No. 14 Alabama 64, No. 9 UK 61–In a game of spurts, Alabama came out of Rupp Arena winners beating Kentucky, 64-61. The Crimson Tide opened the second half on a 9-0 run pushing the score to 38-31 and never looked back. Erwin Dudley led Alabama with 16 points while Rod Grizzard added 14 and had seven rebounds. Grizzard shot 3 of 15 from the floor and 7 of 10 from the foul line as the Tide ended the Wildcats’ four-game win streak. Tayshaun Prince scored 14 points to lead Kentucky as he and Keith Bogans shot 7 of 25 on the day. Kentucky shot 39 percent from the floor and 23 percent from three-point range as it was the team’s worst shooting performance since its opening night loss to Western Kentucky, 64-52. It was Alabama’s first win in Lexington since 1989.
Arkansas 94, No. 4 UF 92–Jannero Pargo scored a career-high 35 points as Arkansas shot down Florida at Bud Walton Arena, 94-92. Pargo hit the three-pointer to send it into overtime and then with 2.7 seconds left, he made the 14-footer to give Arkansas the win. Pargo connected on 7 of 8 three-pointers, getting the Razorbacks’ back in the winning ways after losing four in a row. Brett Nelson led the Gators with 23 points, making 6 of 13 behind the arc. Floor leader Justin Hamilton returned from injury and scored 14, but missed two key free throws down the stretch that could have sealed the win for Florida. Udonis Haslem scored 19 and brought down 13 rebounds in the losing cause. Arkansas scored 28 points off a season-high 25 turnovers from the Gators (15-3, 4-2) as they move to 11-8, 3-4 in the SEC. Florida has lost two in a row as they head into the showdown with Kentucky on Tuesday night.
Vanderbilt 86, No. 17 UGA 84–Vanderbilt drilled 15 three-pointers en route to extending their win-streak to three games upsetting Georgia 86-84. Freshman Jason Holwerda scored the game-winning basket with 4.9 seconds left lifting the Commodores (13-6, 3-3) to their biggest win on the season. Brendan Plavich led Vanderbilt with a career-high 22 as four others were in double figures. Georgia led by as many as nine in the first half before Vanderbilt began the second half on a 10-2 run giving them a 10-point lead. The Bulldogs came back and tied it at 82 with 1:25 remaining before succumbing to Holwerda at the end. Ezra Williams scored 19 and Jarvis Hayes had 16 to lead Georgia (16-4, 5-2).
UM 71, USC 53– Ole Miss connected on a season-high 11 three-pointers as the Rebels (16-4, 5-2) have won three straight and five of its last six SEC games, pounding South Carolina 71-53. The Gamecocks (12-7, 2-4) remain winless in Oxford (0-6). Aaron Harper and Jason Harrison made four three-pointers each and Justin Reed scored 16 to lead the Rebels who are coming off wins over LSU and Arkansas. Derrick Allen scored 11 and had a game-high 10 rebounds. Jamel Bradley led the Gamecocks with 12 points while Marius Petravicius chipped in with 10.
UT 82, Auburn 59– Tennessee bounced back after its worst loss of the year in good fashion with Marcus Haislip scoring 24 points and adding eight rebounds in a 82-59 drubbing of Auburn. Vincent Yarbrough scored 16 as the Volunteers killed the Tigers (9-9, 1-6) on the boards, outrebounding them 43-24, including 19-8 on the offensive side. Ron Slay was out with a torn ACL, and the Volunteers (9-10, 2-4) still managed to dominate. It was Tennessee’s fourth game in nine days and they travel to face LSU on Wednesday.
Women–No. 2 UT 66, No. 22 Auburn 53–The Lady Volunteers (17-1, 6-0) won their 17th straight conference road game Sunday as they took down the Lady Tigers, 66-53. They have also won six in a row since the loss to No. 1 Connecticut. Kara Lawson controlled the game for the most part scoring 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Ashley Robinson scored 10 points and Michelle Snow contributed nine as Tennessee remains in control of the SEC. Auburn shot a terrible 29.7 percent for the game as it has now lost three of four. Le’Coe Willingham led Auburn with 14 points and 13 rebounds while Natasha Brackett scored 13. The Lady Tigers host Ole Miss on Thursday while Tennessee hosts Florida in a key SEC match-up.
Arkansas 74, No. 7 USC 46– The Lady Razorbacks took a page out of Nolan RichardsonOs playbook for 40 minutes as Arkansas took out No. 7 South Carolina, 74-46. Arkansas scored 31 points off 26 turnovers handing the Gamecocks (17-3, 5-2) their second straight loss in the SEC and worst defeat of the season. India Lewis and Dana Cherry scored 17 points each to lead Arkansas, and Shameka Christon added 13 points and nine rebounds. It was the Lady Razorback’s biggest win in school history over any ranked team during the regular season. South Carolina shot 26 percent and no player was in double figures in scoring for the game.
No. 18 UF 73, No. 16 UGA 64– Monique Cardenas and Vanessa Hayden scored 19 points each as Florida held off the late run by Georgia to win its fourth straight game, 73-64. The Lady Gators led 36-19 at the half as the Lady Bulldogs had more turnovers (9) than field goals (7). In the second half, Georgia got as close as four before Florida sealed it at the end with free throws. Christi Thomas led the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points and Kara Braxton scored 16. The Bulldogs host Mississippi State on Thursday where they look to avenge an early loss to the Lady Bulldogs where they gave up 43 points to LaToya Thomas. Florida travels to take on Pat Summitt’s Tennessee squad who beat them in the SEC opener, 88-64.
No. 5 VU 64, No. 24 LSU 53– Depth may have been a key in the home loss for LSU as Chantelle Anderson scored 28 leading Vanderbilt to a 64-53 win. LSU (11-7, 4-3) played seven and three went the whole duration of the game. Anderson also pitched in with 10 rebounds taking control because LSU had no one who could stop her. Zuzi Klimesova scored 24 points, had eight rebounds and six assists as Vanderbilt (19-4, 5-2) has won seven of its last eight. Alysha Smith led the Tigers with 16 points and six rebounds. The loss snapped LSU’s three-game winning streak and more than likely will drop them out of the top 25 this week. Vanderbilt travels to Arkansas on Thursday and LSU hosts Ole Miss on Sunday.