SEC Hoops: Buzz Williams Extends a Game to Eternity
In the SEC, it just means more reviews, timeouts, and free throws. That’s at least the case when you’re watching a Buzz Williams team try to avoid an upset.
There are quite a few Kentucky basketball fans who spent an extensive time watching Pat Adams at the monitor, rather than the first quarter of the Wildcats’ game at Oklahoma. The SEC Network broadcast did not go to Norman until there was 6:44 left on the clock in the first half. Buzz Williams was doing whatever he could to extend the game.
Vanderbilt led for most of the game and had double-digit margins on multiple occasions. Tyler Nickel played a big reason why, scoring 21 points on seven made three-pointers to lead the Commodores, who shot 41% from the field against the A&M stingy defense.
Nickel’s seventh three came with four minutes to play. It was Vandy’s last field goal. They made 18 free throws in about 40 minutes of real time to slide out of College Station with an 86-84 victory, their third win over a Top 15 team this season. It took almost three hours to play a 40-minute basketball game. I don’t know if Buzz Williams should be sent to jail or prison.
Arkansas Almost Blows It
The shorthanded Razorbacks were without Adou Thiero, forcing John Calipari to play only seven players in a must-win game at home in a battle of bubble teams. Finding offense was going to be difficult, but they did it from the three-point line, knocking down seven from long-range in the first half to build up a 12-point halftime lead.
Tre Johnson pulled a Greg Jennings and put the team on his back. The freshman phenom scored 39 points, the most by a Longhorn since Kevin Durant. Texas needed a little bit more.
DJ Wagner had a chance to win the game in regulation from the free throw line. He missed it his shot from the charity stripe, giving Texas about 10 seconds to go the length of the floor. Johnson took a little too long. His shot just missed, but he had a teammate ready to dunk home the game-winner. There was one problem. The buzzer sounded about a half-second before the dunk was flushed.
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Texas took a quick 3-point advantage in the extra period before Big Z sparked an 8-0 Arkansas run. Johnson got the Horns within two, but it was too little too late as Arkansas prevailed with an 86-81 win.
An (Almost) Meltdown Leads to an SEC Upset
Auburn did what Auburn does to most teams and beat the snot out of Ole Miss. Instead of rehashing a 30-point win where the Tigers shot just shy of 60% from the field, let’s turn the page back a day to the World’s Largest Indoor Cocktail Party.
Georgia is at its best when it gets into a rock fight. They turned the tables on Florida and scored 51 points in the first half on 67.9% shooting. The Dawgs led their rivals by as many as 23 points and they should have lost.
Trailing by 11 points with five minutes to play, Florida went on a 13-0 run. It looked like Georgia wouldn’t score another point. They clammed up on offense. If Georgia didn’t turn it over, they threw up a bad shot. Florida had a one-point lead with less than a minute to play when Blue Cain sunk a three that saved Georgia. The Dawgs escaped with an 88-83 win to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive and knock Florida down a spot in the SEC standings.
SEC Standings
| RANK | TEAM | CONFERENCE | GAMES BACK | OVERALL | REMAINING |
| 1 | Auburn | 14-1 | – | 26-2 | @UK, @TAMU, AL |
| 2 | Alabama | 12-3 | 2 | 23-5 | @TN, FL, @AU |
| 3 | Florida | 11-4 | 3 | 24-4 | TAMU, @AL, OM |
| 4 | Tennessee | 10-5 | 4 | 23-5 | AL, @OM, SC |
| 5 | Missouri | 10-5 | 4 | 21-7 | @VU, @OK, UK |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 9-6 | 5 | 20-8 | @FL, AU, @LSU |
| 7 | Ole Miss | 8-7 | 6 | 19-9 | , OK, TN, @FL |
| 8 | Kentucky | 8-7 | 6 | 19-9 | AU, LSU, @MZ |
| 9 | Mississippi State | 7-8 | 7 | 19-9 | LSU, TX, @AR |
| 10 | Vanderbilt | 7-8 | 7 | 19-9 | MZ, AR, @GA |
| 11 | Arkansas | 6-9 | 8 | 17-11 | @SC, @VU, MS |
| 12 | Georgia | 5-10 | 9 | 17-11 | @TX, @SC, VU |
| 13 | Texas | 5-10 | 9 | 16-12 | GA, @MS, OK |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 4-11 | 10 | 17-11 | @OM, MZ, @TX |
| 15 | LSU | 3-12 | 11 | 14-14 | @MS, @UK, TAMU |
| 16 | South Carolina | 1-14 | 13 | 11-17 | AR, GA, @TN |
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