Skye Blakely scores a career high on Beam 9.950 (Photo by Chris Spears)

Alberta & Albert don't have much to cheer for. (UAA)

Micah Handlogten dunks on South Carolina (UAA Photo) There was newfound intensity at practice Monday and again on Tuesday. Perhaps embarrassed by their performance against Auburn last Saturday, the Florida Gators went at it both days like a team with something to prove.   “We practiced really hard on Monday, which we usually don’t do,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Wednesday night after the 19 th -ranked Gators spent two hours making a hell fire and brimstone statement to the rest of the Southeastern Conference. “That’s usually a really light day for us, but none of us were satisfied with how we played and we wanted to get back out there and compete and practiced hard again yesterday.   “We spent a lot of time talking about making sure we were mentally and physically ready to compete tonight and understand that it’s going to be a really tough challenge.  Our guys were clearly ready to play.”   Yes, they were, and in their wake, was carnage. Finally, after 20 games of inconsistency in which something was always missing on the court, Florida (15-6, 6-2 SEC) put a complete game together.   The final score – Florida 95, South Carolina 48 – didn’t do justice to Florida’s beast mode effort that left the Colonial Life Arena crowd of 12,686 wondering what the Gamecocks did to deserve such punishment. For the first time all season we saw what happens when an angry Florida team shows up intent on pillaging and plundering an opponent.   At both ends of the court, the Gators played like the team that was expected when the season began back in November. For the 20 games prior to Wednesday night in Columbia, the Gators played like a team incapable of matching the expectations of a reigning national champion. Wednesday night, they showed that they are capable of meeting and even exceeding the expectations.   Offensively, the Gators were in rare form, which had plenty to do with the way the basketball moved. The ball moved unselfishly and with purpose, open shots given up for someone with something easier. Florida’s 28 assists were the most in an SEC game in 30 years and second only to the 29 the Gators had against North Carolina Central back in 2007. South Carolina defenders couldn’t keep pace with the swift ball movement that led to the Gators shooting 62.3 percent from the field (38-61) overall and 42.3 percent from the 3-point line (9-21).   It was quite the contrast to the effort against Auburn, viewed by Tommy Haugh as a bump in the road and a valuable learning experience.   “It was a speed bump, but every speed bump in the SEC is about learning,” Haugh said. “We lost to Georgia last year and learned from that one and won a national championship. We’re going to keep learning from that Auburn game and keep pushing forward.”   Midway through the first half, this one still had the feel of a close game. Of the Gamecocks’ 11 wins, 10 have come at Colonial Life Arena so when Mike Sharavjamts hit a pair of free throws with 9:50 left to cut Florida’s margin to 18-10, the feeling in the building was the Gamecocks were still in it.   Nothing could have been further from the truth. It was as if a switch was flipped because the Gators outscored South Carolina 30-10 the rest of the half including a 5-minute, 15-0 run that left the Gamecocks gasping for breath.   This was a feeding frenzy. Defensively, four blocked shots were converted into dunks and layups. Offensively, the Gators put the ball in the basket on seven of the eight shots they took. There was an assist on five of the seven makes.   By the time the first half came to a merciful end, the Gators held a 48-20 lead. Matters only got worse in the second half when the Gators came out of the locker with the same relentless effort at both ends of the court. The lead ballooned to 37 (68-31) after a pair of Micah Handlogten dunks.   Everything the Gators did turned out right. Everything the Gamecocks tried to do failed. Defensively, the Gators added a serious degree of difficulty to every shot South Carolina took. The Gators dominated the rebounding – final margin 45-24 – and that led to 32 fast break points. By contrast, South Carolina scored only three on the break.   Florida’s size advantage made for a 54-20 scoring margin in the paint and a 13-0 margin on second chance points.   Tommy Haugh scored 15 of his game-high 18 in the first half. He finished the game with three rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. Rueben Chinyelu hit all seven of his shots, finishing the night with 14 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots. Alex Condon put the Auburn game behind him, flirting with a triple-double – 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to go with a couple of blocked shots. Handlogten had eight points, five rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots.   