2024 SEC Tournament Semifinals Recap
Nashville, TN - As we are only one day away from Selection Sunday, Mississippi St (#9) will look to continue their hot shooting after they crushed Tennessee and compete against Auburn (#4) who also dominated their game against South Carolina. This should be a great defensive game as both teams are looking to improve their seeds in the NCAA tournament. In the second semifinal matchup, Texas A&M (#7) will face Florida (#6). Both of these squads excel at grabbing rebounds so whoever can win this category will likely win the game.
Mississippi State (#9) VS Auburn (#4)
Auburn got punched in the mouth both literally and figuratively in the beginning moments of the game. Mississippi St jumped out to an early eight-point lead before KeShawn Murphy received a technical foul for shoving Chad Baker-Mazara off of a pile while scrummaging for a loose ball. Tre Donaldson ignited the Tigers’ charge as he finished a couple of tough transition baskets to generate some momentum. It was not exactly the prettiest half of basketball as each team kept turning the ball over as they combined for 15 of them. This resulted in a rather low-scoring first half, 31-31.
Things remained chirpy in the second half as Smith-Mazara and D.J Jeffries both received technical fouls within the opening three minutes. It was obvious these teams shared no love for each other. Auburn fluctuated between a four-to-six-point lead as Mississippi St kept staying close as the Tigers were trying to pull away. Auburn is not used to these close games as in all 25 of their wins this season, they have won by double digits. It didn’t matter. With a late turnover by Jeffries with 29.1 seconds left, it was all but over. The Tigers advanced to the SEC championship with the win, 73-66.
Texas A&M (#7) VS Florida (#6)
Wade Taylor IV picked up where he left off as he immediately scored 11 of A&M’s first 15 points of the game, including hitting three three-pointers. This resulted in A&M getting in front of Florida for the entire first half. They aren’t known for their shooting ability, but the guards showcased their ability to shoot the long ball. The Gators could not answer defensively as they trailed at the break, in what was an extremely high-scoring first half, 50-42.
Walter Clayton Jr. got the party started for the Gators in the second half by knocking down a huge three to get the deficit to two points. Gators finally took their first lead of the game at the 14-minute mark after they were down by 18 points. Denzel Aberdeen put up a career-high 20 points, which was crucial for their offense. They also had five different players score over 15 points which benefited their massive comeback. Even though Texas A&M greatly outnumbered Florida in the rebounding category, the Gators advanced to the championship game with a score of 95-90.
