LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman TyTy Washington Jr. scored a career-high 28 points, Sahvir Wheeler returned from injury to add 21 points and No. 18 Kentucky shot a season-high 68% percent to blow out No. 22 Tennessee 107-79 on Saturday.
The Wildcats (14-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) rolled the Volunteers on an emotional day that began with news of the death of former Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall at 93.
Hall led the program to its fourth national championship in 1978. He was close with current Kentucky coach John Calipari, who paid tribute to his friend and mentor by gripping a rolled-up program and starting in a 1-3-1 defense against their border rivals.
Kentucky then unleashed its most energetic performance this season before its biggest crowd in a while, an effort helped by the return of point guard Wheeler from a neck injury. The Wildcats made their first five shots and 22 of 28 by halftime, with their 78.6% shooting tying a program record set in the first half against Mississippi on Jan. 14, 1981 (11 of 14).
Their accuracy held up for nearly 30 minutes before cooling off slightly and finishing 38 of 56 from the field. Kentucky also went 20 for 21 from the foul line to end a two-game home slide against the Volunteers (11-5, 2-3).
Santiago Vescovi scored 20 points and Kennedy Chandler 17 for Tennessee, which shot 53% but wasn't close for the final 30 minutes.
Kellan Grady added 16 points and Davion Mintz 10 for the Wildcats, who made 11 of 18 from beyond the arc. Wheeler had 8 assists, while Oscar Tshiebwe had 12 rebounds and 9 points.
Aggies rally to beat Mizzou
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Henry Coleman III scored 18 points, Hassan Diarra made a pair of free throws with three seconds left and Texas A&M rallied to beat Missouri 67-64 on Saturday.
Texas A&M missed its first 13 shots, trailed for the first 35 minutes and never led by more than two until the final minute.
The Aggies' Andre Gordon made two free throws for a 65-61 lead with 31 seconds remaining. The four-point cushion proved beneficial after teammate Marcus Williams missed two free throws with 10 seconds left.
Missouri's Jarron Coleman hit a three-pointer to draw the Tigers within 65-64 but there were only three seconds left when they sent Diarra to the line. He made both and, after a timeout, Missouri was unable to get a good look at a tying shot.
Trailing 56-49 with 7:49 left, Texas A&M forced 3 turnovers in the midst of 6-for-8 shooting and took the lead for the first time at 57-56 on a layup by Williams with 4:47.
The teams traded baskets — and the lead — four times in the next 2 1/2 minutes.
Tyrece Radford scored 13 points and Williams added 10 for the Aggies (15-2, 4-0).
Jarron Coleman led Missouri (7-9, 1-3) with 14 points. DaJuan Gordon and Javon Pickett scored 11 points each.
Kobe Brown, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, had seven points and nine rebounds. He was saddled with four fouls and was limited to 24 minutes on the court.
The Aggies trailed 12-0 before Williams hit a layup with 11:07 left in the first half. Radford's three-pointer with five minutes left drew Texas A&M within 22-17 but the Tigers closed the half with a 12-7 run for a 34-24 lead.
Missouri, which beat then-No. 15 Alabama 92-86 at home then lost 87-43 at Arkansas in its last two games, saw its home winning streak end at five games.
Texas A&M has won eight in a row. The Aggies last won seven straight at the beginning of the 2017-18 season.
Late FTs sink Tide
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Andersson Garcia made a free throw with 3.7 seconds left and Iverson Molinar had a game-high 24 points for Mississippi State, which held off No. 24 Alabama 78-76 on Saturday night.
Alabama was looking to rebound from its 81-77 loss to rival No. 4 Auburn on Tuesday, but Keon Ellis missed a long three-pointer just before the buzzer. Jaden Shackelford led Alabama (11-6, 2-3) with 17 points, while Ellis and Darius Miles each had 14 and Charles Bediako had 11 points.
The Bulldogs (12-4, 3-1) beat the Crimson Tide for the fourth time in the last five meetings in Starkville. Molinar also had 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Garrison Brooks had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Shakeel Moore added 15 points, including going 9 for 9 at the free-throw line.
The Bulldogs held a 75-67 advantage following two free throws by Moore with 1:34 left. But back-to-back three-pointers from Miles and Ellis brought Alabama within 75-73 with 42 seconds left.
