(8) Ole Miss 83, (9) Arkansas 80 –
Keys to the Win: Sean Pedulla hit a three in transition at the buzzer and Ole Miss survived a major battle from Arkansas as the Rebels outlasted the Razorbacks, 83-80. Billy Richmond shot from half-court at the buzzer, but the ball hit the glass and the front of the rim and ricocheted away as Ole Miss survived after trailing by as many as seven points in the last eight minutes.
Player of the Game: Pedulla struggled all evening before he hit the game-winner. Jaylen Murray was efficient as a playmaker as he finished with 17 points and five assists. His ability to get Ole Miss in positition to execute successfully allowed the Rebels to find the win. Murray and Matt Murrell had three pull-up jumpers late to allow Ole Miss to continued to lead before an 8-0 Razorbcks run gave them an 80-77 advantage with 30 seconds remaining.
Key Statistics: Malik Dia was an impact early for Ole Miss as he made 6-of-7 shots with 14 points, He helped the Rebels open a 32-21 lead with 7:21 remaining in the first half. The Rebels shot 50 percent in the second half while Arkansas was 16-of-25 at the line.
They Said It: “I think both teams played really well in segments of the game,” said Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard. “There were portions in the first half and in the middle of the second half where Ole Miss was playing about as well as we could play. Arkansas, the same.
(13) Texas 94, (5) Texas A&M 89 – 2 OT
Keys to the Win: Both teams matched each other offensively all afternoon as there were nine ties and 17 lead changes. Tre Johnson gave the Longhorns an 87-85 lead with 2:08 remaining in the second overtime. Jordan Pope then hit a 19-footer on a sidestep and pushed the lead to 89-85. Pope and Kadin Shedrick finished off the Aggies from the free throw line in the last 22 seconds.
Player of the Game: Let’s usher Tre Johnson to another POG. He came up with 20 points after struggling at 8-of-21 from the floor. He put Texas ahead for good at 87-85 with his three from the top of the key. In playing 44 minutes, he only had two turnovers and three of his last four field goals gave Texas the lead where they had trailed and the other three in the sequence gave the ‘Horns an 81-79 lead after being tied.
Key Statistics: Both teams took 72 shots from the floor with Texas making 31 and A&M 25. Texas turned the ball over only six times and had 12 points off of 13 Aggies turnovers. Wade Taylor led all scorers with 29 points while Tre Johnson led six Longhorns in double figures with 20.
They Said It: “We’ve been in those situations in conference play, overtime play,” said Longhorns coach Rodney Terry. “They found a way to get it done tonight against an Elite Eight, Final Four caliber team tonight in a conference tournament.”
(7) Missouri 85, (10) Mississippi State 73
Keys to the Win: Missouri’s Tony Perkins hit a 3 to give the Tigers a 74-69 lead with 2:10 to play as the basket allowed for the first two possession lead since Missouri was up 52-47 with 11:53 to play. Tamar Bates was hgen late with six points, including four free throws as Marques Warrick and Perkins added free throws in that final minute as well.
Player of the Game: Tamar Bates led Missouri with 25 points and hit a key triple with 8:45 to play to allow the Tigers to retake the lead after Josh Hubbard pushed the Bulldogs into a 57-55 advantage with 9:29 remaining. Bates had 12 points at halftime as his three and a slam broke a pair of ties and allowed Missouri to enjoy a 39-34 halftime lead.
Key Statistics: Missouri held Mississippi State to 36 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Bulldogs, 43-35. However the Bulldogs scored 15 points on 14 Tigers turnovers and had 17 points on 14 offensive rebounds.
Josh Hubbard was once again an incredible story for Mississippi State as he finished with 24 points in 38 minutes. He was clutch in giving Mississippi State three leads and tieing the game in the last part of the second half.
They Said It: “I just saw us communicating,” said Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates. “I saw us flying around, helping each other. That’s things we’ve done throughout the season. We just got away from it a little bit.”
(6) Kentucky 85, (14) Oklahoma 84
Keys to the Win: Otega Oweh drove the length of the floor on the right side and made a layup as Kentucky slid by Oklahoma, 85-84. The Sooners trailed 80-70 with 1:26 remaining, but the defense turned Kentucky over and scored 14 points in the next 1:19 to take an 84-83 lead with seven seconds to play. Jeremiah Fears was once again remarkable as he literally took the ball away from Kentucky twice and fed to Jalen Moore for a dunk and he wrestled away a steal from Oweh and drove the length of the floor for the 84-83 lead.
Player of the Game: Otega Oweh is easily the difference for Kentucky with his game winning score and he led Kentucky with 27 points. He scored eight points in 1:57 to help the Wildcats build their biggest lead at 77-65 with 4:31 to play.
Key Statistics: Kentucky shot 52 percent and Oklahoma 48 percent as the game was an offensive battle with Kentucky outscoring Oklahoma, 42-40, in the paint while the Sooners were in control, 33-16, from the bench.
They Said It: A quote from Kentucky coach Mark Pope – coming up.