The backcourt duo of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee, who struggled against Auburn, played exceptionally well on both ends. Fland had 10 points, four rebounds, six assists and a steal while Lee had six points, four rebounds, nine assists and two steals. Coming off the bench Urban Klavzar hit 3-6 from the 3-point line as he finished the night with 11 points, one rebound, two assists and a blocked shot. Isaiah Brown contributed seven off the bench with one rebound and a steal.   “One of our best defensive and rebounding efforts combined all year,” Golden said. “We just did a really good job valuing the basketball and finding our teammates – 28 assists, 11 turnovers is obviously really good, but really, really proud of our performance. This is a really tough place to play. They played Georgia great in here, played some other really good teams tough in here, and so for us to get this type of victory, it says a lot.”   ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC Tennessee (14-6, 4-3 SEC) 86, Georgia (16-5, 4-4 SEC) 85, OT: Georgia sent the game into overtime on a Smurf Millender layup that tied the score at 74-74 with three seconds to go, but the Vols built a 5-point lead in overtime and held on for the win. Ja’Kobi Gillespie with 21 and Nate Ament with 19 led Tennessee. Kanon Catchings scored 22 to lead Georgia.   Auburn (14-7, 5-3 SEC) 88, Texas (12-9, 3-5 SEC) 82: Keyshawn Hall scored 25 of his 31 points in the second half as Auburn came back from a 14-point deficit in the first half to win its fifth straight SEC game. Kevin Overton hit 5-7 of his threes while scoring 25 for the Tigers. Dailyn Swain led Texas with 30 points.   Mississippi State (11-10, 3-5 SEC) 80, LSU (13-8, 1-7 SEC) 66: Mississippi State jumped out to a 30-10 lead in the first half and cruised past LSU. Josh Hubbard scored 15 points to lead Mississippi State, while Max Mackinnon had 15 for LSU.   Saturday’s games Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC) at Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) at Oklahoma (11-10, 1-7 SEC) Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) at Missouri (14-7, 4-4 SEC) LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) Kentucky (14-7, 5-3 SEC) at No. 15 Arkansas (16-5, 6-2 SEC) No. 18 Vanderbilt (18-3, 5-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC) Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC)   Sunday’s game No. 23 Alabama (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC)   SEC in kenpom.com analytics rankings: 8. FLORIDA 15-6; 12. Vanderbilt 18-3; 17. Alabama 14-6; 20. Tennessee 14-6; 22. Arkansas 16-5; 26. Auburn 14-7; 32. Kentucky 14-7; 33. Texas A&M 16-4; 34. Georgia 16-5; 35. Texas 12-9; 51. LSU 13-8; 59. Missouri 14-7; 61. Oklahoma 11-10; 73. Ole Miss 11-9; 83. Mississippi State 11-10; 87. South Carolina 11-10   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. Oklahoma (11-10, 1-7 SEC): Fans can be heard chanting “Fire Porter Moser!” The situation is grim. 15. South Carolina (11-10, 2-6 SEC): Buzzards are circling the athletic facilities. Lamont Paris is on life support. 14. LSU (13-8, 1-7 SEC): Dedan Thomas is back, but the Tigers aren’t playing any better. 13. Mississippi State (11-10, 3-5 SEC): Road kill away from The Hump and if Josh Hubbard isn’t making shots, the Bulldogs get lit up at home, too. 12. Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC): Too many holes in the Rebels’ roster but the main problem is a lack of size and inside scoring. 11. Missouri (14-7, 4-4 SEC): Tough at home, toast on the road. 10. Texas (12-9, 3-5 SEC): The Longhorns have plenty of firepower. They can’t play a lick of defense. 9. Kentucky (14-7, 5-3 SEC): Denzel Aberdeen is the only point guard and Jayden Quaintance’s bad knees may keep him out for awhile. Translation: Kentucky is in deepest and darkest. 8. Georgia (16-5, 4-4 SEC): The Bulldogs are tough to beat at Stegman, but they can get their doors blown off on the road. 7. Alabama (14-7, 5-3 SEC): The Charles Bediako saga will continue Sunday, but a new judge has been assigned to take over the case. If the NCAA wins this one in court will Bama have to forfeit any games Bediako has played? 6.  Tennessee (14-6, 4-3 SEC): To follow up their road win at Georgia, the Vols go to Auburn Saturday. They desperately need a win if they’re going to stay within shouting distance of the league leaders.   5. Auburn (14-7, 5-3 SEC): The Tigers get Tennessee Saturday, which will be a rather good measuring stick for how far they’ve come. Keyshawn 4. Vanderbilt (18-3, 5-3 SEC): Duke Miles will miss significant time with a knee injury. Does Vandy have the players to compensate? 3. Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC): The Aggies are at Georgia Saturday and Alabama next Wednesday. The schedule is about to get considerably tougher. It’s sink or swim time for Bucky Ball.   2. Arkansas (16-5, 6-2 SEC): John Calipari gets Kentucky in Fayette Nam Saturday. The place is going to be a zoo. Cal has the Razorbacks playing like a top four seed in the NCAA brackets. 1. FLORIDA (15-6, 6-2 SEC): If the Gators performance against South Carolina is an indicator of things to come, then the rest of the Southeastern Conference is in a heap of trouble. The Gators played like a team capable of winning championships. The trick will be to replicate the effort night after night in the final 10 SEC games before tournament time kicks in.

