Tuesday night brought a classic trap spot for the 2-second Titan and moved ahead over the big weekend. No. 1 Auburn faced two wins against the top 10 teams on Vanderbilt’s funky memorial gymnasium road.
The Tigers and Crimson Tide were set in all directions on Saturday in the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown between the SEC teams, so the Slate was the set up for a disappointment of the appearance from one or both. Instead, Auburn and Alabama each handled the business in a compelling way. The Tigers led the Commodore 15-0 and finished strong in a 78-62 victory.
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Gary Parish
Alabama gave the Longhorns a faint hope of hope with a sparkling offensive performance as the tide knocked the Texas 103-80 down to a 17th three-pointer. Tuesday’s show from Tide and Tigers ensured the best possible stakes at Saturday’s meeting. Iron Bowl football rivals square hardwoods in the ranking number one in college basketball.
This is a complete step-by-step overview of the 10 top teams who have played weekday games.
No. 1 Auburn
Results: 80-68 win at Vanderbilt
Auburn finished hot and hot while bouncing off his first SEC loss. The mid-part parts were a bit unclear as Vanderbilt gathered from a 15-0 deficit and took the lead. But in the end, the Tigers handled business against quality enemies on the road, even on the night when National Player of the Year nominee Johnny Bloom was not at peak. Grade: a-
Second Alabama
Results: 103-80 win in Texas
Alabama was at the core offensively led by a career-high 22 points from sophomore forward Jaren Stevenson. The Crimson Tide hit 17 of 29 shots from 3-point range and scored 49 points off the bench. Six players had more than two assists in clinical dissection, indicating why this team is a legal national title candidate. Grade: a
Results: 81-68 victory at Mississippi
Florida’s second goal scorer, Aliya Martin, also started Alex Condon in the first minute with an ankle injury. Regardless, the Gators threw on the road a projected NCAA Tournament team in a spectacular second half. After a break, the UF helped build a 24-point late edge, then 16-6 edge at the point of turnover. Grade: a
Results: 78-57 Win vs. Cal
Duke gives Cal no hope for a win from wire to wire. Cooper Flag dominated 27 points with a bounceback performance following a frustrating ending with Saturday’s defeat at Clemson. Proctor’s hot streaks in Tyro continued with 18 points, bringing averages over the past 4-18.5 points. The bear tried to throw a zone at Duke, but little confusing the mechanical march. Grade: a
Results: 75-64 losses in Kentucky
Kentucky cracked the code on Tennessee’s elite defense. The Wildcats completed their Borderfour season sweep by knocking down 12 of the 24 3-pointers against VoLS just two weeks after posting the same exact mark at their first meeting. did. The UK is the only team this season to score 50% from the floor or 50% from the 3-point range against the Vols, which has happened twice. Grade: c
Results: 76-65 Winn vs Bailer
Houston didn’t give Baylor any hope in the second half as the Cougars won their 16th game in 17 attempts. As usual, Houston used a large edge on sales margin (15-7) and second chance points (16-7) to take life from its opponents. Next up is the big Saturday showdown at No. 13 Arizona, with first place in the Big 12. Grade: a
Results: 75-73 losses in Michigan
No one except Braden Smith scored on Purdue in the final four minutes as Michigan outscored boilermakers 14-8 in stretch. The 26-8 disparity in free throw attempts hurt boilermakers who wasted the opportunity to grab their first solo possession in the Big Ten standings. Ultimately, it was an enemy of close road losses and quality leagues. There are no alarm bells here. Grade: B-
Results: 69-53 victory vs Georgia
It is no longer denying the big difference between this Texas A&M team and the first five-man team coached by Buzz Williams. This version of Aggies is far better than any of his previous teams. After holding Georgia at 33% shooting, A&M ranks sixth nationwide for defensive efficiency at Kenpom, with just 18.2% in the dominant shooting in the second half. Grade: a
Results: 73-71 loss at Villanova
Entering Wednesday night’s defeat, Big East opponents didn’t shoot more than 48.1% off the floor against St. John’s. However, Villanova started a fire, fired 53.1% and ran in critical late game situations, earning a Go-Ard 3 pointer from Tyler Perkins. Perhaps the red storm is not an inexplicable wall after all. Grade: c
Results: 77-65 Win vs. TCU
Key scorer Curtis Jones didn’t generate any points in the second half, but Iowa was ahead of UCF 45-35 after the break. It was an encouragement for the cyclone team, who are trying to find their way again after their recent three-game losses reduced their memorable start. Next up is the home game against Cincinnati and Colorado, and the Good Times will be rolling again at the Hilton Coliseum. Grade: a-
