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What Happened Last Night
Kentucky went to Starkville, and while the Wildcats led wire-to-wire, they never really could put Mississippi State away in an 88-81 win over the Bulldogs. The Wildcats led by as much as 64-46 in the second half, but a 16-2 run by Mississippi State made the last few minutes of the game interesting. Still, a win’s a win, especially on the road.
The same could be said of Arkansas, which sent Texas A&M to 1-5 in the SEC with a victory in College Station. Daryl Macon led the Razorbacks with 16 points, who have gotten back on track with their second straight victory after a 1-3 start in SEC play. The Aggies, meanwhile, are on life support.
Down in Athens, Vanderbilt got off to a slow start and that was enough for Georgia to hold off the Commodores and improve to 4-2 in the SEC. This isn’t a win that will move the needle much with the Selection Committee — Vandy is now 8-10 and 2-4 in the SEC — but it’s certainly better than a loss.
There was a scary situation in Oxford last night as Ole MIss’ Rasheed Brooks suffered a seizure during the game and had to be rushed to the hospital. On the court, the Rebels rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to post an 80-69 win over Tennessee that left both teams at 2-4 in conference play.
Tonight’s Schedule
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Florida at South Carolina | 6:30 PM | SEC Network/WatchESPN |
| Missouri at Alabama | 7:00 PM | ESPNU/WatchESPN |
| LSU at Auburn | 8:30 PM | SEC Network/WatchESPN |
The big one, obviously, is Florida at South Carolina. Barring a collapse for both, the Gators and Gamecocks should be NCAA Tournament teams, so the game’s not important from that standpoint. However, the winner can call themselves a bona fide challenger to Kentucky for the SEC title.
As for the other two games, Missouri is still looking for its first SEC win -- or, well, its first win of any kind since December 6. The Tigers head into Tuscaloosa on an eight-game losing streak and it seems to be a question of when, not if Kim Anderson will be fired and another loss would only turn up the heat even further. The nightcap is a battle between two 1-4 teams as LSU heads to Auburn. Auburn’s been a bit unlucky and was competitive against Kentucky on Saturday, whereas LSU’s just been bad.
Odds and Picks
Yesterday: 4-0 ATS; Season to Date: 68-86-1 ATS
- Florida at South Carolina (-2): Why am I mildly concerned about this pick? Because, well, it almost feels too obvious. South Carolina should beat Florida at home, so why did the Gamecocks open as a 1-point underdog (the line’s moved, bigly)? But I’m confident enough that I’ll still take this.
- Missouri (+13) at Alabama: Missouri doesn’t appear to be quitting on the season (though I’m starting to be concerned about that possibility) and while Alabama has been playing well, 13 points is still quite a bit even against a bad team.
- LSU at Auburn (-7.5): So you know how I said that Missouri doesn’t appear to be quitting on the season? Well, LSU’s last three games: 17-point loss to Mississippi State, 30-point loss to Texas A&M, 15-point loss to Alabama. There is a decent chance I won’t be picking LSU the rest of the season. Auburn laying 7.5 does kind of scare me, but I think they’ll clear it.