Jon Sumrall likes the direction in which the Gators are going (Photo by Chris Spears) but admits there are holes that have to be filled on a roster that totals 87 – 67 veterans and 20 newbies (high school/juco signees).   “There's still some major areas of concern that we have on this roster, but we have to develop everybody we’ve got to do their best and try to get this football team ready,” Sumrall said Saturday at an impromptu meeting with the media at halftime of Florida’s basketball game with Auburn.   The Gators need to add a fourth scholarship quarterback, at least two more linebackers and they’re thin at defensive tackle. Prior to the new transfer rules which have compressed the portal window to a couple of weeks in January, a coach could get through spring, re-evaluate his roster and then find fill holes in the second window of opportunity.   No such luck anymore.   “We don't have the luxury of that second window now, so that’s a little bit more daunting because you don’t get a chance,” Sumrall said, pointing out that in his first year as the head coach at Tulane he used the spring portal to add a pair of corners who are now playing in the NFL. “I'm not going to have any opportunity to watch this team practice and go correct in the second portal. We just have to watch and practice it and try to fix it, if it's going to make somebody better or maybe move guys around.   “That's a little bit more unnerving. I wouldn't be upset as a first-year head coach if we had the second portal window. I used it to my benefit the last job I was at. I would be okay if they gave us an emergency second portal window in May to make sure after spring ball that we had.”   Something definitely has to be done. Sumrall isn’t the only coach with issues about how the NCAA has figured out how to once again complicate matters. But, until someone comes up with a solution, Sumrall and every other Division I coach will have to adjust to a calendar that is way out of whack.   Next Wednesday, Sumrall can add high school kids who didn’t sign in December and add jucos. He already has a commitment from one junior college transfer – safety Elijah Owens from Mississippi Gulf Coast – and he could find others from the juco ranks in Mississippi, Texas, Kansas and California. Those guys won’t have the benefit of spring practice, however.   Sumrall has already passed one recruiting test in flying colors by getting commitments from five key players to come back to Florida for one more year. In running back Jayden Baugh, EDGE rusher Jayden Woods, linebacker Myles Graham and receivers Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson, Sumrall has five players with star power around which to build for the future. Graham and Brown are legacy players so getting them to return was probably easier. Wilson only played in four games due to injuries, but he also was convinced to come back another year, but Sumrall says it was “a little trickier.”   The toughest were Baugh and Woods. Baugh gained 1,170 yards in 2025. His ability to run through tacklers and find a second gear once into the clear made him perhaps the most sought after running back in the nation. Woods had 28 tackles, 3.5 sacks and an interception as a true freshman. He went into the portal but changed his mind after Sumrall made the trip to his home in Kansas City.    Sumrall got Baugh to agree to stay after an in-home visit in Atlanta on Christmas Eve, one that the coach says involved his wife, kids, mom and “my mom’s dog.” He went to Kansas City for an in-home with Jayden Woods’ family, which he called “complete rock stars.”   He went 2-for-2 on those visits, but that’s not to say they weren’t without anxious moments. He was the new coach, not the one who recruited Baugh and Woods out of high school. He isn’t the coach who already had the relationship with both players and their families so it made for a brand new experience.   “For me being new, those visits while they were maybe a little bit anxiety-filled because you don't know what's going to happen on the other side,” Sumrall said. “I really felt fortunate to be able to go sit in their houses because a lot of these guys I didn't recruit out of high school, right? And so for me to be able to get in their homes and eat a dinner with them or eat a breakfast with them or do whatever, it kind of felt like recruiting a high school guy all over … I'm grateful those guys stayed and grateful a lot of guys stayed. There's a lot of guys that stayed that I think give us a shot to have an opportunity to have success.” WIDE RECEIVER ADDED The Gators added a wide receiver from the portal, redshirt freshman Ace Ciongoli (5-11, 190), who prepped at St. Sebastian's School in Needham, Massachusetts.   