THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE THREAD

No. 1 Gators drain 13 3's, win 21st straight by routing LSU

Florida's seniors, those four guys who fell just short of the Final Four the last three years, talked about cutting down the nets after clinching the Southeastern Conference's regular-season championship.

It was a brief conversation. And a unanimous decision.

The top-ranked Gators chose not to break out the scissors. If they keep playing like they did against LSU on Saturday, they might end up with an even bigger celebration.

Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, and Florida used a season-high 13 3-pointers to overwhelm the Tigers 79-61 and extend its school-record winning streak to 21 games.

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Brenton Williams' 24 points lead S. Carolina past No. 17 Kentucky

Frank Martin went from one of the most disappointing games of his career to his best win so far at South Carolina.

Brenton Williams scored 24 points for South Carolina, and Kentucky coach John Calipari was ejected midway through the second half as the Gamecocks held off the 17th-ranked Wildcats 72-67 on Saturday night.

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No. 1 Florida routs Kentucky, becomes first team to go 18-0 in SEC

With strands of net behind their ears, Florida seniors Casey Prather, Scottie Wilbekin, Will Yeguete and Patric Young stopped at midcourt and kissed the floor.

They stood up, started walking toward the locker room and then paused at the edge of the court. With their arms draped around each other, they took the last stride in unison. It was the first step toward the next goal -- winning it all.

Young scored 18 points in his home finale and No. 1 Florida routed 25th-ranked Kentucky 84-65 on Saturday, becoming the first team in Southeastern Conference history to go 18-0 in league play.

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No. 1 Florida overcomes Missouri to reach SEC semifinals

With just more than 10 minutes remaining, top-ranked Florida found itself in a dogfight, looking very much like it could be headed for its first loss against a Southeastern Conference team.

Not to worry.

Scottie Wilbekin and the Gators suddenly turned this one into a laugher with one of their customary spurts.

Wilbekin and Michael Frazier II scored 15 points apiece, and Florida dominated down the stretch for a 72-49 rout of Missouri in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament Friday, giving the Gators their 24th consecutive victory and likely erasing any question about whether they'll be a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs.

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No. 1 Florida makes SEC final, win streak at 25

Even facing its biggest deficit since November, No. 1 Florida never panicked.

The Gators know their defense will never let them down.

Swarming relentlessly in the second half, Florida rallied from 10 points down and defeated Tennessee 56-49 in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament Saturday.

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No. 1 Florida survives Kentucky to win SEC title, 26th straight game

Top-ranked Florida reveled in a confetti celebration, cut down the nets again, and let out a big sigh of relief.

Kentucky came oh-so-close to sending the Gators to the NCAA tournament with their first loss since early December.

By the narrowest of margins, Florida capped a perfect run through the Southeastern Conference when Kentucky failed to get off a shot on the final possession. That allowed the Gators to escape with a 61-60 victory in the league championship game Sunday

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Bell lifts Arkansas past Indiana State 91-71

Anthlon Bell has certainly found his shooting touch in Bud Walton Arena.

The Arkansas sophomore's latest career night, his second straight at home, sparked the Razorbacks to a 91-71 win over Indiana State in the opening round of the NIT on Tuesday night.

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Brown lifts Missouri over Davidson 85-77

Jabari Brown scored 30 points and Earnest Ross added 16 to help Missouri hold off Davidson 85-77 in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night.

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Jarnell Stokes, Vols rally past Iowa in overtime of First Four finale

Don't get discouraged, coach Cuonzo Martin told his Volunteers during those long NCAA tournament timeouts. Instead, hang in there and figure a way to pull it out.

They went about it a most improbable way.

With forward Jarnell Stokes using his 280 pounds to dominate inside and a highly regarded defense finally locking in, Tennessee pulled off the first amazing comeback of the NCAA tournament.

Stokes opened overtime with a three-point play that put Tennessee ahead to stay, and the Volunteers' defense shut down Iowa in overtime for a 78-65 victory on Wednesday night, finishing off the First Four with an exclamation point.

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Mann's 29 points lead Georgia past Vermont 63-56

Charles Mann and Georgia set season highs for turnovers.

Mann made up for all the miscues with his shooting.

Mann scored a career-high 29 points, including a three-point play with 2:25 remaining that gave Georgia the lead, and the Bulldogs beat Vermont 63-56 on Wednesday night in the first round of the NIT.

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Martin leads LSU past San Francisco, 71-63

Johnny O'Bryant III's first trip to the city by the bay proved fruitful -- even without much sightseeing.

