Roundup of the SEC basketball games over the weekend:
- Mississippi State 70, Arkansas 56: The visiting Bulldogs snapped Arkansas’ 10-game win streak. The Hogs were coming off wins over two top 10 teams, Oklahoma and Texas. State got excellent games from guards Barry Stewart and Dee Bost, who combined for 34 points, and were a combined 6-of-10 from three-point range. Stewart was 3-of-4. Bost was 3-of-6. Meanwhile, Arkansas made three of 22 three-point shots, and just seven of 15 free throws. Freshman Courtney Fortson was 4-of-15 from the floor and missed all five of his three-point shots. Fellow guard Stefan Welsh missed all seven of his threes. Mississippi State averaged 1.04 points per possession. Arkansas was held down to 0.82 ppp.
- Tennessee 86, Georgia 77: The host Bulldogs blew a 10-point second half lead in losing to the Vols. Tyler Smith, who was supposed to be doubtful thanks to a bone bruise on his knee, scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Vols. Smith scored 13 in the second half. UT overcame Cameron Tatum, who missed nine of his 10 three-point shots The Vols posted a 1.07 points per possession average. Georgia averaged 0.97 points per possession.
- South Carolina 68, Auburn 56: The host Gamecocks opened the second half with a 21-4 spurt and headed on to the win. Zam Fredrick scored 27 points, hitting nine of 18 shots, including four of 10 from three, and made all five of his free throws. Auburn turned it over 24 times. Lucas Hargrove was credited with eight of those turnvoers. Korvotney Barber grabbed 18 rebounds for the Tigers, including six offensive boards. South Carolina averaged a mediocre 0.93 points per possession, but held Auburn to just 0.76 ppp.
- Florida 78, Ole Miss 68: The host Gators were outrebounded by 24 (46-22) yet somehow pulled out the win. Nick Calathes scored 19 points and dished eight assists. Walter Hodge contributed 16 points. The Gators dished 22 assists, while turning it over just eight times. In his return to Gainesville, ex-Gator David Huertas was 4-of-15 from the floor for Ole Miss. He finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Terrico White turned it over eight times for the Rebs, who surely miss Chris Warren. Florida’s offense averaged a stellar 1.16 points per possession, but the lack of rebounding allowed Ole Miss to post a 1.02 ppp.
- Alabama 65, LSU 59: In the only Sundy game, the Host Tide shot just 37.7 percent, to LSU’s 43.9 percent, but still got the victory. One reason was free throws. Alabama was 23 of 35 at the foul line. LSU got only 10 free throws, making six. Bama averaged 1.01 points per possession. LSU averaged 0.93. Alonzo Gee had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Tide. Marcus Thornton missed 12 of his 20 shots for the Tigers.
- Kentucky 70, Vanderbilt 60: The ‘Dores were without leading scorer A.J. Ogilvy. The Cats survived an 11-point, one-rebound performance from Patrick Patterson. Ramon Harris contributed a needed 12 points for the winners. Kentucky averaged 1.06 points per possession. Vandy averaged 0.90. Vandy’s 31.6 field goal percentage was the lowest by any team in an SEC game over the weekend.