A LOOK AT THE FLORIDA ROSTER AS OF JANUARY 27   VETERANS (67) QUARTERBACK (2): Tramell Jones Jr. (6-0, 203, FR); QB Aaron Philo (6-2, 220, RFR, from Georgia Tech)   RUNNING BACKS (5): Duke Clark (6-1, 211, FR); Byron Louis (6-0, 211, FR); Jadan Baugh (6-1, 231, SO); Evan Pryor (5-9, 195, RSR, from Cincinnati); London Montgomery (5-11, 197, SO, from East Carolina)   WIDE RECEIVERS (8): Vernell Brown III (5-11, 178, FR); Dallas Wilson (6-3, 213, FR); TJ Abrams (5-10, 196, RFR); Bailey Stockton (5-11, 185, SO, from Georgia Tech); Micah Mays Jr. (6-2, 196, SO, from Wake Forest); WR Eric Singleton Jr. (5-10, 180, JR, from Auburn); Jaylen Lloyd (5-10, 180, JR, from Oklahoma State); Ace Ciongoli (5-11, 190, RFR, from Indiana)   TIGHT END: (5) Amir Jackson (6-5, 235, RFR); Micah Jones (6-4, 257, FR); Lacota Dippre (6-4, 253, SO, from James Madison); Luke Harpring (6-3, 240, FR, from Georgia Tech); Evan Chieca (6-5, 250, RSO, from New Haven)   O-LINE (13): OT Fletcher Westphal (6-8, 342, RFR); OT Caden Jones (6-8, 333, RSO); OT/OG Bryce Lovett (6-5, 321, RSO); OG Knijeah Harris (6-3, 313, JR); OG/C Roderick Kearney (6-4, 310, RSO); OG Jason Zandamela (6-3, 308, RFR); OT Jahari Medlock (6-5, 321, FR); OG TJ Dice Jr. (6-4, 304, FR); OG Daniel Pierre Louis (6-4, 332, FR); C Harrison Moore (6-5, 300, SO, from Georgia Tech); OG TJ Shanahan (6-4, 315, RSO, from Penn State); OT Eagan Boyer (6-8, 302, RFR, from Penn State); Emeka Ugorji (6-5, 300, FR, from Stanford)   D-LINE/EDGE (11): EDGE LJ McCray (6-6, 268, SO); EDGE Kamran James (6-6, 270, JR); EDGE Jayden Woods (6-3, 248, FR); DL Joseph Mbatchou (6-5, 300, FR); EDGE Kofi Asare (6-5, 251, RJR); EDGE Jaylen Wiggins (6-5, 268, FR); Brendan Bett (6-5, 308, RSO); DL Jeramiah McCloud (6-3, 294, FR); DT DK Kalu (6-4, 309, SO, from Baylor); DE Emmanuel Oyebadejo (6-7, 295, JR, from Jacksonville State); Mason Clinton (6-5, 300, SO, from Southern Miss)   LINEBACKERS (6): Jaden Robinson (6-1, 226, JR); Myles Graham (6-1, 228, SO); Aaron Chiles (6-3, 244, SO); Ty Jackson (6-2, 221, FR); Myles Johnson (6-1, 224, FR); TJ Bullard (6-1, 220, RSO, from UCF)   SECONDARY (12): S Drake Stubbs (6-1, 207, FR); CB Cormani McClain (6-2, 189, RSO); S Bryce Thornton (5-10, 211, JR); S Lagonza Hayward (6-1, 206, FR); CB J’Vari Flowers (5-10, 187, FR); CB Dijon Johnson (6-1, 204, JR); CB Onis Konanbanny (6-0, 184, FR);  CB Ben Hanks III (6-1, 192, FR); S DJ Coleman (6-1, 210, JR, from Baylor); S Cam Dooley (6-2, 208, SO, from Kentucky); S Kanye Clark (6-0, 190, RFR, from UCLA); CB Jordy Lowery (5-11, 189, JR, from East Carolina)   SPECIAL TEAMS (5): PK Patrick Durkin (5-10, 175, SO, from Tulane); P Alec Clark (6-1, 185, RSO, from Tulane); LS Carter Milliron (6-0, 257, SR, from Louisiana); P Miller Fealy (6-2, 210, FR, from Southwest Oklahoma State); LS Hunter Suwold (6-3, 240, FR, from Washington)   SIGNED FRESHMEN/JUCOS (20) QUARTERBACK (1): Will Griffin (6-3, 230)   WIDE RECEIVERS (3): Davian Groce (6-2, 191); Justin Williams (5-11, 187); Marquez Daniel (6-5, 205)   TIGHT END (1): Heze Kent (6-6, 305)   O-LINE (6): Tyler Chukuyem (6-6, 285); Chancellor Campbell (6-8, 307); G’nivre Carr (6-4, 309); Desmond Green (6-5, 343); Javarii Luckas (6-6, 318); Corey Brown (6-1, 280)   D-LINE/EDGE (3): DL Kendall Guervil (6-2, 323); DL JaReylan McCoy (6-7, 260); EDGE KJ Ford (6-4, 246)   LINEBACKER (1): Malik Morris (6-0, 250)   SECONDARY (3): CJ Hester (6-0, 186); Kaiden Hall (6-2, 192); CJ Bronaugh (6-0, 172); Dylan Purter (6-0, 185); Elijah Owens (6-3, 210, FR, from Mississippi Gulf Coast)   GONERS (32) QB (1): DJ Lagway (to Baylor) RB (4): KD Daniels (to Wake Forest) ; Treyaun Webb (to Appalachian State); Chad Gaspar Jr.; Ja’Kobi Jackson (to Ohio State) WR (6): Eugene Wilson III (to LSU); Tank Hawkins (to Washington State); Aidan Mizell (to UCLA);Muizz Tounkara (to Houston); Naeushaun Montgomery (to Missouri); Jackson Wade (to Boston College) TE (4): Hayden Hansen (to Oklahoma); Cameron Kossman (to Boston College); TE Tony Livingston (to Baylor); Scott Isacks (to UAB) OL (4): OT Marcus Mascoll (to Georgia State); OT Enoch Wangoy (to Ole Miss); OT Devon Manuel (to Appalachian State); OT Noel Portnjagin (to James Madison) DL/EDGE (3): DL Tavorise Brown (to North Carolina); DL Michai Boireau (to Ole Miss) ; DT Brien Taylor Jr. LB (1): Grayson Howard (to South Florida) S/CB (6): S Jordan Castell (to Kentucky); S Josiah Davis; CB Jameer Grimsley (to Mississippi State); S Teddy Foster (to South Florida); CB Aaron Gates (to Kentucky); CB Shariff Denson (to Ole Miss) ST (3): P Hayden Craig (to LSU); PK Evan Noel (to Houston); LS Mack Mulhern (to LSU)

