clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Today in SEC Basketball: February 6

A busy Tuesday leads to a little bit lighter Wednesday.

NCAA Basketball: South Carolina at Kentucky Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Before diving into Wednesday night’s slate, let’s look back at what happened on Tuesday...

KENTUCKY 76, SOUTH CAROLINA 48

The Kentucky Wildcats won their ninth game in a row on Tuesday, defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks with relative ease. The Wildcats trounced the Gamecocks 76-48 and improved to 8-1 in SEC play in the process. The Gamecocks held a 17-13 edge at one point, but were flummoxed from there on. They scored 17 points through the first 10 minutes of the game, and then got held to 31 points the rest of the way. PJ Washington stepped up yet again with a 20-point outburst with five boards along with it. Tyler Herro, Reid Travis and EJ Montgomery all scored 11 points, meanwhile, with Montgomery chipping in 13 rebounds in the process, too. South Carolina, meanwhile, dropped to 11-11 on the season and 6-3 in SEC play. Chris Silva scored only four points, while A.J. Lawson and Tre Campbell chipped in 12 apiece. — Chris Novak

ARKANSAS 69, VANDERBILT 66

The Vanderbilt Commodores’ search for their first win in SEC play nearly came to a close on Tuesday night. However their quest had a heartbreaking ending. Despite leading 66-64 with 40 seconds to go in the second half, the Arkansas Razorbacks pulled ahead with a 3-pointer by Keyshawn Embery-Simpson with 14 seconds to go. Two free throws by Mason Jones later, and the Razorbacks celebrated a 69-66 win, while Vanderbilt continues to be mired in an absolutely brutal losing streak. Their second half was commanded by Simi Shittu, Saben Lee and Joe Toye who scored all 31 of their points in that 20 minute segment. Daniel Gafford led the charge with 28 points, went 10-for-12 at the free throw line and posted nine boards, there assists and two blocks. — Chris Novak

TENNESSEE 72, MIZZOU 60

The Tennessee Volunteers scored their 17th win in a row on Tuesday night, racing past the Missouri Tigers 72-60. Mizzou’s Kevin Puryear hit a bucket to make it 37-33 at the start of the second half, but the Vols went off to the races after that, outscoring their adversaries 35-27. The usual suspects for Tennessee were integral for this second half outburst. Jordan Bone, Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden as well as Kyle Alexander all had a hand in it. Schofield and Williams led the charge with 13 points each, while Bowden gave them 12 and went perfect on 2-point tries and from the FT line. — Chris Novak

AUBURN 76, FLORIDA 62

For the first time in close to 20 years, the Auburn Tigers defeated the Florida Gators at home. Samir Doughty started out hot, scoring 10 points in the first half. Bryce Brown, Chuma Okeke carried the load throughout the game. This was also Wiley’s first game back for the Tigers. Florida meanwhile has lost back-to-back games after a solid win streak in conference play. Florida was in the game the entire time, even after a 13-4 Auburn run in the opening moments of the second half. However for the final five minutes, they failed to make a single basket. Kevarrius Hayes had 11 points,, Noah Locke and KeVaughn Allen had 10 apiece. — Matt Gelenties


TONIGHT’S SLATE

Texas A&M Aggies vs. Ole Miss Rebels || 7 p.m. ET || SEC Network || WatchESPN
Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide || 9 p.m. ET || SEC Network || WatchESPN
LSU Tigers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs || 9 p.m. ET || ESPN2 || WatchESPN

The best game of the night will obviously be the one pitting LSU against Mississippi State in Starkville. These two squads are ranked 24th and 25th on KenPom and offer up some of the best talent in the conference with Tremont Waters, Quinndary Weatherspoon, Naz Reid and Lamar Peters, among others. This is the only time this season these two teams will square off, so you’ll want to be sure to tune in.

Ole Miss and Alabama are looking to each get over the .500 mark in SEC play. Given the fact that their opponents (Georgia, Texas A&M) are a combined 2-14 against league opponents, AND they’ll be playing at home, it’s probably a pretty safe bet that they’ll wind up 5-4 by the end of the night. Terence Davis and Donta Hall will be players to watch in these games.