Lady Vols tennis advances to SEC Tournament semifinals after Auburn win.
No. 17 Tennessee (18-6, 9-4 SEC) defeated No. 16 Auburn (16-10, 9-4 SEC), 4-3, on Friday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The Lady Vols advance to the semifinals against No. 1 seed Georgia on Saturday at 3 p.m. EDT. The SEC Tournament is taking place at Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
“We knew this evening would be a battle against Auburn and that’s exactly what it was, right up until the last point,” Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. “Our team did an amazing job at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to give us a 1-0 lead going into singles. We battled on every court, just as they did. Sofia (Cabezas) played very committed and disciplined tennis, which is why she was able to beat one of the best players in college tennis.”
USA TODAY Sports details why Alabama could break their Final Four drought
The Alabama Crimson Tide has never been to the Final Four of an NCAA Tournament. They’ve made nine sweet 16s and one elite eight, but have never been crowned as region champions. As the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 Tournament with the best player in the country [autotag]Brandon Miller[/autotag] running the show it seemed as if that was destined to change, but a Sweet 16 loss to San Diego State ended those hopes.
This year’s team enters the Tournament flying a bit more under the radar as a four seed. Alabama tips off their 2024 March Madness campaign today at 6:35 p.m. C.T. against the Charleston Cougars. Alabama did land a very fortunate draw in their bracket with a potential round two game against St. Mary’s and likely North Carolina in the Sweet 16, the lowest-ranked one seed.
USA TODAY Sports writer Dan Wolken thinks that Alabama is one of the top teams that can break their Final Four drought. Wolken says of the Alabama side, “Nate Oats has been sniffing around some deep tournament runs, but it’s going to be a real challenge with this group because of its defense. Ranking just 112th in the KenPom efficiency stats, Alabama needs its outside shooting to be elite every time it takes the floor to have a chance against quality teams. It’s not impossible, but it’s hard to do − and Alabama comes into this tournament having lost four of its last six games.”
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After scoring 82 points in three games during the SEC Tournament, Aggie guard Wade Taylor IV was named the SEC All-Tournament team
Texas A&M didn’t get the result they wanted in the SEC Tournament after losing to Florida in the Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Still, nevertheless, the Aggies’ two wins were enough to earn the program its second consecutive NCAA Tournament birth.
Star junior guard Wade Taylor IV was on fire during the SEC tournament last week. He led all scorers with 82 points and averaged over 25 points a game. His memorable play earned him an All-Tournament selection.
Taylor led the Aggies to win over Ole Miss and Kentucky, bolstering the team’s resume and helping A&M earn their No. 9 seed. They will face No. 8 seed Nebraska on March 22 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Deserving a ton of credit for turning the team around late into the year, head coach Buzz Williams has another chance to earn his first NCAA Tournament win sporting the Maroon & White.
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Photos: Here are some of the best photos from Saturday’s game against Florida.
The Texas A&M men’s basketball team ran out of team letting a sizable lead slip away in their loss to Florida on Saturday afternoon.
For the first time in three seasons, the Aggies will not be in the SEC Championship game. They had a strong showing over the last six games with the team playing some of the best basketball we have seen this year.
Wade Taylor is rounding back into All-SEC form reached a milestone of 1,500 points. Solomon Washington and Manny Obaseki have stepped up as well over the past month giving them much more needed offense that’s been missing most of the year.
The Aggies will now have to wait until Sunday to see if they did enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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“My dad worked six days a week, prayed on the seventh.”
Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers won the SEC Championship on Sunday, but their gritty victory wasn’t what had him in tears. Pearl was deeply missing his biggest supporter — his dad — who passed away in August 2023.
The Auburn men’s basketball team completed one heck on an SEC Tournament on Sunday. While they didn’t have to play a top-ranked team like Tennessee or Kentucky, they did manage to take down No. 5 (South Carolina) and No. 9 (Mississippi State) before taking down the No. 6 Florida Gators.
Auburn does not have a true standout star on its roster. Still, the team has things that definitely help, like the ability to win isolation match-ups, superb defense and quality depth at nearly every position. A perfect combination of those things helped them, and head coach Bruce Pearl, win the SEC Tournament. But, all Pearl could think about as the clock was winding down was his dad.
"I lost my dad in August. He was my biggest fan. … I wish he was here." 🧡@MartySmithESPN spoke with an emotional Bruce Pearl after Auburn's SEC title win. pic.twitter.com/DJZKD9nH3u
Marty Smith of ESPN asked Pearl what moved him to tears. Here’s what he shared with viewers as he choked back tears during his interview:
“I lost my dad in August. He was my biggest fan…for me, I gotta thank my father…that’s why I’m so emotional. I wish he was here.
He worked hard. My dad worked six days a week, prayed on the seventh. We didn’t have a lot, but we had enough. I thought my dad was the best. So, I wish every kid had that, and that’s one of the reasons why I am hard on these guys. My dad held me to a high standard, and that’s why I hold these guys to a high standard.”
Given the highs and lows of the past six weeks, head coach Buzz Williams reflected ahead of NCAA March Madness Tournament Selection Sunday.
On Feb. 10, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team upset No. 6 Tennessee by 16 points at Reed Arena to win its third game in a row.
In the next game three days later, the Aggies (20-14) lost by a single point at Vanderbilt, then proceeded to lose the following four SEC matchups to drop five consecutive contests.