“What, me worry?” – Alfred E. Neuman   When he checks the career stats of his scholarship quarterbacks, Jon Sumrall sees 80 completions in 137 attempts (58.3 percent) for 1,129 yards (8.24 yards per attempt), four touchdowns and three interceptions. Those numbers are accumulated over 10 games in two seasons, eight at Georgia Tech for Aaron Philo, two at Florida for Trammel Jones Jr. There is one start in there by Philo against a D1AA team, although he did finish and win a game against North Carolina State in 2024 after Georgia Tech starter Haynes King was injured.   Then there is freshman Will Griffin, whose 12,000-plus passing yards rank among the best totals ever among high school quarterbacks in the state of Florida. He’s impressive and already enrolled for the spring semester at UF, but he still hasn’t thrown a single pass in a collegiate game.   Experience is in rather short supply when it comes to quarterback at the University of Florida. Yet, Jon Sumrall, the fifth and latest Gator football coach since Urban Meyer retired after the 2010 season isn’t fazed.   He is not panicking. There are no nervous shivers running up and down his leg. It’s just another day here in paradise for a coach who, upon opening a door to a room filled to the ceiling with horse poop is like a kid looking for a shovel because he sees the possibility of a pony.   “I like our quarterback room,” Sumrall said Saturday in an impromptu Q and A with the media at halftime of the Florida-Auburn basketball game.   There isn’t a proven starter in the bunch and in the fall the Gators will be facing teams with serious QB talent in Auburn (Byrum Brown), Ole Miss (Trinidad Chambliss), South Carolina (Lanorris Sellers), Texas (Arch Manning), Georgia (Gunner Stockton) and Oklahoma (John Mateer). When it comes to experience, Florida’s quarterback room doesn’t stack up to that.   It’s not like Sumrall hasn’t gone through a situation like this in the past. He knows the drill.   “You know, we started Darian Mensah my first year at Tulane,” Sumrall recalled. “He had never taken a collegiate snap.”   All Mensah did was throw for 2,723 yards (9.5 yards per attempt) and 22 touchdowns while leading Tulane to a 10-3 record that included the American Conference championship game.   “I get it, it’s the American Conference, not the SEC, right?” Sumrall asked rhetorically. “So a little bit different, but, man, if you get the right guy, sometimes I think experience can be oversold. There's a lot of guys who are experienced and aren't very good.”   When Sumrall took the job, Florida’s 2025 starter DJ Lagway took to the portal with his 18 career starts, 4,179 yards (7.9 yards per attempt) and 28 touchdown passes (23 interceptions), leaving behind Jones as the only scholarship quarterback on the roster. In two games of relief duty – Long Island and Kentucky – Jones was 21-35 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. First on Sumrall’s agenda was to ensure Griffin didn’t de-commit Florida and go somewhere else on the December signing date.   Once Griffin was secured, his attention turned to Philo on the insistence of Buster Faulkner, who departed Georgia Tech to become Sumrall’s offensive coordinator. Faulker recruited Philo to Georgia Tech out of Prince Avenue Christian Academy in Atlanta, where he set state passing records.   “I think Buster has extreme confidence in him,” Sumrall said. “You know, as I did my homework, I think the place he was at, they didn't want to leave. There's a lot of people there that felt like he was ready to be the starter there, and I trust our opportunity to make the call. And, I watched him in high school as well.”   At Georgia Tech Philo showed flashes of the potential he showed in high school where he was a dual threat quarterback. In leading Georgia Tech to the win over North Carolina State in 2024, Philo ran seven times for 57 yards and a TD while throwing for 265 yards. He also contributed13 rushing yards and 67 passing yards off the bench in Tech’s win over Miami.   There is less tape on Jones, who only played in two games as a true freshman last year. He does throw a very catchable ball and he’s quite accurate with great fundamentals. As a high school QB at Mandarin in Jacksonville, Jones threw for 7,197 yards (9.4 yards per attempt) and 75 touchdowns. He broke his ankle two games into his senior season, otherwise he probably would have thrown for 10,000-plus yards and more than 100 touchdowns.   “I think Trammell, I'm excited about,” Sumrall said.   With spring practice just weeks away, Sumrall is going to get a good look at all three of his scholarship quarterbacks. None of them are proven starters and their experience is truly limited, but there is no lack of talent.   Experience? That’s a totally different story, but for now at least, Sumrall seems unfazed.   “Is there guys that I think can help us win football games here? Yeah,” Sumrall said. “We've got a lot of work to do to figure out what that looks like. Who's the starter and all that stuff's a long way from making that decision, but they'll make it for us. The quarterback competition, they decide who starts for me by how they practice and how they play.”

