The SEC Tournament officially tipped off on Wednesday, although you might be forgiven for waiting until Thursday to pay attention. Thanks to conference expansion, the opening rounds of the tournaments typically feature the absolute bottom feeders, teams with little hope of playing beyond this weekend.
SEC Tournament 2015 schedule and bracket: Auburn, South Carolina advance
Only two games took place on the first day of the SEC Tournament.
But there is still something special about March basketball, even between the teams without much to play for. Who knows? Maybe one of these teams below will make a miracle run over the next few days. For now, let’s briefly recap Wednesday’s action.
No. 13 Auburn 74, No. 12 Mississippi State 68
The Tigers recovered from a slim halftime deficit to take an 11-point lead on Mississippi State. The Bulldogs rallied with a late 12-0 run, but their lead was short-lived and Auburn made the necessary free throws to advance. K.C. Ross-Miller led Auburn with 21 points and seven rebounds, while KT Harrell added 19 points. The difference in the game was three-pointers -- Auburn shot 8-of-15 beyond the arc, while MSU made just 1-of-12. The Tigers play Texas A&M on Thursday.
No. 11 South Carolina 63, No. 14 Missouri 54
The Tigers' season comes to a merciful end, having failed to reach double-digit wins. Sindarius Thornwell scored 18 points and added six assists, while Tyrone Johnson hauled in seven rebounds. None of Missouri's starters reached double-digit points -- Montaque Gill-Caeser came off the bench to lead the Tigers with 10 points. South Carolina moves on to face Ole Miss.
Thursday’s schedule
No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Alabama, 1 p.m.
No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Auburn, 3:25 p.m.
No. 7 Vanderbilt vs. No. 10 Tennessee, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 South Carolina, 9:25 p.m.
And here’s the updated bracket, via CBS Sports:
SB Nation presents: Bubble teams to root for include an SEC squad
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