The calendar turned to March and the Aggies hadn’t lost all month until Saturday afternoon’s 95-90 loss against Florida in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Texas A&M won 70-56 at Georgia on March 2, 75-69 four days later versus Mississippi State at home and 86-60 at Ole Miss to conclude the regular season. The Aggies beat the Rebels again to begin the conference tournament on Thursday night, 80-71. Texas A&M defeated No. 9 Kentucky for the second time in 2024 with a 97-87 victory in the quarterfinals on Friday evening.
Given the highs and lows of the respective five-game winning and losing streaks, head coach Buzz Williams reflected on the past six weeks at the conclusion of his postgame press conference on Saturday ahead of March Madness NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday.
“It’s a combination of the last six week. We lost every game for two and a half weeks in a row, now we’ve won every game for two and a half weeks in a row,” Williams recalled. “I’m thankful for the last five wins, this is our first loss in March. But I also think the response of our guys from the five losses in a row, I’m thankful and very grateful.
“I thought they played with great resiliency today. On a fast turnaround, of all of the things that transpired, to lose a two-possession game against a Top 25 team, I’m really thankful. Whatever is going to happen tomorrow, just to be able to be in this position, I think that our team has changed over the last three weeks. There’s some legacy that goes into what has transpired in their response.
“To be able to play on Saturday three years in a row in the (SEC) Tournament, I think there’s a lot of good stuff. We’re disappointed with the result but we also don’t want to miss the lessons that transpired this month.”
The Aggies now await their fate, which will be revealed Sunday at 5 p.m. CST on CBS. The NCAA Tournament begins on Thursday.
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Texas A&M was eliminated from the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals following a 95-90 loss against Florida. After the game, the media spoke to Aggies guards, senior Hayden Hefner and junior Jace Carter. The Gators outscored …
Texas A&M was eliminated from the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals following a 95-90 loss against Florida.
After the game, the media spoke to Aggies guards, senior Hayden Hefner and junior Jace Carter.
The Gators outscored Texas A&M in the second half 53-40 and Carter was asked by TexAgs about what was different in the final 20 minutes.
“I don’t think anything changed, I think our recipe is our recipe. I don’t think we changed up the way we were playing at that time in the game. I think they just made a lot of shots down the stretch,” Carter explained. “I don’t think it was an offensive problem, we scored 90 points. We just didn’t get stops, had a low amount of turkeys and they shot 50% from three, it was our defense.”
The Eagle asked Hefner about the Aggies’ stagnation in the second half versus Florida.
“When the whistle is getting blown a lot, it’s just hard maintaining a flow with what we’re trying to accomplish,” Hefner said. “We always try to reiterate to one another and the coaching staff is always talking to us about just staying in the moment and not letting that affect what we’re trying to accomplish.”
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“Our defense is wired to not give up points at the rim, not to allow the ball to get to the paint,” he said. “We were slow on the contest.”
Texas A&M men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams spoke to the media after a 95-90 loss against Florida in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and discussed his team’s defensive effort.
“We did a good job in their secondary and transition. It was similar to what we did in College Station when we played them,” Williams said. “I think you have to make a decision on are you going to let them score at the rim or try to be in position to contest the three? They shot 26% of their shots at the rim.
“Our defense is wired to not give up points at the rim, not to allow the ball to get to the paint. We were slow on the contest and I thought they did a good job when it came out of the post. If we mustered getting it to the next guy, the guy that’s in the double is the one who has to get it to the next guy.
“That’s where we were hurt the most.”
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The Aggies will not be advancing to the finals of the SEC Tournament for the third year in a row after blowing a 18-point first half lead.
The Texas A&M men’s basketball team will not be advancing to the finals of the SEC Tournament for the third year in a row after blowing an 18-point first half lead against Florida.
The Aggies (20-14) were defeated 95-90 by the Gators (24-10) on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Five Florida players scored at least 15 points, led by sophomore guard Denzel Aberdeen with a team-high 20 points on 6-of-9 field goal attempts, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Aberdeen was the difference this weekend after scoring only 2 points during the Gators‘ 67-66 loss at Reed Arena on Feb. 3.
Aggies junior point guard Wade Taylor IV came out on a mission Saturday after tallying 32 points Friday during a victory versus Kentucky. Taylor scored 11-of-15 Texas A&M points to start the game against Florida on 4-of-5 shots and 3-of-3 from downtown.
At halftime, the Aggies led 50-42 and had 40 of their points come from three guards: Taylor (20), junior Manny Obaseki (12) and senior Tyrece “Boots” Radford (8).
Texas A&M’s floor general finished with a game-high 30 points (10-23 FG, 6-12 3PT, 4-4 FT). Eight-two points is the most scored in the SEC Tournament since Collin Sexton with Alabama in 2018.
The Gators went on a 24-8 run in the second half to take their first lead of the game at 72-70 with 7:37 left. Coach Buzz Williams joked with ESPN sideline reporter Marty Smith at intermission about getting him to suit up since most of the key Aggies were in foul trouble, which ultimately sparked Florida’s scoring streak.
The Gators will play Auburn on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the SEC Championship game on ESPN. Texas A&M will now await its NCAA Tournament fate, which will be revealed on Sunday night.
With two victories in a competitive conference tourney, the Aggies have likely locked up a March Madness berth.
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