Boogie Fland finishes off a dunk against Auburn (Photo by Chris Spears) With 11 Southeastern Conference games remaining in the regular season and a Sunday showdown at the O-Dome with Alabama looming, it is time for 19 th -ranked Florida (14-6, 5-2 SEC) to start playing up to its potential. All six of Florida’s losses were winnable games, but the Gators failed to seal the deal by missing open shots, free throws and failure to come up with critical stops at crunch time.   That has to change if the Gators are going to prove the national analysts right, that they are the best team in the SEC. A good time to start would be tonight against South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) in Columbia (9 p.m., Colonial Life Arena, SEC Network).     The Gamecocks’ only wins in SEC play are against bottom feeders LSU and Oklahoma, but among their five losses in league play are white knucklers against Georgia and Auburn. Of South Carolina’s 11 wins, 10 are at Colonial Life Arena. Of Florida’s six losses, five are away from the friendly confines of the O-Dome. Counting tonight’s game, the Gators will play six of the remaining SEC games on the road.   So, now is a very good time for the Gators to start putting it all together. They’ve shown flashes of offensive brilliance such as the recent stretch of four SEC games in which they scored 90 or more points, but in games last week against LSU and Auburn the offense had its share of struggles.   Although the Gators are the 12 th best team in the country in defensive efficiency per the kenpom.com analytics, they played their worst defensive half of the season back on Saturday when they fell behind 43-28 to Auburn. In that game, the Tigers outrebounded Florida 19-13 in the first half and went on to outscore the Gators in the paint, 38-28.   The Gators know they’re capable of going toe-to-toe with the best teams in the country, but that was in the non-conference portion of the schedule. They won’t see another non-conference opponent until the NCAA Tournament in March so it is time to take care of business in the SEC.   This is perhaps the biggest game of the season for South Carolina, whose coach (Lamont Paris) is feeling the heat from boosters and fans who see a third losing season in the last four looming. Paris knows he’s coaching for his job, so beating the Gators would cool the tension somewhat.   That means the Gators have to anticipate South Carolina’s best effort of the season. It is a game Florida should win handily if everybody shows up ready to play. It is also a game the Gators could lose if they can’t make shots, turn the ball over and allow the smaller Gamecocks to hold their own on the boards and in the paint.   Anticipated starting lineups No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO)   South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC): Elijah Strong (6-8, 250, JR); Mike Sharavjamts (6-9, 195, SR); Myles Stute (6-7, 221, GR); Kobe Knox (6-5, 200, RSR); Meechie Johnson (6-2, 192, SR)   SEC in Joe Lunardi/ESPN Bracketology WEST: 1. Arizona; 2. Michigan State; 3. Gonzaga; 4. Vanderbilt (Other SEC teams: 8. Georgia; 11. Texas, play-in game)   SOUTH: 1. UConn; 2. Nebraska; 3. Houston; 4. BYU (SEC teams: 5. Alabama; 7. Auburn)   EAST: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. Texas Tech; 4. Kansas (SEC teams: 5. Arkansas; 6. Tennessee)   MIDWEST: 1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. Purdue; 4. FLORIDA (Other SEC teams: 7. Kentucky; 8. Texas A&M)   SEC in kenpom.com national rankings: 11. FLORIDA 14-6; 12. Vanderbilt 18-3; 18. Alabama 14-6; 20. Tennessee 13-6; 22. Arkansas 16-5; 26. Auburn 13-7; 31. Texas A&M 16-4; 32. Kentucky 14-7; 35. Georgia 16-4; 36. Texas 12-8; 43. LSU 13-7; 59. Missouri 14-7; 62. Oklahoma 11-10; 73. Ole Miss 11-9; 76. South Carolina 11-9; 94. Mississippi State 10-10   Tuesday’s scores No. 15 Arkansas (16-5, 6-2 SEC) 83, Oklahoma (11-10, 1-7 SEC) 79: Arkansas rallied from down 13 in the first half to hand Oklahoma its seventh straight loss. Darius Acuff Jr. led the Razorbacks with 21 points and nine assists without a turnover. Arkansas hit only 2-17 from the 3-point line. Nijel Pack led Oklahoma with 22.   No. 18 Vanderbilt (18-3,5-3 SEC) 80, Kentucky (14-7, 5-3 SEC) 55: Vanderbilt compensated for the loss of Duke Miles – out for awhile with a knee injury – with Devin McGlockton and Chandler Bing playing their best games of the season. McGlockton hit three 3-pointers, scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Bing came off the bench to score 11 while hitting a pair of twos and contributing two steals and two blocked shots. Meanwhile Vandy’s defensive pressure made it a miserable game for the Wildcats, who hit 19-59 overall from the field and just 6-24 on threes. Tyler Tanner had 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals to lead the Commodores. Otega Oweh with 20 and Denzel Aberdeen with 15 led Kentucky, which got only eight points out of its front court.   