Southeastern Conference Tournament Recaps

Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – Michael Frazier II and Scottie Wilbekin had 15 points apiece and No. 1 Florida pulled away for a 72-49 win over Missouri in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday.

The game was tied at halftime but the Gators (30-2) outscored the Tigers 43-20 the rest of the way to extend their school-record winning streak to 24 games.

“Obviously they made shots and they got it going a little bit, and they did what they do,” said Missouri coach Frank Haith.

Dorian Finney-Smith added 10 points for Florida, which will face Tennessee in Saturday’s semifinals after the Volunteers beat South Carlina later Friday.

Jabari Brown had 18 points to lead eighth-seeded Missouri (22-11), which beat Texas A&M 91-83 in overtime on Thursday to make the semifinals.

The Gators beat Kentucky by 19 last Saturday to become the first team to make it through an 18-game SEC schedule undefeated and have all but clinched a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

They got going in the second half against Missouri after shooting under 35 percent in the first half.

Gators coach Billy Donovan said he though his guys “looked a little bit out of it” in the first half, but regrouped.

“I thought we moved the basketball,” he said. “We found shooters. We were a little more patient. I thought defensively we did a better job. But give Missouri credit. They battled and fought.”

Frazier hit a 3-pointer during a 7-0 run to start the second half and the Gators never trailed after that.

The big run started minutes later, a 23-4 burst that stretched Florida’s lead to 61-40 with 3 1/2 minutes left.

Game Notes

Florida’s last loss came Dec. 2 at Connecticut …Missouri must now wait to see if it earns a sixth-straight berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Final Score: Tennessee 59, South Carolina 44

Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – Jarnell Stokes had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Tennessee Volunteers cruised past the South Carolina Gamecocks, 59-44, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

Jordan McRae added 14 points for the Volunteers (21-11), who will play top- ranked Florida in the semifinals on Saturday.

Brenton Williams ended with nine points for the Gamecocks (14-20), who shot just 27.1 percent from the field. Mindaugas Kacinas and Duane Notice each tallied eight points.

Tennessee raced out to a 12-2 lead and never looked back. After South Carolina cut the gap to 18-14, the Volunteers used a 7-0 spurt to build an 11-point margin.

The Volunteers held a 28-18 edge at the break and led by as many as 18 in the second half.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball