March 12, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Mississippi Rebels forward Malik Dia (0) drives toward the basket past Georgia Bulldogs forward Kareem Stagg (1) in the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images AJ Storr scored 19 points, Malik Dia added 17, and 15th-seeded Ole Miss withstood the horror of its second straight wire-to-wire upset with a 76-72 win over Georgia in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Thursday in Nashville.
Travis Perry had 16 points and four 3-pointers and Ilias Kamardine had eight points, four assists and four steals for the Rebels (14-19). The Rebels (14-19) led 55-32 with 13 minutes remaining and lost all but two points.
Seventh-seeded Georgia used a full-court press and a 22-2 run to tie the game at 57-54 with 7:35 left, and the Bulldogs crawled to within two points on a layup by Kanon Catchings to make it 60-58 later, but they never got closer. The Bulldogs (22-10) have won three straight and are 6-5, and are considered a lock to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss, which lost 12 of 13 to close the regular season, fell short of a 76-66 win over Texas in the first round. Their next game is Friday in the quarterfinals against No. 15 and second-seeded Alabama.
Oklahoma 83, Texas A&M 63
Nijel Pack had 20 points and four 3-pointers before leaving with an injury, and the 11th-seeded Sooners continued their late push for an NCAA Tournament bid with a dominant win over the 6th-seeded Aggies.
Xzayvier Brown had 16 points and six rebounds, Derrion Reid had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tae Davis had 14 points for the 11th-seeded Sooners (19-14), who led by 22 points in the first half and won their sixth straight game.
The Sooners will face No. 17 and third-seeded Arkansas (23-8) in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Razorbacks won the regular season meeting 83-79 on Jan. 27, when the Pack scored 22 points. Rashaun Agee had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Rylan Griffen had 13 points for the Aggies (21-11).
Kentucky 78, Missouri 72
Otega Oweh’s 21 points and big plays on both ends of the floor helped the ninth-seeded Wildcats beat the eighth-seeded Tigers.
Denzel Abedin (16 points, 7 assists) and Colin Chandler (15 points, 3 steals) also had big plays for the Wildcats (21-12), who survived a 32-point, 7-rebound performance from Missouri’s Mark Mitchell.
Mitchell scored 23 second-half points as eighth-seeded Missouri (20-12) briefly overcame a 16-point deficit. Kentucky will face No. 4 and top seed Florida in the first of four games on Friday.
Jersey number 25 Tennessee 72, Auburn 62
Nate Ament led the Volunteers in scoring (27), rebounds (8), assists (4) and blocks (3) as the Volunteers went on a 20-0 second half run to win over the Tigers.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 15 points and a team-leading three steals for fifth-seeded Tennessee (22-10), while Ament returned after missing the previous two games with a leg injury. Their next opponent is No. 22 and fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Tahad Pettiford scored 28 points but also committed five turnovers for the 12th-seeded Tigers (17-16). Keyshawn Hall, with 10 points, was the only Auburn player to score in double figures.
–Field level media
