2015 SEC Tournament: Gators, Tigers Move On In Round 2
Round two of the 2015 SEC Tournament began with the Florida Gators coming out with an ugly win against Alabama, and the Auburn Tigers pulling off a big upset against Texas A&M.
Game one of the first session in the SEC Tournament second round looked to be a competitive one from the start, but it turned into an ugly game that neither team seemed to want. Alabama started off hot, and had as much as an 8-point lead on the Gators in the first half, but then went into a nearly eight minute scoring slump, allowing the Florida to go into the locker room with a 33-29 lead.
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From there, it was brick after brick from both sides, and the Gators struggling to figure out Alabama’s zone defense (which didn’t matter since the Tide couldn’t hit their shots either).
The Gators and Dorian Finney-Smith — who had a game-leading 23 points — finally began to pull away in the second half, and took advantage of a 12-3 edge in offensive rebounds. The Gators also found a little help from Michael Frazier, who had five points. They’ll need him to come up even bigger in the next round.
Alabama coach Anthony Grant has still never beaten Billy Donovan, with his record moving to 0-10 against the Florida coach.
Florida must now move on to face the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats in Friday’s quarterfinal game.
In today’s second game, the Auburn tigers accomplished something they hadn’t done since 2000 – win two consecutive SEC Tournament games. And they did it against a Texas A&M team who had their backs to the wall and who were without one of their best players, Danuel House, and beat the desperate Aggies 66-59.
Mar 12, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Auburn Tigers coach Bruce Pearl during the first half of the second round against the Texas A&M Aggies in the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Down by 10 in the first half, the Tigers came storming back in the second half, playing a smothering defense against the Aggies, who simply ran out of gas. Auburn was led by guard KT Harrell, who tallied 25 points and five rebounds.
The loss by Texas A&M effectively erases any chance they had of making the NCAA Tournament field, as it was thought by many that they needed to win a minimum of two SEC tourney games to get themselves off the bubble.
Auburn, led by head coach Bruce Pearl, showed a lot of heart and came into the game with some confidence after Wednesday night’s win against Mississippi State. They’ll now advance to meet the LSU Tigers in Friday’s quarterfinal matchup.