Here is the latest SEC sports news from The Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Sophomore Nicolas Claxton scored 16 points and claimed a career-high 15 rebounds in Georgia's 84-51 win over in-state foe Kennesaw State Tuesday night. Rayshaun Hammonds added 14 points for Georgia (4-3). Jordan Harris came off the bench to score 10. Kennesaw State (1-7) got 12 points from Ugo Obineke, 11 from Tyler Hooker and 10 from Bryson Lockley.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Freshman Aaron Nesmith enjoyed career high 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Vanderbilt played its first full game without star point guard Darius Garland in a 120-85 rout of Savannah State on Tuesday night. It was the most points by the Commodores (5-1) since scoring a school-record 130 against Ole Miss in 1970.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi State's Jeffery Simmons won the Conerly Trophy on Tuesday night after being an anchor in the middle of one of the nation's best defenses. The Conerly is awarded to Mississippi's top college football player, and past winners include NFL stars like Eli Manning, Deuce McAllister, Patrick Willis and Dak Prescott.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Noah Locke scored a career-high 18 points, Deaundrae Ballard added 15 and Florida handled North Florida 98-66. Locke, a freshman from Maryland, has worked his way into the starting lineup in place of senior Jalen Hudson and emerged as a reliable scorer for the Gators. Ballard, a sophomore from Atlanta, is giving coach Mike White a productive player off the bench.

UNDATED (AP) — Oklahoma was No. 5 in the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings, ahead of Ohio State heading into championship weekend when the final four will be set. The top three teams in the selection committee's rankings held steady for a fourth straight week: Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame. Georgia moved into the fourth spot following Michigan's loss to Ohio State.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia gets the opponent it wanted all along in the SEC football championship game: top-ranked Alabama. The Bulldogs have been hoping for a rematch ever since last year's national title game, when the Crimson Tide rallied from 13 points down to win 26-23 in overtime. That game ended on a 41-yard touchdown pass with Alabama facing second-and-long, a memory that still stings between the hedges.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina has announced starting forward Justin Minaya will have surgery on his injured right knee. Minaya will be out indefinitely. He has averaged better than seven points and five rebounds a game this season in his five starts. The Gamecocks fell Wofford 81-61 in a nonconference men's basketball game on Monday night.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is not just preparing for Akron, the Gamecocks are also preparing for next year. The Gamecocks close the regular season at home Saturday in a game that serves as a makeup for a contest that was canceled in September because of Hurricane Florence. South Carolina coach Will Muschamp has told his players that championship teams practice this week each year and the Gamecocks should prepare with that mentality as they look toward 2019.

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