No. 23 Alabama (14-6, 4-3 SEC) 90, Missouri (14-7, 4-4 SEC) 64: Missouri was its own worst enemy in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers hit only 4-21 from the 3-point line, 8-23 from the foul line and they turned the ball over 13 times. Alabama was led by Latrell Wrightsell with 21 and Labaron Philon Jr., who had 18 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Charles Bediako had 14 points and six rebounds for Alabama.    Wednesday’s games No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC) Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) at LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC)   Saturday’s games Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC) at Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) at Oklahoma (11-10, 1-7 SEC) Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) at Missouri (14-7, 4-4 SEC) LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) Kentucky (14-7, 5-3 SEC) at No. 15 Arkansas (16-5, 6-2 SEC) No. 18 Vanderbilt (18-3, 5-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC) Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC)   Sunday’s game No. 23 Alabama (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC)

Tommy Haugh powers up for two of his 27 against Auburn (Photo by Chris Spears) Benny Kimble, the late, great high school and junior college basketball coach in Mississippi, used to say, “If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his butt every time he jumps.” Translation: Wishful thinking isn’t going to change reality.   The first time I heard Benny use that old adage was at practice the day after the McComb Tigers had lost a basketball game they should have won. He stole that phrase from somewhere else – it turns out it’s been around a long, long time – but he used it to replace woulda, coulda, shoulda. If perfectly describes Florida’s 76-67 loss to Auburn, another one of those woulda, coulda, shoulda games that seems to be defining the 19 th -ranked Gators (14-6, 5-2 SEC) season.   Here are a couple of facts about that game. As badly as the Gators shot the 3-pointers, they actually hit two more than Auburn – Florida 7-27, Auburn 5-15. Auburn made 19-21 from the foul line. The Gators made 16-27.   So here’s your woulda, coulda, shoulda about that game. Now remember, Auburn got a garbage basket at the buzzer so it was really a 7-point game in which the Gators made just 25.9 percent of their threes and 59.2 percent of their foul shots. One more three, which would have been 29.6 percent and close to the 28.5 percent they’re shooting for the season, and it’s a 4-point game. The Gators came into the game shooting 70.6 percent from the foul line. Three more makes at the foul line would have been 70.3 percent and the deficit is a single point.   All the if onlys don’t change the fact the Gators lost the game. All the if onlys don’t change the fact the Gators have made more threes (40) than opponents (34) in their six losses and more threes (149) than opponents (131) for the entire season. It also doesn’t change the fact the Gators have been outscored by just a single point at the foul line in their six losses – Florida 112-135; opponents 113-154.   The numbers don’t lie. The Gators would have, could have and should have won all six of the losses – No. 1 Arizona, 93-87; TCU, 84-80; No. 4 Duke, 67-66; No. 2 UConn 77-73; Missouri, 76-75; and Auburn, 76-67. One or two made threes. One or two free throws.   How about one or two fewer turnovers? How about one or two more defensive stops? How about one or two more rebounds?   The margin for error is slim and the Gators don’t have those erasers in the backcourt who had a knack for coming up with the right play at the right time, whether it was a shot from the field, a free throw, a steal … whatever the Gators needed.   It’s easy to point fingers at Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee. They are very good basketball players. Are they the equal of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin? You know the answer to that one, but Todd Golden knew Fland and Lee wouldn’t match the production of Clayton, Richard and Martin.   They don’t have to match, just play a little better. The same holds true for the front court. While Tommy Haugh went off for 27 points and 10 rebounds against Auburn, Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon combined to for 11 points and 16 rebounds. Their norm is a combined 25.3 points and 19.1 rebounds.   In his post game remarks, Auburn coach Steven Pearl said the Gators are “a Final Four team.” They can be, for sure, but they can’t keep losing these very winnable games. This is a team that is quite capable of blasting through the rest of the SEC schedule, and against the nation’s No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 teams they have already proven they are every bit as good.   