SEC Hoops Roundup

As the men’s basketball regular season nears its end, teams try to make their final postseason push. Tuesday featured an SEC triple-header, with Alabama taking on Florida, Auburn travelling to Missouri, and Ole Miss Squaring off with Georgia.

With the SEC Tournament just a week away, each conference win is of the utmost importance.

Auburn Denies Missouri First SEC Win

Missouri took a 3-2 lead thanks to an early three from Tamar Bates. However, it was all Auburn from there. Once they took the lead, they never gave it up. Auburn took a 44-39 lead into the locker room at halftime, before coming back out and pulling away.

Johni Broome led the way for Auburn with 17 points, while Jaylin Williams and Chad Baker-Mazara both chipped in with 15. Sean East II continued to look impressive, dropping a game-high 21 points, but was unable to will Missouri to the victory.

Finished road business. Home finale Saturday‼️ pic.twitter.com/JS6nTVrPaB

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 6, 2024

After the win, Auburn moves to 23-7 overall, 12-5 in SEC play, which sits them at third place in the conference. The Tigers will take on Georgia at home for their final game of the regular season.

On the other hand, Missouri is still winless in the SEC this season, sitting in last place with an 0-17 conference record. Up next, Missouri will travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU.

Georgia Gets Crucial Win Over Ole Miss

Ole Miss started the season 15-1 and seemed to be cruising towards a decent seed in the conference tournament. However, the Rebels have since gone 5-9, losing four of their last five. The trend continued as Georgia squeaked out the win.

The first half was a close, back-and-forth battle, which saw the Bulldogs grow an eight-point lead. However, Ole Miss fought back and trailed by just three heading to the break, 35-32.

The Rebels came out swinging in the second half and were able to take their first lead of the game. However, the lead was short-lived as Georgia quickly took back the lead and built it up to 10 points. Ole Miss was not willing to go away quite yet and put together a 9-0 run to get back within one point in the final minutes.

Georgia held off the late push to pick up a big, late-season SEC victory. The Bulldogs had five players score in double-digits, led by Noah Thomasson’s 15 points.

DAWWWGS ON TOP!!!!#GoDawgs | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/zkUxylcqjQ

— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) March 6, 2024

Georgia’s 6-11 conference record moves the Bulldogs to 11th place in the SEC. With a matchup against Auburn in their season finale, the Bulldogs will likely end up as one of the bottom four seeds in the conference, forcing them to play in the first round.

Ole Miss drops to 7-10 in the SEC after losing four of its last five. The Rebels are now 10th in the conference, which makes their regular season finale against Texas A&M crucial for seeding. A loss likely throws them into the bottom four, while a win could see them earn a first-round bye.

Florida Tramples Alabama in Gainesville

For the second time this season, the Florida Gators thrashed a ranked opponent in the O’Dome. This time, it was the No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide who took the beating.

Looking at tournament implications, the win keeps the Gators in contention for a top four seed in the SEC, which would mean a double bye into the quarterfinals. Alabama will likely still be in the top four, but will need to handle business in its season-finale against Arkansas.

SEC Tournament Approaches

The SEC Tournament will start March 13 and go through March 17 in Nashville, TN. Seeds No. 5 – No. 14 will all see action over the course of the first two days, before meeting up with seeds No. 1 – No. 4 in the quarterfinals. The SEC Championship is set for Sunday, March 17, before Selection Sunday.