No. 24 Oklahoma upsets No. 5 Texas
No. 24 Oklahoma 80, No. 5 Texas 79: Austin Reaves scored 23 points and made two free throws with 18.3 seconds left that proved to be the difference as No. 24 Oklahoma beat short-handed No. 5 Texas 80-79 on Tuesday night.
Reaves’ free throws gave the Sooners a three-point lead before Andrew Jones made two free throws seconds later to get Texas within one. The Longhorns nearly forced a turnover on the inbounds pass before fouling Oklahoma’s Jalen Hill with 2.3 seconds to play.
Hill missed his first free throw, then intentionally missed his second but failed to hit the rim, giving Texas the ball. The Sooners (10-4, 6-3) then intercepted a long pass to end the game, sending Texas (11-3, 5-2) to its second Big 12 home loss. The Sooners have won four in a row.
No. 9 Alabama 70, Kentucky 59: Jaden Shackelford scored 21 points to help No. 9 Alabama beat Kentucky and complete its first regular season twogame sweep over the Wildcats since 1989.
The Crimson Tide (14-3, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) extends their winning streak to 10 games.
For a team that came in known for its 3-point shooting, Alabama made its first three attempts and then struggled for the rest of the game. The Crimson Tide didn’t hit their first 3-pointer of the second half till Shackelford made one with 9:48 to put Alabama up 47-43.
This game was much more tightly contested than the 85-65 Alabama win on Jan. 12, but in the end the Kentucky (5-10, 4-4 SEC) offense couldn’t convert in the final few minutes of the game until it was too late.
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Mintz, Dontaie Allen and Olivier Sarr all with 12 points.
No. 18 Tennessee 56, Missisippi St. 53: Yves Pons scored 13 points and No. 18 Tennessee overcame a miserable shooting night to beat Mississippi State.
Pons was a critical force in the first half for the Vols. In the final 2:30 of the game, it was freshman Keon Johnson who scored four of his eight points, while taking an important charging foul, to seal the victory for Tennessee (11-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference).
While the Vols shot 37% from the field, the Bulldogs (9-8, 4-5) managed just 33%.
Mississippi State was led by Iverson Molinar with 16 points and D.J. Stewart with 11.