SEC Hoops: Close Calls for Arkansas, Tennessee and Bad Beats

Entering the 2022-23 season, the two matchups between Kentucky and Arkansas appeared to be the biggest headliners of the SEC. Injuries put each team on the bubble early. The Cats have won their way off, for now, while the Razorbacks can’t seem to find a rhythm in Eric Musselman’s fourth season.

Arkansas is ranked 29th in the NET, but they’re just 1-5 against Quad 1 opponents and 5-5 in SEC play. On Saturday they got caught playing with fire and it almost burned them ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup with the Wildcats at Rupp Arena.

Looking for their first true road win of the season at South Carolina, the Razorbacks shot 57.7% from the floor in the first 20 minutes, yet only led by nine points at the break. It left the door open for the woeful Gamecocks to make a comeback. South Carolina retook the lead with just under five minutes remaining and it went back and forth the rest of the way.

Clinging to a one-point lead in the final minute, Carolina’s Meechie Johnson missed a go-ahead three-point attempt. Arkansas clanged the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Gamecocks another chance to hit a game-winner, but Hayden Brown’s layup attempt fell short. After one made Arkansas free throw, South Carolina missed one last look, giving Arkansas a 65-63 win.

Jalen Graham scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Hogs who are still struggling to find their offensive identity. Hopefully they don’t discover it Tuesday night. Arkansas will be seeking its second true road win of the year, but KenPom is calling for a 72-70 Kentucky victory.

Late No Call Saves Tennessee

The terrible Tennessee offense will prevent the Vols from doing anything significant in March, a standard for the SEC program that doesn’t know its place in the league’s pecking order. Saturday afternoon they scored exactly 23 points in the first and second half of their win over Auburn. That’s not exactly the formula to get the Vols back to just their second Elite Eight in program history.

Tennessee shot just 27% from the field in Bruce Pearl’s return to Rocky Top, but SEC officials did not want the Auburn head coach to leave victorious. Down three points with just a few seconds on the clock, Wendell Green got a look from three. Instead of sinking the game-tying shot, he got hacked to pieces and the refs swallowed their whistles. Pearl was irate at the officials, and rightfully so, as the second-ranked Vols escaped with a 46-43 win. If that’s the second-best team in America, anyone can win this thing in March.

You be the referee

Should Auburn have been given 3 free throws on this final shot attempt?

There was no foul called on the floor pic.twitter.com/oZ9DKJUeOS

— Barstool Sportsbook (@BSSportsbook) February 4, 2023

A Bad Beat in Nashville

Fresh off an embarrassing loss to Alabama, Liam Robbins returned to help the Commodores cruise to a win and a cover (-4.5) over Ole Miss. Well, almost a cover. Vanderbilt led by 11 points with 50 seconds remaining when Ole Miss started piling up points in garbage time. It ended with the worst way you could possibly lose a bet.

pic.twitter.com/0fsUtzCLd0

— Man Bear Pig is Real dot Com (@MBPisReal) February 4, 2023

SEC Stunner in Starkville

In the cluster that is the middle of the pack in the SEC, Missouri was the most pleasant surprise, and maybe most poised to play spoiler this postseason. That’s why their 63-52 loss in Starkville to Mississippi State was shocking. Mizzou’s Kobe Brown shot just 3-of-11 from the floor and Tolu Smith dominated inside for the Bulldogs. He had 25 points and 12 rebounds to pick up his tenth career double-double and get Miss. State its third straight win. Other scores from around the SEC:

• Alabama 79, LSU 69
• Texas A&M 82, Georgia 57
• Kentucky 72, Florida 67

SEC Standings

Alabama remains alone at the top of league unbeaten, while a bunch of teams are in the mix for the double-bye at the SEC Tournament in Nashville.