THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE THREAD

On a roster full of superstars, top-ranked Kentucky's Trey Lyles often is an afterthought.

At least for one night, the 6-foot-10 freshman gave a glimpse of how important he could be for the Wildcats in their quest for an undefeated season and a national championship. Lyles scored a career-high 18 points in Kentucky's 74-56 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday night, sending the Wildcats to a 28-0 record.

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Of all the impressive wins top-ranked Kentucky has collected in marquee games this season, Saturday's 84-67 dismantling of No. 18 Arkansas speaks a little louder than most.

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As Kentucky exhaled after its first close call in a while, a Wildcats fan held up a sign that said it all: "UK. The Unbeatables."

Make it 30-0. Facing the largest second-half deficit of its so-far perfect season, No. 1 Kentucky clamped down defensively, ripped off a 14-0 run and put away pesky Georgia 72-64 on Tuesday to remain unbeaten heading into the regular-season finale.

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Alabama forward Shannon Hale will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury.

Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant said Monday that Hale will have surgery Friday. Alabama has two regular-season games remaining plus the SEC tournament and any other postseason games.

The 6-foot-8 Hale had averaged 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game before his injury in the first half against South Carolina on Feb. 24. He is second on the team in both blocked shots and steals.

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Arkansas coach Mike Anderson wasn't comfortable up 20 points and wasn't worried down 11.

He knew the best Razorback team in nearly two decades had the poise to pull this game out.No. 18 Arkansas (24-6, 13-4 Southeastern Conference) beat South Carolina 78-74 on Thursday night by scoring 18 of the final 21 points of a wild game.

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The top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats have a 34-game winning streak and yet another Southeastern Conference tournament championship as they head into the NCAA tournament.

So they sent student managers to cut down the nets.

"Those aren't the nets we're really looking to cut down," junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein said. "It's just a milestone. It's just part of the process for us winning and everything, but we're looking for something bigger. We're looking to cut down a couple more nets in the tournament."

And perfection just may be the side product.

Cauley-Stein scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Kentucky never trailed in beating No. 21 Arkansas 78-63 on Sunday for the program's 28th SEC tournament title.

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Ole Miss pulled off the NCAA tournament's first big comeback.

Against the team that's known for the biggest one of all, no less.

Stefan Moody scored 26 points and led Mississippi's comeback from a 17-point halftime deficit to a 94-90 victory over BYU on Tuesday night in the First Four.

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Arkansas surely knows about Wofford now.

Michael Qualls scored 20 points, Southeastern Conference player of the year Bobby Portis added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and the fifth-seeded Razorbacks held off the No. 12 seed Terriers 56-53 in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

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Take away the sluggish start and the ragged finish, and top-ranked Kentucky opened the NCAA tournament the way it wanted against 16th-seeded Hampton.

Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a mini-slump with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Andrew Harrison added 14 points, and the Wildcats rolled to a 79-56 win over the outmanned Pirates on Thursday night in the Midwest Region.

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Nothing came easy for top-ranked Kentucky against eighth-seeded Cincinnati, which mixed it up with the Wildcats on almost every play.

They didn't flinch and eventually built a double-digit lead by physically imposing their will on the Bearcats. Kentucky's reward was college basketball's first 36-0 start and a return visit to the Sweet 16 as it cleared an important step in its quest to become the first unbeaten champion since Indiana in 1976.

Aaron Harrison scored 13 points, Trey Lyles added 11 with 11 rebounds and the Wildcats outworked Cincinnati for a 64-51 victory Saturday that showed their resolve even when the numbers worked against them.

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Like a massive, unstoppable blue wave, Kentucky hit quickly and just kept coming. There was no escape for West Virginia, no place to hide.

The Wildcats were as advertised: too big, too strong, too everything. Just too good.

Perfect and pulverizing.

