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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Nick Richards scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and No. 6 Kentucky rallied from 18 points down to stun Florida 71-70 on Saturday. The shorthanded Wildcats needed the comeback to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time in nearly three months. Richards, Keion Brooks Jr. and EJ Montgomery led the shocker in Gainesville. Brooks missed a driving layup in the waning second and Montgomery's tip-in was initially waived off as a cylinder violation. Officials reviewed it and gave Montgomery the basket. Scottie Lewis scored a career-high 19 for Florida, which led the entire game until 11.8 seconds left.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kentucky point guard Ashton Hagans apparently needed some time away. Coach John Calipari obliged. But Calipari expects his floor leader to return in time for next week's Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed and open play Friday. Calipari says “hopefully what you'll see is an inspired young man.” Without Hagans, Kentucky had to rally from an 18-point deficit to beat Florida 71-70. Hagans and Calipari could be seen arguing on the bench during Kentucky's home loss to Tennessee on Tuesday. Hagans reportedly refused to enter with about 14 minutes left in the game.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Samir Doughty made 8 of 13 3-pointers and finished with 32 points as No. 17 Auburn beat Tennessee 85-63 to snap a two-game skid in the regular-season finale. Auburn now heads to Nashville to defend its Southeastern Conference Tournament championship as the No. 2 seed after the Tigers had lost four of their previous six. Auburn already had earned a double-bye to the quarterfinals. Tennessee tried to rally down 17 for a second consecutive game but came up way short. John Fulkerson led the Volunteers with 19 points before fouling out.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Destanni Henderson had a career-high 21 points off four 3-pointers to lift No. 1 South Carolina to its 25th straight victory, reaching the SEC Tournament finals with a 90-64 win over No. 25 Arkansas on Saturday night. It's the fifth time in the past six tournaments the Gamecocks will play for a title. They won an SEC record four straight from 2015 through 2018. Freshman Aliyah Boston had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Gamecocks, her 13th double double of the season. Amber Ramirez led Arkansas with 18 points and six 3-pointers.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Rickea Jackson scored 29 points and defending champ No. 9 Mississippi State took control in the second half to defeat No. 16 Kentucky 77-59 Saturday, reaching its fifth straight SEC Tournament final. The Bulldogs trailed 35-32 at the break, but rallied behind a pair of freshmen in Jackson and Aliyah Matharu. Matharu had three straight baskets in the third quarter to put Mississippi State ahead for good. Jackson kept pushing the pace so Kentucky could not get back in it. Rhyne Howard had 26 points to lead the Wildcats.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Dru Smith scored 17 points to lead Missouri to a 69-50 victory over Alabama in the regular-season finale for both teams. Mark Smith scored 13 points for the Tigers (15-16, 7-11 Southeastern Conference), Mitchell Smith added 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and Jeremiah Tilmon finished with eight points and nine rebounds. Missouri slowed the pace to its liking and held Alabama 33 points under its season scoring average. Kira Lewis Jr. led the Crimson Tide (16-15, 8-10) with 18 points, Jaden Shackelford scored 13 and George Smith added 10.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Marlon Taylor scored a career-high 30 points in his final home game to lead LSU to a 94-64 Southeastern Conference victory against Georgia. Taylor, who was averaging fewer than five points per game this season, made 10 of his 17 field goal attempts. In addition, Taylor sank a career-high three 3-point shots. Taylor scored 21 points in the second half when the Tigers doubled their 15-point halftime lead. Anthony Edwards lead the Bulldogs with 17 points. The Tigers took control of the game midway through the opening half. A 3 by Mays with 12:09 before halftime broke a tie at 14 and started a 16-5 LSU run.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Wendell Mitchell scored a season-high 25 points, tying his career high, as Texas A&M defeated Arkansas 77-69. Josh Nebo added 20 points for the Aggies. Mason Jones led the Razorbacks on Saturday with 30 points.
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