Kentucky hurdle over for Missouri

MISSOURI 69, NO. 21 KENTUCKY 60

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri has shown upward mobility under first-year coach Cuonzo Martin, and the latest sign came Saturday — the Tigers’ first victory over Kentucky.

Behind 16 points each from Jordan Barnett and Kassius Robertson, the Tigers earned a 69-60 victory against the No. 21 Wildcats.

Missouri (15-8, 5-5 SEC) had been 0-10 vs. Kentucky (17-6, 6-4) since the teams first played in 1960.

“It’s definitely a really good win, but that’s maybe how I look at it — it’s just another win,” Barnett said. “We’re going to keep competing and hopefully put together a string of wins. I’m not treating this one any different just because of the name on the front of the jersey.”

Kentucky won at least a share of the SEC regular-season basketball title the past three years, while Missouri finished last each time.

Martin said he didn’t realize Missouri had never beaten Kentucky until he was asked about it after the game.

“It’s good for our guys, because there have been some tough years,” Martin said.

The Wildcats didn’t look like a typical Kentucky team. They shot just 31.3 percent from the field and finished with only nine assists.

“The biggest thing is we refuse to pass the ball,” Kentucky Coach John Calipari said. “I don’t have any answer for that.”

Kentucky, which started five freshmen, had only one player score at least 10 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 15 points but made only 5 of 16 shots.

Missouri got nice contributions from its freshmen big men, Jontay Porter and Jeremiah Tilmon. Porter finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Tilmon added nine points and two blocks.

NO. 11 AUBURN 93, VANDERBILT 81

AUBURN, Ala. — Bryce Brown scored 25 points and Mustapha Heron had 23 points to lead hot-shooting No. 11 Auburn (21-2, 9-1 SEC) to a victory over Vanderbilt (8-15, 2-8).

Auburn made a season-high 17 three-pointers on 26 attempts to snap a 13-game losing streak against Vanderbilt.

Jared Harper scored 14 points and had 14 assists for Auburn, making 3 three-pointers in the first nine minutes. Chuma Okeke hit two three-pointers and had 12 points.

Jeff Roberson led the Commodores with 30 points, including five three-pointers. Riley LaChance scored 13 points.

NO. 18 TENNESSEE 94, MISSISSIPPI 61

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Grant Williams and Lamonte’ Turner scored 17 points each to lead five Tennessee players with at least 10 points Saturday night as the 18thranked Volunteers trounced Mississippi for their fifth consecutive victory.

Tennessee (17-5, 7-3 SEC) has won eight of its past nine games while Ole Miss (11-12, 4-6) has dropped five of its past six.

Admiral Schofield had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Tennessee. Kyle Alexander scored 14 points and Jordan Bowden added 10 for the Vols.

Bruce Stevens scored 16 points and Terence Davis added 13 for Ole Miss.

ALABAMA 68, NO. 23 FLORIDA 50

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Collin Sexton scored 17 points and Alabama rallied from a 10-point deficit to thump No. 23 Florida.

The Crimson Tide (15-8, 6-4 SEC) scored the first eight points of the second half and later used a 15-2 run to open up a double-digit lead.

Alabama dominated Florida (15-8, 6-4) in the paint, on the glass and up and down the floor. The Tide outscored the Gators 41-17 in the second half, finishing with a 43-25 rebounding advantage and outscoring them 46-26 in the paint and 29-1 off the bench.

Donta Hall finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Alabama. Braxton Key chipped in 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

KeVaughn Allen (North Little Rock) led the Gators with 16 points.

TEXAS A&M 83, SOUTH CAROLINA 60

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Admon Gilder scored 15 points and Texas A&M dominated South Carolina from the start in Reed Arena.

The Aggies (15-8, 4-6 SEC) led 49-27 at halftime, in shooting 63 percent (17 of 27) from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Gamecocks (13-10, 4-6) shot 21.1 percent (8 of 38) in the same span, as Texas A&M blasted to the 22-point lead. Texas A&M finished 29 of 55 from the field, good for 53 percent.

Justin Minaya scored 16 points to lead the Gamecocks.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 72, GEORGIA 57

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Lamar Peters scored a season-high 20 points to lead Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5 SEC) to a victory over Georgia (13-9, 5-5).

Quinndary Weatherspoon and his brother Nick Weatherspoon added 14 points for Mississippi State.

Georgia got 13 points from Yante Maten and Tyree Crump while Pape Diatta added 12 points.