A.J. Storr scored 19 points, Malik Dia added 17 and 15th-seeded Ole Miss weathered a scare for its second straight wire-to-wire upset with a 76-72 victory over Georgia in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville on Thursday.
Travis Perry had 16 points and four 3-pointers and Ilias Kamardine had eight points, four assists and four steals for the Rebels (14-19), who led 55-32 with 13 minutes remaining and lost all but two points of that edge before holding on.
Seventh-seeded Georgia used a full-court press and a 22-2 run to get within 57-54 with 7:35 remaining, and the Bulldogs crept within two on Kanon Catchings’ layup to make it 60-58 moments later but never were closer. The Bulldogs (22-10) had won three in a row and five out of six and are considered a lock to make the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss, which had lost 12 of 13 to close the regular season, never trailed in a 76-66 victory over Texas in the first round. Next up is a quarterfinal matchup against No. 15 and second-seeded Alabama on Friday.
Oklahoma 83, Texas A&M 63
Nijel Pack had 20 points and four 3-pointers before leaving with an injury and the 11th-seeded Sooners continued a late push for an NCAA Tournament bid with a blowout victory over the sixth-seeded Aggies.
Xzayvier Brown had 16 points and six rebounds, Derrion Reid had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tae Davis had 14 points for the 11th-seeded Sooners (19-14), who led by 22 points at halftime to take their sixth straight win.
The Sooners will face No. 17 and third-seeded Arkansas (23-8) in the quarterfinals Friday. The Razorbacks won the regular-season meeting 83-79 on Jan. 27, when Pack scored 22. Rashaun Agee had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Rylan Griffen scored 13 for the Aggies (21-11).
Kentucky 78, Missouri 72
Otega Oweh’s 21 points and big plays on both ends of the floor down the stretch helped the ninth-seeded Wildcats to a win over the eighth-seeded Tigers.
Denzel Aberdeen (16 points, seven assists) and Collin Chandler (15 points, three steals) also came up big for the Wildcats (21-12), who survived a 32-point, seven-rebound performance from Missouri’s Mark Mitchell.
Mitchell scored 23 in the second half as Missouri (20-12), the eighth seed, briefly overcame a 16-point deficit. Kentucky will face No. 4 and top-seeded Florida in the first of four games on Friday.
No. 25 Tennessee 72, Auburn 62
Nate Ament led the Volunteers in points (27), rebounds (eight), assists (four) and blocks (three) in his return to action as the Volunteers’ late 20-0 run earned them a win over the Tigers.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 15 points and a team-leading three steals for No. 5 seed Tennessee (22-10), which got Ament back after he missed the prior two games with a leg injury. Next up is No. 22 and fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Tahaad Pettiford scored 28 points but also committed five turnovers for the 12th-seeded Tigers (17-16). With 10 points, Keyshawn Hall was the only other Auburn player to score in double figures.
–Field Level Media
