  

Game 10: No. 3 Kentucky (77) vs. No. 11 Vanderbilt (71) 

Saturday, March 12
Semifinals

Game 11: No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 4 Arkansas — 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Game 12: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Kentucky — 25 minutes after Game 11 (ESPN)

Sunday, March 13
Championship

Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner — 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Texas A&M 67, Auburn 62

In the first game of the day, Auburn tried to make it close late, but Texas A&M pulled away to stun the Tigers 67-62. The Tigers cut the deficit from 20 points to five points late, but the Aggies pulled away to send the tournament’s top seed home early.

Auburn struggled mightily out of the gate against Texas A&M to trail 37-21 at halftime. The Tigers shot just 6-for-37 (16.2%) from the field, including 3-for-20 (15%) from three-point territory, and made just one of their last 16 shots. That proved to be the difference, as Bruce Pearl’s group couldn’t shake the tough start.

Texas A&M advances to the semifinals to face the winner of No. 4 seed Arkansas vs. No. 5 seed LSU. A slight break in the action will separate the afternoon and evening slate, and a 6 p.m. ET, No. 10 seed Mississippi State will battle No. 2-seeded Tennessee. No. 3 seed Kentucky and No. 11 seed Vanderbilt will serve as the quarterfinal nightcap for the tournament.

Arkansas 79, LSU 67

After Texas A&M upset Auburn, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 LSU squared off for a chance to face the Aggies in the semifinals. It was a defensive display in the first half, which ended with a 29-26 Arkansas lead. The Razorbacks opened the second half with a 13-0 run to ultimately pull away and win by a final score of 79-67.

Arkansas guard JD Notae scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half to help his team to the win. Au’Diese Toney led the team with 22 points and 10 rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting, while Chris Lykes added 18. The Razorbacks next face a Texas A&M team that is on an improbable run through the SEC Tournament for a trip to the championship.

Tennessee 72, Mississippi State 59

Following two exciting games to start the day, No. 2 Tennessee and No. 10 Mississippi State tipped off the third.

It was a back-and-forth first half that ultimately ended with Tennessee taking a 39-37 lead into the locker room. Despite watching point guard Kennedy Chandler go down with an ankle injury in both the first and second half, the Volunteers pulled away. They opened with a 12-3 run as Josiah Jordan-James nailed four straight triples to start off the half on their way to a 72-59 victory.

Zakai Zeigler stepped up big-time with Chandler hobbled to finish with 11 points and eight assists. Tennessee shot 8-of-19 from deep in the win, led by Jordan-James, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half while shooting 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Chandler ultimately played 27 minutes to finish with 11 points and six assists.

Tennessee will advance to face either Kentucky in the semifinals on Saturday.