SEC Tournament Semifinal Takeaways: Texas A&M, Tennessee Advance
In a pair of highly anticipated SEC Tournament semifinals, two teams earned their right to play for the conference crown. Texas A&M and Tennessee advanced to Sunday with wins over Arkansas and Kentucky, respectively. Here are your recaps and takeaways as conference play comes to a close in Tampa.
#8 Texas A&M defeats #4 Arkansas 82-64
In Saturday’s first semifinal, Texas A&M continued their improbable SEC Tournament run with a blowout win over Arkansas. This one stayed close for a good bit of the first half, but the foul trouble of JD Notae allowed the Aggies to pull away heading into halftime. The Razorbacks would cut it as close as three in the second half, but Texas A&M continued to have an answer for every push Arkansas made. They showed no sign of fatigue during their third game in three days as they had a big stretch at the end with multiple flushes at the rim to win by 18. Quenton Jackson was a star again with 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals as A&M will play in the SEC title game, which they yet to win in program history.
Texas A&M: Finish What You Started
Texas A&M is the story of the SEC Tournament. After being on the outside looking in coming into Tampa, they’ve earned three wins in three days including two against teams that are #4 seeds or better in NCAA Tournament projections. This win, let alone the fact that it was in convincing fashion, should be enough to get the Aggies to go dancing regardless of the SEC Championship’s outcome. Why stop now, though? They’ve come this far that they might as well take the decision into their own hands by winning the auto-bid. Buzz Williams’ team hasn’t given an inch or shown any sign of slowing down all weekend. That effort has earned them this opportunity and may lead them to win this whole thing outright.
Arkansas: Don’t Panic
Today was not Arkansas’ best showing. With the way A&M is fighting, it seemed almost due for the Razorbacks to suffer a letdown game. Notae scoring just five points in limited minutes at times didn’t help the cause either. The goal has not changed for Arkansas though, even with the loss. They’ll just join the list of Auburn and Kentucky who are projected top seeds who didn’t win it all in Tampa’s SEC Tournament. The way Arkansas finished their year saved their season and cemented them as a high-quality team heading into the postseason. Getting tripped up in the conference tournament isn’t a make-or-break issue. They’ll just need to be ready to face whoever they come across in their bracket.
#2 Tennessee defeats #3 Kentucky 69-62
Tennessee will make their third SEC Championship game appearance under Rick Barnes after their 69-62 victory over Kentucky. The third matchup between the Vols and Wildcats this season was very similar to their matchup last month in Knoxville. Although Tennessee wasn’t always sharp offensively in this one, they didn’t need to be as Kentucky had one of their worst offensive outings of the season. UK shot just 34.4% from the field and 10% from three on top of Oscar Tshiebwe struggling with foul trouble all afternoon. Kennedy Chandler looked just fine after his ankle tweaks on Friday night on his way to 19 points. Tennessee will now look to win its first SEC Tournament title since 1979.
Tennessee: Get What You Came For
UT entered the SEC Tournament playing arguably the best basketball in the whole conference. They have a ton of confidence with wins over Kentucky (twice), Auburn and Arkansas over the last month. Of the top four seeds, they’re the only one left standing in the field on Sunday. Even with Texas A&M’s hot stretch, Tennessee is still the better team overall. With losses to Kentucky and Auburn in 2018 and 2019, 2022 will be their best chance to win one during Rick Barnes’ tenure. They can make history for their program and solidify a high seed in the NCAA Tournament with a win against a team playing their fourth game in four days.
Kentucky: Re-establish Your Identity
The Wildcats’ performance is not what you want to see heading into postseason basketball. Their loss in the semifinals was the perfect example of what can happen to a good team that plays a poor offensive game in a win-or-go-home scenario. Although they’ve gone 5-3 in their last eight, even Kentucky’s wins weren’t all that convincing at times. They have fallen into the same category as Auburn as a team that needs to rediscover their mojo from the middle of the season. Using this week to continue getting healthy and kick-start their offense, specifically with Kellan Grady, is a must. Another shooting performance like they had against Tennessee could be catastrophic for their season moving forward.
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