SEC Championship: Kentucky Avoids Huge Upset, Takes Out Mississippi State In OT, 75-74

By the slimmest of margins, Kentucky is once again the SEC Tournament champion after the ‘Cats slid by a very game Mississippi State squad 75-74 in overtime.

It would be difficult to script a closer contest, as neither team ever had a lead of more than five. One of those five point leads came for State on a Ravern Johnson three with about two and a half minutes to go. Patrick Patterson and John Wall would answer with a bucket apiece, but two Barry Stewart free throws pushed the lead to three with eight seconds left.

GAME 9: Kentucky 74 - Tennessee 45

A Sea of Blue understandably came out of this contest feeling good about UK’s chances in the Big Dance:

GAME 5: Kentucky 73 - Alabama 67

A Sea of Blue came away most impressed by its opponent, which is appropriate since Alabama fought hard:

In the first half of Friday’s late shift, Mississippi State kept its Big Dance hopes alive by defeating Florida 75-69. The Bulldogs controlled the game from the start, rolling up a 10-0 lead before the Gators managed to score a point. The lead expanded to as much as 19 in the second half before Florida staged a comeback. UF came up short though as MSU’s Barry Stewart made five three throws down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.

All five Bulldog starters ended up in double digits, led by Stewart’s 17. Jarvis Varnado contributed 15 points and 4 blocks to the cause. Florida’s guards carried much of the offensive load for a change, with Kenny Boynton’s 23 leading all scorers and Erving Walker putting in 19. The loss puts Florida in precarious position for the Big Dance, while Mississippi State still needs to beat Vanderbilt to be in serious discussions for inclusion.

Alabama put up a valiant fight, but SEC Tournament favorite Kentucky was able to take home the victory 73-67.

It was a bit of a sloppy first half, with both teams picking up fouls in bulk. Five different Bama players went into the break with a pair of fouls, while Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins (who somehow didn’t score) and Daniel Orton had two and three, respectively. Both teams shot under 40 percent before intermission as well, with Alabama’s 33.3 percent mark offset by an impressive 10 offensive rebounds.

— Follow the game live once it starts here.

— Follow the game live once it starts here.

GAME 1: Alabama 68 - South Carolina 63

For the Alabama partisans at Roll Bama Roll, this was a big win precisely because it flipped the normal script for what the team has done this year:

After losing five in a row to close out conference play, Arkansas’ collapse is complete with a 77-64 defeat at the hands of SEC East 6-seed Georgia.

UGA took control of the game early, taking a 6-4 lead just two minutes in and never looking back. The Razorbacks were able to cut the lead to a single possession on two occasions in the first half, but each time Georgia pulled away. No second half lead ever dipped below three, and the Classic City Canines ran away with it over the final five minutes to make the game not look quite as close as it really was.

After losing three straight to end the regular season, the Florida Gators needed a win or two in the SEC Tournament to ensure a bid in March Madness. With their 78-69 victory over Auburn, UF may be dancing once again after two years in the NIT.

Florida was hot in the first half, leading comfortably throughout most of it. The Gators led by as many as 14, but the Tigers pulled within nine at the midway point. Auburn kept up its surge after intermission, as a Lucas Hargrove layup with 15:21 to go cut the UF lead to just a point. That was the best the Plainsmen could muster, however, as the SEC East’s fourth seed extended the lead from there and never looked back.

It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done. Tennessee rallied after putting up a terrible first half to put away a fiesty LSU team 59-49.

The Tigers owned much of the first half, but it largely was a factor of being less inept than Tennessee was at the time. Ten minutes into the game it was just 10-7 with LSU leading, and the underdogs were able to pull out in front as far as 17-10. Wayne Chism was seemingly the only Volunteer awake for much of that span, as he either scored or assisted 11 of UT’s first 12 points. Eventually the guys from Knoxville pulled even at 21 at the half despite going 25.4 percent from the floor, their worst shooting half of the season.