Florida gets home victory over SEC-leading Auburn
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — KeVaughn Allen finally got the message. It took a scoreless game and long chats with coach Mike White and two teammates to sink in.
Allen bounced back from his worst game in more than three years with 24 points, including a 60-footer before the halftime buzzer and two huge 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Florida beat No. 12 Auburn 72-66 on Saturday night.
Allen missed his first five shots against the Tigers before hitting six in a row.
“He’s so capable of that,” White said. “I’m going to tell him again, and I wish everyone in this room would tell him that. If any of our students are watching this, when you see KeVaughn on campus Monday, tell him to shoot the basketball.”
Jalen Hudson added 19 points for the Gators, including a pivotal three-point play with 26.8 seconds remaining. Chris Chiozza hit Hudson with a bounce pass on a back-door cut. Hudson got fouled making the layup and then sank the free throw to put Florida up for good, 69-66.
Auburn’s Jared Harper and Bryce Brown missed off-balance 3-pointers in the final minute, and the Gators closed it out from the charity stripe.
It was Florida’s 11th consecutive win in the series and a huge boost to the team’s NCAA Tournament resume.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Outside shooting helped get Kentucky going against Missouri before the Wildcats started hitting from inside the arc. On both fronts, baskets came consistently with many contributions.
Kevin Knox had 21 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 14 and Kentucky made 10 3-pointers and shot 55 percent to blow out the Tigers.
The Wildcats (20-9, 9-7 Southeastern Conference) outscored the Tigers 16-6 over the final 4 1/2 minutes before halftime for a 44-32 lead. Several more spurts stretched the advantage to as many as 24 as they avenged a 69-60 loss three weeks ago, a game in which baskets were hard to come by.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Texas A&M found a way to hold off Vanderbilt.
Now, the Aggies hope to find a way into the NCAA Tournament.
Texas A&M built a 24-point lead in the second half of a win at Vanderbilt, but the Commodores narrowed the gap to four twice in the final 35 seconds.
Tyler Davis, who led the Aggies (18-11, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) with 22 points and nine rebounds, is optimistic about his team’s chances entering the final two games of the regular season.
OXFORD — The Tennessee Vols got off to a fast start and held on late for a key road victory.
Admiral Schofield scored 23 points, Jordan Bowden scored 15, Lamonte Turner scored 13 and No. 19 Tennessee earned a win over Ole Miss.
The Volunteers (21-7, 11-5 SEC) jumped out to a 29-9 lead in the first 10 minutes and held off a rally by Ole Miss in the second half.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Daryl Macon scored 17 points and made two free throws with 12 seconds left, lifting Arkansas to a victory over Alabama.
The Razorbacks (20-9, 9-7 Southeastern Conference) took control with nine straight points for a 65-57 lead with four minutes left, then withstood a challenge.
The Crimson Tide (17-12, 8-8) trailed almost the entire way and dropped its third straight game.
Dustin Thomas made two foul shots for the Razorbacks with 32 seconds left. Collin Sexton answered with a drive but missed a chance at a 3-point play, and Macon missed the front end of a one-and-one. He’d get another chance.
ATHENS, Ga. — Yante Maten puts a lot of stock in moving into second place on Georgia’s career scoring list.
“It means a lot,” he said, “just being able to represent my school the way I’ve tried to for the past four years and just having the opportunity to make plays night in and night out.”
Maten had 27 points and 11 rebounds, freshman Rayshaun Hammonds scored a career-high 21 and Georgia beat LSU.
Juwan Parker added 15 points as the Bulldogs (16-12, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) overcame an abysmal 3-point performance in the first half by dominating the boards and forcing LSU to lean too much on its guards to score from the perimeter.