Alabama hands rival Auburn first loss of season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kira Lewis Jr. scored 25 points and Alabama handed No. 4 Auburn its first loss of the season with an 83-64 rout on Wednesday night.
The Crimson Tide (9-7, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) led wire-to-wire over their instate rival. The Tigers (15-1, 3-1) had a miserable shooting night and left No. 7 San Diego State (18-0) as the nation's last unbeaten team.
It was the Tide's first win over a Top 5 team since a 7957 home defeat of then-no. 5 Texas A&M on Dec. 30, 2017. This one was largely one-sided, too.
Lewis scored 17 points in the second half for Alabama. He was 8 of 14 from the field and made 8 of 9 free throws.
Herbert Jones had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Alex Reese scored 13 points and James Bolden had 11 for the Tide.
It was a season low in points for Auburn, which had won 27 of 28 games dating back to last season's Final Four run.
Isaac Okoro led the Tigers with 13 points. Austin Wiley had 10 points and 13 rebounds and Jamal Johnson also scored 10.
Auburn closed within 5047 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnson midway through the second half, but the comeback attempt fizzled from there.
Georgia 80, Tennessee 63
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia's older players were motivated by what happened a year ago in Knoxville.
Anthony Edwards was ticked off about a more recent game.
Bouncing back from a disappointing performance last weekend, Edwards scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half, pushing Georgia to a big lead that carried the Bulldogs to a victory over Tennessee.
Edwards headed to the gym for a couple of late-night shooting sessions after an 8260 loss at Auburn.
The extra work sure paid off. “He's got a lot of pride," Georgia coach Tom Crean said. “He didn't like the way he played the other day.”
After a brutal three-game stretch against ranked teams, Georgia (11-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) romped past the Volunteers.
This one felt especially good after what happened last January in Knoxville.
Tennessee embarrassed the Bulldogs 96-50, sending Georgia to a dismal 2-16 mark in SEC play.
“That was my worst loss ever in my life," said junior Rayshaun Hammonds, who added 21 points. “No matter what, I wanted to get this win."
Tennessee (10-6, 2-2) showed a bit of life with a 9-0 run in the opening minutes, but the Bulldogs dominated the rest of the way.
“I'm disappointed in about everything you can be disappointed in," coach Rick Barnes said. “I didn't think we had a competitive, fighting spirit at all."
With Edwards hitting from all over the court, Georgia built a 47-28 lead that essentially settled this one by halftime.
Late in the opening period, Edwards drove right down the lane for a twohanded dunk that brought the crowd at Stegeman Coliseum to its feet. He had them yelling even louder when a nifty between-the-legs, step-back move at the top of the key freed him up for a 3-pointer that made it 47-25.
Edwards grabbed at the "Georgia" written across the front of his jersey and waved his arms to rev up the student section.
“I love the crowd," Edwards said. “Every chance I get, I try to celebrate with them."
Hammonds connected on back-to-back 3s that suddenly pushed the lead into double figures at 32-19.
Jordan Bowden led Tennessee with 12 points and Josiah-jordan James added 11.
Barnes said his team must get better play from its guards, and really needs to step up its intensity at the defensive end.
“We just didn't put up the fight we normally do," he said.
Arkansas 75, Vanderbilt 55
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Jimmy Whitt Jr. scored a career-high 30 points to lead Arkansas to a win over Vanderbilt.
Whitt, a graduate transfer from SMU, scored 17 points in the first half to help the Razorbacks to a 34-28 lead at halftime.
Saben Lee led Vanderbilt with 17 points, all in the second half, and Maxwell Evans added 16, all in the first half. The Commodores (8-8, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) have lost 23 straight SEC games.
Arkansas (14-2, 3-1) used an 8-0 run early in the second half to distance itself. Before the run, the Razorbacks led 37-33, but Isaiah Joe knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and Whitt threw down a dunk to extend Arkansas' lead to 45-33 with 15:04 left.
Joe and Mason Jones, Arkansas' leading scorers this season, did not score in the first half, but Joe found his stroke in the second half and finished with 12 points, all on 3-pointers. Desi Sills scored 13 and Reggie Chaney added 12 for the Razorbacks.