Trey Lyles scored 14 points, Andrew Harrison added 13 and the unbeaten Wildcats, chasing history and a ninth national title, made their 37th straight win look easy, blowing past the Mountaineers 78-39 Thursday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.

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With everything at stake for Kentucky, the Wildcats stayed calm and made just enough plays to keep their unblemished season intact.

The shot at history and another NCAA title are still in reach.

Andrew Harrison made two free throws with six seconds remaining, and the unbeaten Wildcats made their last nine shots to survive their toughest test to date, coming back after trailing for much of the second half to defeat Notre Dame 68-66 on Saturday night in the Midwest Regional final.

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Jamal Murray finds touch in 2nd half to lift No. 2 Kentucky by Albany

- Jamal Murray looked back on his Kentucky debut and was relieved that the ending was better than the beginning.

Fortunately for Murray and the Wildcats, junior Derek Willis helped get things started with a career night in the first half.

Murray scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, Willis scored a career-high 14 in the first and No. 2 Kentucky outlasted Albany 78-65 Friday night in the season opener for both schools.

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No. 18 Vanderbilt opens season routing Austin Peay 80-41

The 18th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores know how to start off a season strong, and tuning up with scrimmages against North Carolina and Virginia certainly helped.

Luke Kornet had 13 points and 13 rebounds and No. 18 Vanderbilt routed Austin Peay 80-41 on Friday night in the opening round of the Maui Invitational and the season opener for both teams. The Commodores opened the game scoring the first 21 points and hit their first nine shots inside the arc.

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Ben Simmons has 11 points, 13 rebounds as No. 21 LSU wins opener

LSU coach Johnny Jones had all three of his highly regarded freshmen in the starting lineup against McNeese State in the opener Friday night.

Antonio Blakeney, Ben Simmons and Brandon Sampson backed up their coach's decision in the Tigers' 81-70 victory over the Cowboys.

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Skal Labissiere nets 26, Isaiah Briscoe double-doubles in Kentucky win

Skal Labissiere knew his second game with No. 2Kentucky had to be better than his debut.

The 6-foot-11 freshman forward followed through with an offensive performance that NJIT couldn't stop no matter where he got the ball.

Labissiere scored 26 points, fellow freshman Isaiah Briscoe had a double-double and Kentucky ran away from NJIT 87-57 on Saturday for its second win in as many nights.

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Simmons leads LSU with 22 points in win over Kennesaw State

Freshman sensation Ben Simmons is getting a feel for his new teammates and how he fits in at LSU.

In LSU's season-opening victory against McNeese State, he took just seven shots while scoring 11 points. He was far more aggressive in his second game.

Simmons scored 22 points and Josh Gray returned from a one-game suspension to score 16 points as No. 23 LSU beat Kennesaw State 91-69 Monday night in a regional round of the Legends Classic.

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Roberson returns, leads No. 17 Vanderbilt over Gardner-Webb

There was nothing tentative about Jeff Roberson's play Monday night.

After missing Vanderbilt's season opener with a concussion, Roberson returned to the court against Gardner-Webb and had a productive performance off the bench. He scored a career-high 18 points and tied a personal best with eight rebounds as the 17th-ranked Commodores cruised to a 98-62 win.

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Tyler Ulis, No. 2 Kentucky run past No. 5 Duke in early-season showdown

Tyler Ulis scampered up and down the court. Jamal Murraymuscled his way to the basket. Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress finished with authority.

Another year, another impressive bunch of Kentucky Wildcats.

Ulis had 18 points and six assists, and No. 2 Kentucky used its speed and athleticism to pull away from No. 5 Duke for a 74-63 victory Tuesday in the Champions Classic.

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No. 23 LSU gets past South Alabama 78-66

Highly regarded freshmen Ben Simmons andAntonio Blakeney are leading the way for No. 23 LSU.

Simmons had 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Blakeney scored 22 as the Tigers knocked off South Alabama 78-66 in a regional round of the Legends Classic on Thursday night.

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