Johni Broome had 23 points and 15 rebounds and No. 3 Auburn held off Ole Miss 62-57 in a quarterfinal of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Friday afternoon in Nashville.
Denver Jones added 13 points for the top-seeded Tigers (28-4), who will face No. 8 Tennessee in a semifinal on Saturday afternoon. Tennessee, the tourney’s fourth seed, defeated Texas later on Friday.
Dre Davis and Sean Pedulla each scored 12 points and Jaylen Murray and Malik Dia added 10 apiece to lead the eighth-seeded Rebels (22-11).
Chad Baker-Mazara’s three-point play extended Auburn’s lead to nine with 1:34 left in the second half. Pedulla’s steal and layup were part of a 6-0 run that trimmed the lead to three with 38 seconds left, but Broome made a jumper with 11 seconds left.
No. 4 Florida 95, No. 21 Missouri 81 Walter Clayton Jr. recorded 18 points and six assists to lead a balanced effort as the second-seeded Gators eliminated the seventh-seeded Tigers to reach the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Nashville. Alijah Martin scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Will Richard also scored 17 points for Florida (28-4). The Gators’ Thomas Haugh contributed 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Florida will face third-seeded Alabama in one semifinal on Saturday. Alabama crushed sixth-seeded Kentucky later on Friday. Tamar Bates scored 16 points for Missouri (22-11), which lost for the fourth time in five games. Tony Perkins and Anthony Robinson II added 13 points apiece, and Caleb Grill had 11. The Tigers played without Mark Mitchell, who sustained a right knee injury in the team’s Thursday victory over Mississippi State.
No. 5 Alabama 99, No. 15 Kentucky 70
Labaron Philon scored 21 points and the Crimson Tide never trailed while routing the Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville.
The Crimson Tide (25-7), who pulled away thanks to a 54-32 scoring advantage in the second half, will play No. 4 Florida, which defeated No. 21 Missouri 95-81 earlier Friday, in the second semifinal on Saturday.
Mouhamed Dioubate had 13 points and eight rebounds, Jarin Stevenson scored 16 points and Mark Sears and Aden Holloway had 13 each for third-seeded Alabama. Andrew Carr scored 18, Amari Williams had 16 and Travis Perry added 11 to lead the sixth-seeded Wildcats (22-11), who played without Lamont Butler (shoulder).
No. 8 Tennessee 83, Texas 72
Chaz Lanier poured in 23 points, 19 of them in a dominating first half, as the Volunteers defeated the Longhorns in a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal clash in Nashville.
Tennessee (26-6), the fourth seed in the tournament, advances to play No. 3 Auburn, the top-seeded team in this event, in the semifinals on Saturday. Thirteenth-seeded Texas (19-15) will have to sweat out the next few days before learning if it has earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament that begins next week.
Zakai Zeigler finished with 19 points, all in the second half, with Jahmai Mashack scoring 13 and Igor Milicic Jr. adding 12 points for Tennessee. Jordan Pope and Kadin Shedrick had 14 points apiece to lead the Longhorns.
