Kentucky falls to Vandy in men’s hoops; Alabama survives Auburn
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jordan Wright hit a go-ahead fall-away jumper in the lane with 2.6 seconds remaining to finish with 23 points, and Vanderbilt topped No. 23 Kentucky 68-66 on Wednesday night for its first win at Rupp Arena since January 2007.
The surging Commodores (17-13, 10-7 Southeastern Conference) earned their seventh win in eight games and are 7-3 since losing to Kentucky 69-53 last month in Nashville. They trailed 26-21 late in the first half before leading 34-30 at halftime and 46-35 early in the second before withstanding Kentucky’s rally for a 6664 advantage with 1:10 left on Oscar Tshiebwe’s layup.
Wright answered with a drive from the right wing to tie the game with 42 seconds left, and Tyrin Lawrence grabbed Antonio Reeves’ missed jumper with 20 seconds left. Wright got free just inside the free throw line, stopped and fell back with the game winner.
Antonio Reeves’ 3-point attempt missed the rim altogether as time expired. Kentucky had won its previous four and re-entered the rankings on Monday for the first time in seven weeks.
Tshiebwe finished with 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Wildcats (11-6, 20-10).
Wright made all four 3-point attempts and 8 of 12 overall for a season high total. Lawrence added 21 points.
Vanderbilt won without 7-footer Liam Robbins, who injured his lower right leg early in the game after landing awkwardly while going for a rebound. He missed the first meeting with an injury, too.
BIG PICTURE
Vanderbilt: The Commodores didn’t flinch or panic, even after Robbins limped off the floor and didn’t return. They simply started hitting from deep as usual to seize momentum and spread Kentucky out on defense. They also made 8 of 24 from deep.
Kentucky: The Wildcats overachieved just to get their lead, and it just got harder after they yielded it by failing to stop Vandy’s outside game. They missed 10 of their first 11 from behind the arc and finished just 3 of 19 from long distance.
UP NEXT
Vanderbilt hosts Mississippi State on Saturday.
Kentucky visits Arkansas on Saturday in its SEC regular-season finale, looking to avenge last month’s 88-73 home loss.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 90,
AUBURN 85, OT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jahvon Quinerly scored 24 points, Brandon Miller made the clinching free throws with six seconds left and No. 2 Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit before beating archrival Auburn 90-85 in overtime on Wednesday night.
The Crimson Tide (26-4, 16-1 Southeastern Conference) clinched outright their second regular-season SEC title in three years but continued
to live on the edge over a troubling eight days that included courtroom revelations in a capital murder trial.
Miller rebounded teammate Jaden Bradley’s missed dunk and drew a foul, making both free throws. Noah Clowney had blocked KD Johnson’s layup attempt on the other end.
The Tigers (19-11, 9-8), who had three key players foul out, couldn’t close it out after leading almost the entire way in regulation. They were up 17 with under 11 minutes left.
Alabama won its fourth straight but the past three have gone down to the wire since courtroom revelations tied freshmen Miller
and Bradley to the scene of a murder. Neither has been charged or accused of a crime, but then-teammate Darius Miles and another man are facing capital murder charges.
Police said Miles texted Miller asking him to bring the gun.
Quinerly tied his season scoring high after coming off the bench and had six assists. Miller, Clowney and Mark Sears all had 17 points for Alabama.
Miller committed six turnovers but made 10 of 11 free throws. Bradley scored all six of his points in overtime, going 3 of 4 on free throws over the final minute.
Johnson was 4 of 5 on
3-pointers and led Auburn with 21 points, despite shooting just 7 of 12 at the free throw line.
Allen Flanigan scored 17 points and Jaylin Williams 15 before both fouled out in overtime. Johni Broome had already picked up his fifth foul with 10 points.
At the end of this night, the Tide were celebrating the SEC title and cutting down the nets.
Miller dropped his patdown routine from the pregame introductions, instead settling for a shoulder bump with a teammate. After Saturday’s game against Arkansas, Alabama coach Nate Oats apologized for not halting the pat-downs in light of the murder trial and promised they wouldn’t continue.
A melee near Auburn’s basket led to technical fouls on Quinerly and Auburn’s Wendell Green Jr. with 7:31 left. The Tide’s Rylan Griffen and starting center Charles Bediako were ejected for leaving the bench.
Quinerly gave Alabama its first lead on a pair of free throws with 1:37 left in the second half, making it 75-73, but Flanigan tied it with a layup inside the final minute. Neither team scored in regulation after that, with Green missing a contested jumper at the end.
BIG PICTURE
Auburn: Started 8 of 10 from 3-point range and finished 12 of 20 (60%). … Has dropped eight of 11 games and missed a chance to make a huge statement for the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
Alabama: Continued its struggles since the courtroom revelations about Miller and Bradley, having been taken to overtime by South Carolina and edging Arkansas, 86-83. … Alabama has made just 11 of 53 shots from 3-point range over the past two games. … The Tide finished with a perfect home record for the third time and first since the 2010-11 season.
UP NEXT
Auburn hosts No. 12 Tennessee on Saturday in the regular-season finale.
Alabama closes the regular season Saturday at No. 24 Texas A&M.