SEC Saturday wraparound: Kentucky survived, Auburn did not
John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats didn't make it pretty at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday, but they escaped with a 63-57 win over Arkansas - thanks to a 24 point game from Antonio Reeves and a strong defensive performance across the board.
The Wildcats move to 5-2 in league play, tied for third and just one game off top seeded Alabama.
Plenty of other results around the SEC impacted Kentucky's spot in the standings, and we take a look at what else went down in league play on Saturday:
Tennessee 75, Vanderbilt 62
The Vols looked like they might become Vanderbilt's first victim in SEC play as they were down five at halftime, but a 45-27 second half buried the Commodores and sent Tennessee into second place in the conference at 5-1.
Dalton Knecht continued his SEC Player of the Year campaign, dropping 32 points on 13-21 shooting in the victory.
Mississippi State 64, Auburn 58
After losing to Alabama earlier in the week, Auburn desperately needed a 'get right' game against the 2-4 Bulldogs of Mississippi State.
However, they only mustered 58 points on 34% shooting, and a massive 45-30 rebounding advantage handed Chris Jans and the Bulldogs a resume-defining victory and sent Auburn reeling.
Florida 102, Georgia 98
It's a little too early to talk about the bubble, but the Gators likely did themselves a nice favor by securing an overtime victory over Georgia on Saturday, 102-98. Micah Handlogten had 23 points and 17 boards for Florida, while Zyon Pullin added 20 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. They are now 4-3 in the SEC.
Meanwhile, Georgia is also 4-3 but wasted an extraordinary game off the bench from RJ Melendez, who had 35 points and five steals while shooting 13-19 from the field and 6-10 from three.
South Carolina 72, Missouri 64
South Carolina moved to 5-2 in the SEC by taking care of Mizzou, who remain winless in what has been an incredibly disappointing season for Dennis Gates and the Tigers.
B.J. Mack had 21 points and five rebounds to lead the Gamecocks, while Sean East II had 21 points and seven assists for Missouri.
Alabama 109, LSU 88
Alabama's offense was nearly unstoppable on Saturday as they rolled over LSU, dropping 50 points in the first half and 59 in the second while shooting 55.6% from the field, 41.2% from three, and 89.3% from the charity stripe.
All five Crimson Tide starters had 12 or more points, led by 21 from Mark Sears and 19 on five made threes from Latrell Wrightsell.
LSU was no match defensively for Alabama, and despite a solid shooting night they fall to 3-4 in the SEC.
Ole Miss 71, Texas A&M 68
The Rebels shook off a two loss week last week to blow out the Razorbacks and then secure a key road win over Texas A&M on Saturday to stay over .500 in the SEC.
Ole Miss shot 41.7% from distance and Allen Flanigan had 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists in the win, while A&M was once again too reliant on Wade Taylor IV, who had 30 of the team's 68 points.
Taylor shot 10-20 from the field and 5-9 from three, while the rest of the team was 15-43 and 1-11. Yikes. They fall to 3-4 in league play.
