SEC Hoops: Missouri Blitzes Alabama, Auburn Survives Arkansas

It was a light mid-week slate for basketball in the SEC, with three games on Tuesday and three on Wednesday, serving as the last mini-bye for a handful of programs. That doesn’t mean basketball fans were deprived of eye-opening action that shook up the conference standings.

Kentucky’s next opponent ran into a buzzsaw for the second straight game. After falling behind 14-4 to Auburn, Alabama found itself in a 12-0 hole at Missouri they could never dig out of.

It felt like Mizzou was never going to miss until their final shot of the first half fell short, limiting the Tigers to a 59-point half. Alabama scored 46 points and trailed by double digits at intermission. That’s nuts.

Alabama briefly cut the deficit to single digits in the second half, but it was all Mizzou everything. Mark Mitchell scored 31 points and Caleb Grill tallied 25 as the Tigers beat Bama 110-98, dropping the Crimson Tide to 10-3 in the SEC, tied for second with Florida.

(Almost) an SEC Stunner

The top-ranked team in the country has a knack for playing whatever style their opponent wants to play. Arkansas wanted to drag the Tigers into the mud and Bruce Pearl’s team happily obliged, even if it wasn’t pretty.

Arkansas controlled the first quarter of the game thanks to exceptional play from Billy Richmond and Adou Thiero. The Razorbacks had a four-point lead when Auburn went on an 11-0 run into the final media timeout of the first half. That didn’t put away Arkansas for good.

Cal’s Hogs had an 8-0 run at the start of the second half to begin the back-and-forth seesaw between the teams. Arkansas would tie the game, then Auburn would get it back to about 6-8 points, then the cycle repeated itself.

Arkansas had one more run in them late, but Big Z couldn’t buy a bucket. He missed a three to tie the game with about 90 seconds left, and it wasn’t his only big miss of the night. Zvonimir Ivisic went 0-10 from the field and 0-9 from three in the 67-60 loss to Auburn.

The free throw line was just as bad for Arkansas. They went 7-14. Auburn went 13-17. That’ll do it.

No Clipboard is Safe

It was a bad day to be a clipboard in the SEC. Alabama head coach Nate Oats could not contain his frustration in the middle of the first half at Missouri. He slammed his clipboard to the floor during the action. The debris flew so far that he earned a technical foul.

Nate Oats T’d up, smashes his whiteboard onto the court 😳 pic.twitter.com/gcYVpJaLWN

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 20, 2025

Unlike Oats, John Calipari could at least contain his emotion until a timeout. As Auburn began to pull away, he lost it on the sideline. He lost a large chunk out of his whiteboard but he did not receive a technical.

Arkansas HC John Calipari just snapped his clipboard. pic.twitter.com/ytKIGLjoCu

— Vince Wolfram (@vincewolfram15) February 20, 2025

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Not a Great Development in the SEC Standings

Mississippi State reeled off back-to-back wins over ranked opponents. That puts Kentucky in a precarious place. The two teams are now tied for that eighth slot. Kentucky does have a tiebreaker advantage with a victory over the Bulldogs, but a Wednesday night game in the SEC Tournament is on the table for the Cats.

Team	SEC	Overall
Auburn	12-1	24-2
Florida	10-3	23-3
Alabama	10-3	21-5
Missouri	9-4	20-6
Texas A&M	9-4	20-6
Tennessee	8-5	21-5
Ole Miss	8-5	19-7
Mississippi State	7-6	19-7
Kentucky	7-6	18-8
Vanderbilt	5-8	17-9
Texas	5-8	16-10
Georgia	4-9	16-10
Arkansas	4-9	15-11
Oklahoma	3-10	16-10
LSU	3-10	14-12
South Carolina	0-13	10-16