SEC Tournament Day 3: Live Updates

Conference tournaments across the Power Five are really about to ramp up as the weekend gets rolling. For the SEC, that means tournament quarterfinals kicked off Friday as the Top-4 seeds finally took the floor inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. After an action-packed pair of sessions Thursday, Saturday’s action in Music City should be no different as four teams battle for a place in the final.

Kentucky and Vanderbilt are off and running in the first half of the final SEC Tournament game of the day, and the fans in Bridgestone Arena were treated to a dandy in the first 20 minutes. Both teams got a fairly well-rounded scoring effort, with Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves and Jacob Toppin the only two to top double-figures scoring for the Wildcats, at 11 points and 10 points respectively. Jordan Wright had 10 for the Commodores. The first half finished with Vanderbilt leading 39-34.

The Commodores picked up right where they left off in the second half, too. Ezra Manjon exploded to provide 25 points in the contest as Vanderbilt stayed ahead of Kentucky throughout the second half. Wright also added 18 points and Tyrin Lawrence added another 18 to help guide Vanderbilt to an 80-73 win.

SEC Tournament action will resume on Saturday with the semifinals. First on the docket is a showdown between Alabama and Missouri that will tip off at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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 (49) vs. Alabama (72)
Game 8: Tennessee (71) vs. Missouri (79)
Game 9: Arkansas (61) vs. Texas A&M (67) 
Game 10: Vanderbilt (80) vs. Kentucky (73)

Saturday, March 11
Game 11: Alabama vs. Missouri – 1 p.m. ET – ESPN
Game 12: Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt – 3 p.m. ET – ESPN

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

Alabama 72, Mississippi State 49

Coming into the SEC Tournament, Nate Oats seemingly put a lot of focus on improved shooting for Alabama (26-5). The Tide took that to heart early against Mississippi State as they made eight of 20 three point attempts en route to a 20-point halftime lead. The Tide slowed down offensively in the second half but, in the end, Brandon Miller (18 points) and Charles Bediako (11 points, six rebounds, five blocks) were too much as a fantastic inside-outside punch. Pair that with another poor offensive performance from Mississippi State (21-11), who shot 29.8% on the day, and it’s no wonder the Bulldogs were sent home in a 72-49 blowout.

Missouri 79, Tennessee 71

Tennessee and Missouri put together a highly entertaining and physical first half. Turnovers were aplenty on both sides as two of the SEC’s better units came ready to roll. There were 18 combined turnovers in a first half that saw Tennessee head to the locker room with a 33-30 halftime lead. The two sides traded punches in the second half as Missouri’s high-octane approach began to fire on all cylinders. Missouri stars D’Moi Hodge and Kobe Brown combined for 50 points in the game and steered the Tigers to a 79-71 win over the Volunteers.

Texas A&M 67, Arkansas 61

In the first game of the night session, Arkansas took on Texas A&M looking to upend one of the tournament’s top seeds. And things got off to an excellent start, thanks to the hot hand of Nick Smith in the first half. Smith chipped in 13 points in the first half as the Razorbacks built a 38-25 halftime lead over the Aggies. It took only nine and a few minutes for Texas A&M to overturn the whole 13-point deficit in the second half. And once the Aggies went ahead, they didn’t look back. Wade Taylor IV and Henry Coleman III scored 18 and 16, respectively, in the 67-61 comeback win over the Razorbacks.