SEC Tournament Day 2: Live Updates

With the first round of the SEC Tournament complete, we already have two teams who have advanced and two others who have left Nashville empty-handed. Now, with the second round lined up for a long day of basketball today, Ole Miss (12-20) and LSU (14-18) joined six other teams in taking the floor in the Bridgestone Arena.

Vanderbilt played like the higher seed in the late game to begin the first half with a 37-29 lead. The Commodores did not trail throughout the first 20 minutes of the contest. Tyrin Lawrene led Vanderbilt with 13 points and two rebounds. On the flip side, KJ Williams led the way for LSU with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.

The Commodores kept it going in the final 20 minutes and finished off the wire-to-wire win with a 77-68 victory. Lawrence ended the game as the leading scorer with 22 points, five rebounds and two assists. The wire-to-wire victory put Vanderbilt into the SEC quarterfinals for a matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats. It’ll be the third meeting between the schools after a split in the regular season.

2023 SEC Basketball Tournament Schedule, Results:

Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: South Carolina (61) vs. Ole Miss (67)
Game 2: Georgia (67) vs. LSU (72)

Thursday, March 9
Game 3: Mississippi State (69) vs. Florida (68)
Game 4: Ole Miss (55) vs. Tennessee (70) 
Game 5: Arkansas (76) vs. Auburn (73)
Game 6: LSU (68) vs. Vanderbilt (77)

Friday, March 10
Game 7: Mississippi State vs. Alabama – 1 p.m. ET – ESPN
Game 8: Tennessee vs. Missouri – 3 p.m. ET – ESPN
Game 9: Arkansas vs. Texas A&M – 7 p.m. ET – SEC Network
Game 10: Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky – 9 p.m. ET – SEC Network

Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 1 p.m. ET – ESPN
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner – 3 p.m. ET – ESPN

Sunday, March 12
Championship: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner – 1 p.m. ET – ESPN

Mississippi State 69, Florida 68 (OT)

With no Colin Castleton for Florida (16-15), Mississippi State (20-11) was able to zero in on the Gators as the elite defensive team they are in the first half. 12 early points from Shakeel Moore and nine points and six rebounds from Tolu Smith on the offensive end also helped the Bulldogs head into halftime with a 36-26 lead. However, as Florida came back and this became a war of attrition offensively in the second half, it became obvious this matchup would end up in overtime. Somehow, though, the Bulldogs found enough points in the extra five minutes, specifically of the Smith variety, to take the 69-68 win, earn their spot in Friday’s quarterfinals, and likely send themselves to the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee 70, Ole Miss 55

In the second game of the early session in Nashville, Ole Miss and Tennessee battled back and forth quite a bit, with neither team able to build more than a six-point lead in the half. The Rebels led early in the first half, but the Volunteers built a six-point lead late with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Josiah-Jordan James to make it 39-33 at the half.

Tennessee quickly extended its lead to double-digits in the second half as superior shooting took over. James and fellow backcourt mate Santiago Vescovi led the charge in an eventual 70-55 Tennessee win, scoring 20 and 13 respectively.

Arkansas 76, Auburn 73

Arkansas led 37-33 at the break over Auburn. The Razorbacks raced out to a 10-2 lead early on in the game and got good contributions across the board from a variety of players. Anthony Black led the way with nine points, four rebounds and one assist while Jordan Walsh added nine points, four rebounds and two assists. The Tigers battled in the first 20 minutes but went into the locker room in a deficit. The Tigers’ leading scorer was Wendell Green Jr. with 11 points.

In the second half, Arkansas maintained its lead and bounced in and out of double digits. After a collision during a foul and a hit against the hardwood, Auburn’s Chris Moore went off to the bench area and got patched up after a gash to his chin. With less than 10 minutes to go in the game, Auburn pulled within 62-58, the closest the game was since the beginning stages. At the under-four timeout, Arkansas led 70-65 after, at one point, leading by 15. But the Tigers fought back until the end and trailed 76-73 with 3.5 seconds to play. The play was designed for Green and had a look, but his three-point shot hit the front rim and allowed the Razorbacks to advance.