STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — K.D. Johnson scored 12 of his 14 points in overtime, Jabari Smith had 27 points overall and No. 5 Auburn held off Mississippi State 81-68 in overtime. The Tigers improved to 26-4 and clinched at least a share of the SEC regular-season championship. It marks the fourth SEC title for Auburn and the program’s first since the 2017-18 season. Tolu Smith had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Iverson Molinar had 14 points and five assists for Mississippi State.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas guard JD Notae made two free throws with 8.6 points left, LSU’s Xavier Pinson missed a final attempt at the rim as the clock expired as the No. 14 Razorbacks held off the Tigers 77-76 on Wednesday night. Stanley Umude led Arkansas with 23 points. The Razorbacks — 24-6 overall and 13-4 in the Southeastern Conference — have won 14 of their last 15 games overall and nine in a row at home. Tari Eason led LSU with 24 points, but fouled out with 1:35 left.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Quenton Jackson scored 28 points and Tyrece Radford had 22 to lead Texas A&M to an 87-71 victory over No. 25 Alabama. Jackson had 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half to lead the Aggies to their third straight win. The Crimson Tide were outscored 50-31 after taking a three-point lead into halftime in the team’s home finale. Jackson made 9 of 13 shots and all nine free-throw attempts. Radford did much of his damage with a 4-of-6 performance from 3-point range. Jaden Shackelford led Alabama with 16 points.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former Oklahoma quarterback Shane Rattler says he was ready for a reset and believes he’s found it at South Carolina. Rattler isn’t sure how things went sideways for him with the Sooners, but he knew it was time for a change. He’s grateful to former Oklahoma assistant and current South Carolina coach Shane Beamer for giving him an opportunity. Rattler is eager to start spring ball with the Gamecocks in two weeks. He has not been promised a starting job, only the chance to compete. But if Rattler regains his from from two seasons ago, it hard to see him on the sidelines and not on the field.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley says injured 6-foot-7 reserve center Kamilla Cardoso will be ready to play in the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament this week. Cardoso had missed the team’s season finale at Mississippi last Sunday with what Staley described as an upper-body injury. But Staley said Wednesday she had practiced with the team and would be on the court when the top-ranked and top-seeded Gamecocks start play against either Arkansas or Missouri on Friday. Cardoso is among Staley’s first players off the bench. The Syracuse transfer is averaging nearly six points and better than five rebounds a game.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Megan Abrams scored 25 points, JaMya Mingo-Young and Brittany Davis had double-doubles and 11th-seeded Alabama turned back 14th-seeded Auburn 75-68 in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Allie Craig Gruce, who had four 3-pointers this season, hit four in the game and scored a career-high 14 points for the Crimson Tide, who face sixth-seeded Georgia in the second round on Thursday. Davis scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Mingo-Young had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Honesty Scott Grayson scored 13 points and Annie Hughes 12 for the Tigers, who lost to Alabama twice in the regular season by a total of 10 points. They have lost eight-straight to their state rivals.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jordyn Cambridge had the first triple-double in school history, Iyana Moore scored 14 of her 18 points in the first quarter and Vanderbilt beat Texas A&M 85-69 in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, bringing the coaching career of Hall of Famer Gary Blair to an end. Brinae Alexander led Vanderbilt with 23 points, 18 in the second half. Cambridge, a Nashville native, had 13 points and career-highs of 15 rebounds and 10 assists, plus four steals. The 13th-seeded Commodores were 12 of 15 in the first quarter with Moore, a freshman, going 5 of 7, including 3 of 5 behind the arc. The 12th-seeded Aggies were 4 of 13. Vanderbilt faces fifth-seeded Florida in the second round on Thursday.
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