December 12 SEC Basketball Schedule: TV, Tip Times, Streaming, How to Watch, Odds and Picks

What Happened Last Night

Four SEC teams had road games against power conference opponents, and all four came away empty-handed. Then again... well, all four of them were underdogs, so what were we expecting? This shouldn’t hurt the perception of the conference, but you know it will.

• Virginia Tech 80, Ole Miss 75: The Rebels were down 14 with five minutes left but rallied to make things close and force Virginia Tech to sweat it out. The Hokies are probably an NCAA Tournament team so this loss doesn’t hurt, but the Rebels’ three best opportunities for a quality win (this, MTSU, and Creighton) have all ended with losses. Sebastian Saiz had 21 points and 9 boards; Terence Davis had 18 and 12 for his first career double-double.
• Kentucky 96, Hofstra 73: Hofstra kept this close for much of the first half before a 26-3 run by the Wildcats put it out of reach. Still, Hofstra’s 19 offensive rebounds were a bad look for Kentucky and this game only got out of hand because Hofstra shot 34 percent from the floor. Malik Monk had his sixth 20-point game of the season in the win.
• Florida State 83, Florida 78: In a recurring theme, Florida trimmed a 13-point second half deficit but came up just short late at Florida State; the Gators’ shooting woes (4-of-16 from three, 16-of-25 at the foul line) came into play here. Kasey Hill had 21 points, which surprisingly was a new career high for the senior in his 111th game at Florida.
• North Carolina 73, Tennessee 71: The Vols came oh so close to what would have been a season-defining win, and it’s well past time to admit that Tennessee is much, much better than we thought they would be this season. Tennessee built a 15-point lead in the first half before North Carolina came back, but still had a chance to send the game to overtime until Lamonte Turner’s attempt was blocked with two seconds left. Robert Hubbs III had 21 points on 9-of-11 from the floor in the loss.
• Oregon 65, Alabama 56: Alabama clawed back from a 14-point deficit to take the lead with four minutes left, but then the Tide ran out of gas as they only scored two points the rest of the way. Donta Hall earned his first career start for Alabama and posted a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, but 18 turnovers and a 2-of-19 performance from beyond the arc did Alabama in.

Today’s Schedule

It’s a doubleheader in Madison Square Garden as Auburn plays Boston College in the early game, followed 30 minutes later by South Carolina (who is still without Sindarius Thornwell) vs. Seton Hall.

Odds and Picks

Yesterday: 1-4 ATS; Season to Date: 31-53-1 ATS

• Auburn (-9.5) vs. Boston College: Boston College has lost 4 of its last 5 and is coming off a loss to KenPom #322 Hartford at home (one of two losses to sub-300 teams this season.) The 9.5-point spread (which opened at 7) is a little scary, but I still think Auburn will cover it.
• South Carolina vs. Seton Hall (-2): I might think about pulling the trigger on the Gamecocks if Sindarius Thornwell were playing, but he’s not, and Seton Hall is a pretty good team that’s basically playing at home.