2015 SEC Tournament for March 14: Who, What, Where and When

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So far, the 2015 SEC Tournament has had it all. Fantastic comebacks, a Cinderella team, and a trek to perfection. And after three days of the tournament, we are down to the Final Four. It is not the Tournament semifinals that the experts imagined as we have seen a couple of bubbles burst, but this has been one of the most enjoyable tournaments in recent memory. The action shifts to ESPN today for the Semifinals, but before we look at those games, let’s recap yesterday.

For the second time in a week, the Florida Gators gave top ranked Kentucky all they wanted … before Kentucky pulled away in the second half for a double-digit win. Florida led by as much as five points in the first half, but Kentucky took a 31-27 lead at half. Last week, UK led by 30-27 against UF and pulled away for a 17 point win. The same thing happened this time as UK won 64-49. Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats and Aaron Harrison also tossed in 13. Kentucky did not shoot very well at 37.5% but this is a team that can win even when they are not shooting well. Florida hit just 18.2% from long-range and could not mount any type of comeback once Kentucky pulled away. Florida was led by Jon Horford with 15 points. The Gators finish the season at 16-17, but believe it or not, there has been a buzz that the Gators could be NIT bound.

For the third straight game, the Auburn Tigers played miracle worker with an improbably comeback win over the LSU Tigers. LSU led 61-53 with 2:45 points, but KT Harrell scored 11 points in a row for the Tigers. Harrell hit a 3-pointer with :01 left to send the game into overtime. LSU did not have a chance on the extra period as Auburn pulled away for a 73-70 win. Harrell finished with 29 points and Malcolm Canada had 14 for the Tigers. LSU was led by Keith Hornsby’s 24 points and finish at 22-10. They SHOULD go to the NCAA still, but it may be out of their hands at this point.

Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Arkansas jumped all over Tennessee from the start in scoring the first 13 points of the game. Bonny Portis had 18 points in the first half as the Razorbacks stretched their lead to 45-25 at the half, and Tennessee looked dead in the water. The Vols have pulled off one miraculous comeback already in the tournament, however and Tennessee managed to cut the score to 71-67 with just 2:44 left, but had nothing left in the tank. Arkansas held on for a 80-72 win. Bobby Portis had a huge game with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Michael Qualls added 20. Arkansas hit 32-39 FT’s which allowed them to keep Tennessee at bay. The Vols were led by Josh Richardson, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Vols close their season at 16-16.

For most of the game, the Georgia Bulldogs seemingly had things under control against South Carolina as they took a 12 point lead in the second half. The Gamecocks responded however with a 15-3 run that allowed them to take a 44-43 lead. Playing their third game in three days finally wore on South Carolina as Georgia closed out the game on a 17-5 run and advanced with a 74-62 win. Marcus Thornton paced the Bulldogs with 17 points and 8 rebounds and Yante Maten scored a career high 13 points and grabbed 10 boards. The Bulldogs shot 46.9% for the game. South Carolina got four 3-pointers and 20 points from Duane Notice, but that was not enough. South Carolina closes their season at 17-16 but may get some postseason feelers.

Now, let’s look at today’s semifinals matchups.

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