HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next is the SEC Tournament, with Kentucky entering as the top seed, and Auburn, Florida and LSU all looking strong for NCAA bids. However, several other teams needed wins to make their case led by a Mississippi State team that was squarely on the bubble. Who would have won it and who would have punched dance tickets? It is time to find out!
SEC SECOND ROUND
Second round play got underway in the SEC with 8-seed Tennessee taking on 9-seed Alabama. Both of these teams had dreams of an at-large bid well into February, but probably entered the conference tournament needing to win it all to advance. The Crimson Tide built a 10-point halftime lead that they extended out to 14 early in the second period. Tennessee was not done, however, and came fighting back to take the lead with just under 6 minutes left to play. Alabama seemed to run out of gas at that point, as the Vols built the lead as high as 9 and held on to win 83-79 (a 3 from the Tide at the buzzer made the final score a lot closer than it really was). Santiago Vescovi was the star for the Volunteers, scoring 25 points in the win.
The second game of the day matched up 5-seed Florida and 13-seed Georgia. The Gators had been up and down all season, and could really use a run in the SEC Tournament to improve their position in March Madness. Today, the Gators were nothing but business as the built an early lead and cruised home for an 80-65 win, despite a strong 19-point effort from Georgia’s Anthony Edwards. Keyontae Johnson led the way for Florida with 21 points as his team moved on to the quarterfinals where 4-seed Mississippi State was waiting.
The evening session began with the 7 vs 10 battle between Texas A&M and Missouri. The Aggies had been one of the most surprising teams in the SEC this season under new head coach Buzz Williams, but that season was set to end today. Mizzou took control of the game early and was able to cruise to a convincing 67-46 win, as staunch defense held A&M to under 30% shooting from the floor. The Missouri Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals and a Friday matchup against 2-seed Auburn.
The day ended with 6-seed South Carolina taking on 11-seed Arkansas. Despite their finish in the lower division, the Razorbacks had done enough out-of-conference to still be on most people’s Bubble Watch lists heading into this tournament. Two hours after tip, the Razorbacks were gone from those lists. Despite Arkansas being back near full-strength, the Gamecocks handled them fairly easily, cruising to an 81-63 win as five different players scored in double-figures led by 15 each from Kayshawn Bryant and Jair Bolden. Arkansas’ dream of an NCAA Tournament bid was pretty much over, while South Carolina moved on to a date with 3-seed LSU.
SEC QUARTERFINALS
On March 3, the Tennessee Volunteers had gone to Lexington and shocked Kentucky by a score of 81-73. With that win still fresh in their memories, the Vols knew they had the ability to beat UK again in the first quarterfinal of the day. Tennessee held a one-point lead at the half, and the game remained tight throughout the second period as well. The game actually came down to free throw shooting, and Kentucky went 10-for-12 from the line in the final two minutes to hang on for a hard-fought 88-84 win and a berth in the semifinals, despite an impressive 30-point effort from Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden.
In the second quarterfinal, 5-seed Florida was favored to take down 4-seed Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs knew an NCAA Tournament bid would likely require at least a win in this game. Ben Howland’s team may have needed the win more than Mike White’s Gators, but the Gators proved to clearly be the better team. Florida held an 11-point lead at the half and held off every run that State made in the second half, winning by a final score of 85-75. Noah Locke led the way for Florida with 19 points as the Gators advanced to the semifinals and a date with top-seed Kentucky. Mississippi State was left to see what their fate would be when the Selection Committee announced the field.
10th seeded Missouri took on Bruce Pearl’s 2nd seeded Auburn team in the third quarterfinal of the day. Despite having 25 wins already on the season, there were some who questioned whether this Auburn team was nearly as good as their national top 20 ranking. Missouri played tough for the first half and had the game tied at the break, but Auburn had just enough to pull away in the final minutes of the game, winning by a final score of 84-74 in a game that was much closer throughout than the final 10-point margin. Austin Wiley’s 16 points led the way for the victorious Tigers from Auburn.
South Carolina and LSU were up next in the final quarterfinal game. The Gamecocks knew that they were still quite a distance away from an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but that a run to the SEC finals could get them there, even if they did not capture the automatic berth. LSU also had something to prove, notably that the Bayou Bengals were worthy of a solid seed in the Big Dance. And it was LSU that came out strong in this game, building a 50-33 halftime lead and cruising home for a 91-73 win. Ja’vonte Smart scored 21 points and Skylar Mays had a double-double to lead the Tigers to a semifinal matchup against Auburn.
SEC SEMIFINALS
The Kentucky Wildcats were two wins away from capturing the double – the SEC regular season and tournament championships, and potentially having a shot to finish as high as a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament. First, they needed to get past a Florida Gators team that wanted to prove they were the preseason top national 10 team and not the team that had sputtered and faltered throughout the regular season. The Gators played this game like the former, building a 33-22 halftime lead and holding off every second half run that the Wildcats through at them. When the game ended, Florida had a 79-71 win and a berth in the championship game. Keyontae Jackson (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Kerry Blackshear (10 points, 10 rebounds) both notched double-doubles for Florida. For Kentucky, it was time to return to Lexington and wait to see where the Selection Committee would send them in the Big Dance.
After taking down the Missouri Tigers in the quarterfinals, Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers had another group of Tigers waiting in the semifinals, the Bayou ones from LSU. Both teams had a lot to prove heading into this game and the bigger tournament that would follow. The game itself proved to be one of the best in the SEC Tournament so far, as both teams seemed to choose not to play any defense at all. When the dust settled, Auburn was walking off the floor with a 108-96 win, though the game was closer than that for pretty much the first 35 minutes. Six different Auburn players ended the game in double-digits on the scoreboard, led by 24 points from Samir Doughty and a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double from Austin Wiley.
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
The SEC title game matched up 2-seed Auburn and 5-seed Florida. Both teams were easily confident that their names would be called later that day by the Selection Committee, but this was one last chance to impress with a quality win. Even more importantly, however, it was a chance to cut down the nets and win a championship. Mike White’s Gators were playing their fourth game in four days, so despite building a 7-point halftime lead, the question was if and when this team would finally run out of gas. If that was going to happen, it wouldn’t be until the ride home, as the Gators held off several Auburn runs in the second half and locked down a 79-70 win and an SEC Tournament championship for the first time since 2014. Keyontae Jackson was again the top player for the Gators, scoring 21 points in leading his team to the championship.