Moore made two more free throws with 14 seconds left, before Ellis hit three in a row with 3.7 seconds left, cutting the Mississippi State advantage to 77-67.
For the game, Alabama shot just 39.3% from the floor and 27.6% behind the 3-point arc. Mississippi State wasn’t much better at 40.7% from the field and just 12.5% beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were 28 of 38 at the foul line while Alabama was 24 of 28 at the line.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair featuring 15 lead changes and five ties. Mississippi State held a 36-33 advantage late in the half, but Alabama closed the half on an 8-1 run and held a 41-37 advantage at halftime.
A combined 25 fouls were called in the first half for 32 free-throw attempts.
Auburn wins 13th straight
OXFORD, Miss. — Walker Kessler scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and No. 4 Auburn rallied from an early 14-point deficit to beat Ole Miss 80-71 on Saturday night.
In extending its winning streak to 13 games, Auburn (16-1, 4-0) also got 15 points from Jabari Smith, and 14 from both K.D. Johnson and Wendell Green Jr.
Auburn used a 24-9 run over nine minutes — including four three-pointers — to take a commanding 71-60 lead with 4:09 remaining. After that, Ole Miss never got closer than four points.
Tye Fagan led Ole Miss (9-7, 1-3) with 17 points, while Nysier Brooks had 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Matthew Murrell had 13 points and 8 rebounds.
The Rebels built a 38-24 first-half lead and led 44-38 at halftime. Auburn responded with a 7-0 run in the final minute of the first half, setting up the successful second-half surge.
Auburn shot 50% from the field (29 of 58), including 8 of 25 from three-point range (5 of 13 in the second half).
Ole Miss was 24 of 54 from the field for 44% shooting, along with eight three-pointers.
Gators win first SEC game
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Phlandrous Fleming Jr. and Kowacie Reeves scored 14 points each and Florida beat South Carolina 71-63 on Saturday for its first SEC win of the season.
Colin Castleton added 10 points, 10 points fewer than his average in conference play, but had a career-tying 8 blocks plus 7 rebounds. Florida (10-6, 1-3) avoided its its first 0-4 SEC start since 1950.
Chico Carter Jr. scored 12 points and Erik Stevenson added 10 for the Gamecocks (10-6, 1-3).
In its three SEC losses — all against teams ranked in the top 15 — Florida shot 40%. Against the Gamecocks, the Gators shot 55% to 35% for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks only lead was 2-0. Two turnovers and three missed shots by the Gamecocks helped Florida go on a 9-0 run and take the game's first double-digit lead at 21-10. Elijah Kennedy capped the spurt with five points, including a three-pointer.
The lead reached 14 before South Carolina scored the final five points, including a Jacobi Wright three-pointer to close within 36-28.
South Carolina is at Arkansas on Tuesday, while the Gators are home against Mississippi State on Wednesday.
Vandy ends long drought at Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. — Jordan Wright scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 13 and Vanderbilt resumed its winning ways beating Georgia 73-66 on Saturday.
The Commodores (10-6, 2-2) had won four in a row, including a victory at Arkansas to begin SEC play, but were recently toppled by South Carolina and Kentucky at home.
Georgia (5-12, 0-4) lost its sixth straight.
The Bulldogs appeared poised to end its skid as they went to halftime up 36-28 on the strength of 14-of-27 shooting while Vandy missed 19 of 30 shot attempts before the break.
But Vanderbilt regrouped, started the second half with a 13-0 run and never trailed again. Jamaine Mann's dunk with 5:37 left put the Commodores ahead 66-56, but the Bulldogs went on a late 8-2 run to draw within 68-64 on Aaron Cook's layup with 50 seconds left. Pippen made 5 of 6 foul shots to seal it. Pippen, who entered as the SEC's leading scorer at 19.2 points per game, missed nine of 12 shots including 0 for 5 from 3-point range.
Jaxon Etter scored 16 points, Braelen Bridges 14 and Cook 10 for Georgia.
Vanderbilt's last win over Georgia was an 81-66 victory on Jan. 7, 2018. Before Saturday, the Commodores hadn't won at Georgia since Jan. 29, 2014.