SEC Saturday Recap: No. 1 Auburn Tigers barely hang on
There’s just something about waking up the morning after a big win, huh BBN? While the ‘Cats were snagging yet another impressive road win on Saturday night, drama was unfolding all around the conference. Let’s talk about it.
No. 1 Auburn at Georgia
Auburn will remain the No. 1 team in the country for another week. On Saturday, the Tigers very narrowly escaped the Georgia Bulldogs 74-72 in Athens. Yes, the 6-17 Bulldogs. College basketball is weird, man.
If you stopped watching this game at halftime, you’re probably a little surprised by the final score. Auburn led 42-30 at the half and looked to be in control, but something about Tom Crean’s halftime spiel set inspired his team. Despite shooting just 21% from the field in the first 20 minutes, the ‘Dawgs went on an 11-1 early in the second half to cut the Auburn lead to one.
A layup from Kario Oquendo gave UGA their first lead of the game, but the Tigers wouldn’t go away. The two teams went back and forth until Wendell Green Jr.’s last-second layup finally gave the Tigers the edge. Green, a sophomore from Michigan, began his career down the road at Eastern Kentucky University before joining Bruce Pearl’s club this season.
Green had 19 points for the Tigers. K.D. Johnson led with 20 points. The big story, though, was who did not score. Freshman phenom Jabari Smith was held to just seven points in the match. It is only the fourth time this season that he has scored in the single digits. Kario Oquendo led the Bulldogs with 25 points.
No. 22 Tennessee at South Carolina
The No. 22 Vols have scored their fifth straight SEC victory after a dominant 81-57 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday in Columbia.
Josiah Jordan James had 20 points for the Vols, marking his career-high. Zakai Zeigler came off the bench to add another 20, tying his own career-high. The Vols were up just four points at the half, but managed to open the game up in the final 20 minutes. Zeigler scored 10 straight points early in the second half to give his team an 11-point lead and it was all Volunteers from there.
Erik Stevenson and Devin Carter had 13 each for the Gamecocks. No other South Carolina player scored in double digits. Following the loss, USC has fallen to 13-9 on the season, sitting comfortably in the lower half of the conference. Things don’t seem to be getting any easier, either. The Gamecocks will visit Rupp on Tuesday to take on our No. 5 Wildcats.
Missouri at Texas A&M
As I’ve said before, SEC basketball is weird this season. The Texas A&M Aggies have exceeded expectations so far this season after being picked to finish near last in the conference. Even so, the Aggies fell 70-66 to a bad Missouri team Saturday night at home.
The Tigers were led by junior forward Kobe Brown, who ended the night with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. He was 5 of 9 from the floor and made 11 of his 12 free throw attempts. Jarron Coleman added 12 points to the effort, followed by Amari Davis’ 11. The Tigers shot 56.5% from the field overall and 38.5% from the 3-point line.
A&M found most of their offensive success on the bench. Quenton Jackson and Hayden Hefner both entered the game early and had 17 for the Aggies. Big man Henry Coleman III added 13. The Aggies rallied for a slim two-point lead midway through the second half, but Mizzou was determined to leave College Station with a win. The Tigers are now 9-13 on the season, leaving them near the bottom of the conference standings.
No. 25 LSU at Vanderbilt
Another example of weird. Vanderbilt sent the No. 25 LSU Tigers all the way back to the bayou with a 75-66 loss on Saturday night, marking their third loss in a row.
Senior transfer Rodney Chatman led the Commodores with season-high 24 points. Chatman, who played with Dayton the last two seasons, made six of his 10 3-point attempts, giving him a career-high. After the game, Commodore head coach Jerry Stackhouse was very complimentary of Chatman, crediting much of Vandy’s success this season to the Georgia native.
Tari Eason led LSU with 16 points. Darius Days added 10 points and 11 rebounds, but the Tigers trailed most of the night. They managed a 16-0 run midway through the second half, but couldn’t come any closer than five points. The Tigers, who boast the best defense in the SEC and one of the best nationally, gave up a season-high 13 3-pointers.
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The win was Jerry Stackhouse’s second against a ranked opponent. His only other also came against Will Wade’s Tigers. Wade did not meet with reporters until nearly an hour after last night’s game.
Mississippi State at Arkansas
I’ve said it once and I will say it again: Arkansas is no joke. The Razorbacks have now won their 8th straight game after beating Mississippi State 63-55 on Saturday night.
Senior JD Notae led the ‘Backs with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Arkansas native Jaylin Williams ended just short of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Arkansas, who shot just 37.7% from the field and 21.1% from three, led almost the entire game.
Iverson Molinar had a team-high 19 points for the Bulldogs. Molinar is averaging 18.2 points per game this season, making him one of the league’s highest scorers. Garrison Brooks added 12 points and 11 rebounds, but Mississippi State could never quite close the gap. The loss marks State’s third in their last five games.
No. 5 Kentucky at Alabama
This is the one I’ve been waiting to talk about. The ‘Cats have now won their fourth straight after an impressive 66-55 win at Alabama last night.
TyTy Washington led the ‘Cats with 15 points, going 6 of 15 from the field. Big man Oscar Tshiebwe had another “slow” night, ending with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Keion Brooks, Kellan Grady and Damion Collins all added 10 as well. Savhir Wheeler did not score, making the win that much more impressive.
Speaking of Damion Collins: the guy was awesome last night. Though he hasn’t gotten many minutes this season, he proved he was ready to play last night in a tough road environment. After the game, Cal called Collins the “difference-maker.”
As good as the ‘Cats played, ‘Bama looked bad. The Crimson Tide missed 12 shots in a row in the second half, allowing Kentucky to double their lead and take control of the game. Charles Bediako led with 12 points and eight rebounds, but no other Tide players scored in double digits. ‘Bama was a painful 3 of 30 from the 3-point line (that’s 10%).
Alabama started the season hot, but has struggled with inconsistency since. The Tide have several quality wins this season, including No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 6 Houston and No. 8 Baylor.
The ‘Cats will travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina next. After No. 3 UCLA lost in triple overtime last night, it’s likely we might see them boasting a higher ranking as they hit the road on Tuesday.
As always, check out Jack Pilgrim’s top takeaways for more.
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