O'Bryant scored 13 points, Jarell Martin scored 14 of his 16 in the first half, and LSU beat San Francisco 71-63 in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night.

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No. 1 Florida pulls away from pesky Albany

Florida coach Billy Donovan gathered his team in a solemn locker room and delivered the harsh truth: "This isn't going to be enough to keep our season going."

The players shook their heads in agreement -- and vowed to respond.

The top-seeded Gators sleepwalked early and still looked vulnerable late. Luckily for Florida, Donovan's bench came up big and bailed out the team in a tight game against what was supposed to be an overmatched opponent.

Sixth man Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, most of them on dunks, and Florida used a second-half surge to beat No. 16 seed Albany 67-55 in the NCAA tournament Thursday.

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Jarnell Stokes scores career-high 26 as Vols cruise past UMass

Jordan McRae flew in to throw down a dunk on the break and increase Tennessee's big first-half lead, then came down the floor to scream triumphantly toward the orange-clad fans near the court.

Confident? Check. Enthusiastic? Yep.

Maybe playing in the First Four to get the jitters out wasn't such a bad thing for these Volunteers after all.

Jarnell Stokes scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help Tennessee beat Massachusetts 86-67 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA Midwest Regional, earning the program's most lopsided win in the tournament in seven years.

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Julius Randle, Kentucky turn back Kansas State; Shockers on tap

Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein got a whole lot of grief from his teammates for a comment he made ahead of his team's game against Kansas State, when he brazenly said the No. 8 seed Wildcats intended to "shock the world" in the NCAA tournament.

Well, they'll at least have a chance to play the Shockers.

Julius Randle had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Harrison finished with 18 points, and Kentucky held on to beat Kansas State 56-49 on Friday night. The reward is a coveted date with unbeaten Wichita State, the Midwest Region's top seed.

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No. 1 overall seed Florida makes Sweet 16; win streak at 28

Scottie Wilbekin sat on the bench for the final minute, holding a bag of ice against his left knee.

It was about the only time he wasn't giving Pittsburgh huge problems on both ends of the court.

Wilbekin scored 21 points, including 11 of the team's 13 during a 7-minute stretch in the second half, and top-seeded Florida handled the Panthers 61-45 in the NCAA tournament Saturday. The Gators' 28th consecutive win put them in the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive year.

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400548469

 

Andrew Harrison, Kentucky end Wichita State's perfect run

John Calipari stood frozen on the Kentucky sideline. Every player on the Wichita State bench held his breath. Everything seemed to stop inside the Scottrade Center as Fred VanVleet let loose with a 3-pointer that could have kept the Shockers perfect.

When it bounced harmlessly off the rim, everything was set in motion once again.

Calipari spontaneously leaped into the air, bad hip and all, as the eighth-seeded Wildcats poured off their bench to celebrate their 78-76 victory over the Midwest Region's top seed.

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Tennessee ends Mercer's NCAA run with romp

After turning Tobacco Road into "Raleigh Top," Tennessee is headed to the round of 16.

Tennessee denied Mercer a second straight upset in decidedly one-sided fashion, routing the Bears 83-63 in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night behind 17 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds for Jarnell Stokes.

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Billy Donovan gets raise to $3.7M

Florida coach Billy Donovan signed a three-year contract extension last month that raised his average salary to $3.7 million over the final six years of the deal, which runs through the 2018-19 season.

Donovan and the top-ranked Gators became the first team in Southeastern Conference history to go 18-0 in regular-season league play. Florida also won the SEC tournament and earned the NCAA tournament's overall top seed.

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Gators finish off UCLA for 29th straight win, 4th straight Elite 8

The Florida Gators are back where their previous three seasons have ended with yet another chance to go to the Final Four.

Being in the Elite Eight again, though, simply isn't enough.

Michael Frazier II hit five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points as the Gators beat UCLA 79-68 on Thursday night to reach their fourth consecutive NCAA regional final.

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Kentucky uses late surge to boot defending champ Louisville

Nobody will accuse these Kentucky kids of being the fastest learners. Not this season. And certainly not during most of Friday night's game against Louisville.

But once again, late in the game with everything on the line, they figured things out just in time.

Aaron Harrison hit a 3-pointer for the go-ahead score with 39 seconds left and Julius Randle made a pair of clutch free throws to lift the fantastic freshmen of Kentucky to a 74-69 victory over their in-state rivals.

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