NASHVILLE — Jeremiah Fears scored 29 points to lead 14th-seeded Oklahoma to an 81-75 victory over 11th-seeded Georgia on Wednesday night, closing out the first round of the first 16-team edition of the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament.
The event, taking place at Bridgestone Arena — on a basketball court over the home ice of the NHL’s Nashville Predators, and at the same venue where the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago Wednesday led to the cancellation of the tournament and many others in men’s college basketball — is bigger than ever because of the offseason addition of Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12.
Jalon Moore hit a 3-pointer during a 10-0 run that gave the Sooners a 74-64 lead with 2:55 remaining. The Bulldogs pulled within four points twice inside the final 19 seconds but didn’t get closer.
Oklahoma (20-12) advances to a second-round matchup Thursday against 15th-ranked, sixth-seeded Kentucky (21-10), which had a bye Wednesday. The Sooners lost 83-82 at home to the Wildcats on Feb. 26, the lone regular-season meeting this year between the teams.
The Sooners have won at least 20 games for a second straight season and ended a two-year conference tournament winless streak.
Moore finished with 14 points for Oklahoma, while Mohamed Wague chipped in with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Fears and Moore combined for eight of the Sooners’ 12 3-pointers.
Silas Demary Jr. scored 24 points to lead Georgia (20-12), which had won four games in a row to get off the bubble for the NCAA Division I tournament that tips off next week and in position for its first entry into the Big Dance since 2015. Still, a deep run in Nashville might have helped the Bulldogs’ seed for March Madness.
Asa Newell added 21 points and 17 rebounds for Georgia, while Blue Cain scored 17 points.
Fears and Moore each made a trio of 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes to help build a 43-39 halftime advantage for the Sooners. Fears scored 13 points in the first half, when Moore added nine as the Sooners shot 52% (14-of-27) from the field, with 10 of those baskets for 3-pointers.
Arkansas 72, South Carolina 68
Trevon Brazile had 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, Johnell Davis scored six key points in the final 40 seconds, and ninth-seeded Arkansas nearly blew a 20-point lead before holding off 16th-seeded South Carolina in the SEC tournament opener.
Arkansas (20-12) will play in Thursday’s second round against No. 8 seed Ole Miss (21-10), which received a first-round bye. The Rebels were ranked 13th when they beat the Razorbacks 73-66 on Jan. 8 in the only regular-season meeting between the teams this year.
Arkansas led by as many as 20 points early in the second half, and the score was 59-41 in favor of first-year Razorbacks head coach John Calipari’s crew with 14:18 left. The Hogs missed their next 12 shots over 11-plus minutes, though, as South Carolina pulled within 61-60 after a 19-2 run that was capped by Collin Murray-Boyles’ jumper from the free-throw line.
D.J. Wagner finally ended the field-goal drought for Arkansas on a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound to make it 64-60 with 2:37 left, and Brazile added a tip-in shot on the next possession.
The Razorbacks’ first miss in 14 free throws came with 14 seconds left, and South Carolina quickly went the other way for a layup by Jacobi Wright to cut the deficit to 70-66. After a timeout, Arkansas turned it over near midcourt when Murray-Boyles jumped to deflect a pass and Cam Scott threw down a dunk with 3.2 seconds left for a two-point game.
Davis, who secured the inbounds pass and sealed it with two free throws, and Jonas Aidoo each scored 14 points for Arkansas, while Wagner had 13 points and six assists.
Murray-Boyles led South Carolina (12-20) with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Jamarii Thomas added 16 points and Wright had 13.
Aidoo led all scorers in the first half with 14 points, and Arkansas closed on an 11-0 run to build a 47-30 entering the break.
Arkansas avenged a 72-53 loss to South Carolina on March 1.
Texas 79, Vanderbilt 72
Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark scored 19 points apiece as 13th-seeded Texas (18-14) defeated No. 12 seed Vanderbilt (20-12) in Wednesday’s second matchup
The Longhorns will play Lone Star State rival Texas A&M (22-9), in the second round Thursday. They split a pair of regular-season games, with the Aggies winning 80-60 at home on Jan. 4 and losing 70-69 in Austin on Jan. 25.
Against the Commodores, Texas led by 15 points at halftime and by 15 points again with 4 1/2 minutes to go before Tyler Nickel made a pair of free throws and Devin McGlockton’s layup got Vanderbilt within 70-59.
The Longhorns’ next possessions included a failed one-and-one opportunity at the foul line and two 3-point misses while the Commodores trimmed their deficit to 72-65 with 1:34 remaining. Vanderbilt got within seven points three more times, but the Longhorns closed out the win with seven made free throws in eight attempts.
Jordan Pope scored 14 points and was 5-for-5 on free throws for Texas, and Arthur Kaluma scored 11 points, all in the first half. Mark was 9-of-11 on free throws, and the Longhorns were 25-for-34 at the line.
Jason Edwards scored 20 points, Nickel added 14 and Chris Manon had 12 for Vanderbilt, while McGlockton had 10 points and as many rebounds.
Texas shot 48% and scored 22 points in the paint in the first half on the way to a 41-26 lead at the break. The Longhorns had an early 12-0 run, and Kaluma scored five points in a 12-3 run that led to a 39-22 lead.
Mississippi State 91, LSU 62
Josh Hubbard made six 3-pointers and scored 26 points as the 10th-seeded Bulldogs cruised past 15th-seeded LSU in Wednesday’s third game.
Mississippi State (21-11) moves on to face seventh-seeded Missouri (21-10), which beat the Bulldogs 88-61 on Feb. 1 in this year’s lone regular-season meeting between the teams.
The Bulldogs shot 52% (35-of-67) overall against LSU, including 15-of-34 (44%) on 3-point attempts. Hubbard finished 9-of-19 from the floor, while nine other Bulldogs scored at least five points.
LSU shot 39% from the floor while making 22 field goals and committed 15 turnovers to end the season on a six-game skid.
Jordan Sears made a trio of 3-pointers while scoring 20 points to lead LSU (14-18), Robert Miller III added 14 points and Cam Carter had 13.
Hubbard scored 16 points in the first half to help Mississippi State build a 44-24 lead headed to the locker room. LSU pulled to 51-40 with 15 minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs answered with a 20-2 run for a 71-42 advantage with some 11 minutes left.
The Bulldogs are looking for their third straight NCAA tournament bid, which is something they haven’t done since 2005.