The Gators are seven games into the SEC portion of the schedule. The next 11 games, starting with Wednesday night’s road encounter with South Carolina and Sunday’s nationally televised matchup at the O-Dome with Alabama, will tell us if the Gators can make a run for a second straight title or if it is the season of the frog, always bumping their butts because they don’t have wings.   BEDIAKO WILL PLAY AGAINST THE GATORS Due to weather issues, there was no hearing regarding the eligibility of Charles Bediako in Tuscaloosa on Monday. The NCAA agreed with Judge James H. Roberts, so Roberts extended his temporary restraining order by 10 days. That means Bediako will play for 23 rd -ranked Alabama (13-6, 3-3 SEC) Tuesday night against Missouri (14-6, 4-3 SEC), on the road Sunday at 19 th -ranked Florida (14-6, 5-2 SEC) and back in Tuscaloosa for Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC).   In his debut, just a week removed from playing a G-League game, Bediako scored 13 in the Crimson Tide’s loss to Tennessee. In two years at Alabama before declaring for the NBA Draft in 2023, the 7-0 Bediako averaged 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Al.com reported that the NCAA has filed a motion asking Judge Roberts to recuse himself. Roberts, it turns out, is a six-figure University of Alabama booster. Judge Roberts wife, attorney Mary Turner Roberts, is the defense attorney for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles, who is being tried for capital murder.   Associated Press top 25: 1. Arizona 20-0; 2. UConn 19-1; 3. Michigan 18-1; 4. Duke 18-1; 5. Nebraska 20-0; 6. Gonzaga 21-1; 7. Michigan State 18-2; 8. Iowa State 18-2; 9. Illinois 17-3; 10. Houston 17-2; 11. Texas Tech 16-4; 12. Purdue 17-3; 13. BYU 17-2; 14. Kansas 15-5; 15. Arkansas 15-5; 16. North Carolina 16-4; 17. Virginia 16-3; 18. Vanderbilt 17-3; 19. FLORIDA 14-6; 20. Louisville 14-5; 21. Saint Louis 19-1; 22. Clemson 17-4; 23. Alabama 13-6; 24. Miami (OH) 20-0; 25. St. John’s 15-5   Coaches top 25: 1. Arizona 20-0; 2. Michigan 18-1; 3. UConn 19-1; 4. Duke 18-1; 5. Nebraska 20-0; 6. Gonzaga 21-1; 7. Houston 17-2; 8. Michigan State 18-2; 9. Iowa State 18-2; 10. Illinois 17-3; 11. Texas Tech 16-4; 12. Purdue 17-3; 13. BYU 17-2; 14. Kansas 15-5; 15. Vanderbilt 17-3; 16. Arkansas 15-5; 17. Virginia 17-3; 18. North Carolina 16-4; 19. Clemson 17-4; 20. Louisville 14-5; 21. FLORIDA 14-6; 22. Saint Louis 19-1; 23. Alabama 13-6; 24. St. John’s 15-5; 25. (TIE) Iowa 14-5; Miami (OH) 20-0   SEC in latest CBS bracketology West: 1. Arizona; 2. Purdue; 3. Michigan State; 4. FLORIDA (Other SEC teams: 6. Tennessee; 7. Auburn) South: 1. Nebraska; 2. Iowa State; 3. Vanderbilt; 4. Arkansas (Other SEC teams: 7. Georgia) East: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. Gonzaga; 4. Texas Tech (SEC teams: 6. Alabama) Midwest: 1. Michigan; 2. UConn; 3. Houston; 4. Virginia (SEC teams: 7. Kentucky)   Tuesday’s games No. 15 Arkansas (15-5, 5-2 SEC) at Oklahoma (11-9, 1-6 SEC) Missouri (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at No. 23 Alabama (13-6, 3-3 SEC) Kentucky (14-6, 5-2 SEC) at No. 18 Vanderbilt (17-3, 4-3 SEC)   Wednesday’s game No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC) Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) at LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC)   Saturday’s games Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC) at Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC) Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) at Oklahoma (11-9, 1-6 SEC) Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) at Missouri (14-6, 4-3 SEC) LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) Kentucky (14-6, 5-2 SEC) at No. 15 Arkansas (15-5, 5-2 SEC) No. 18 Vanderbilt (17-3, 4-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC) Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC)   Sunday’s game No. 23 Alabama (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC)   WORST TO FIRST IN THE SEC 16. Oklahoma (11-9, 1-6 SEC): Porter Moser is coaching for his job and he won’t have Joe Castiglione around to protect him. Fans want a winner and Moser isn’t winning.   15. Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC): The Bulldogs are slumping and there is no end in sight, particularly if Josh Hubbard isn’t hitting shots.   14. South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC): The Gamecocks are headed for their third losing season in four years. Lamont Paris is coaching for his job.   13. LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC): The Tigers have a chance to go 2-0 this week (home Mississippi State, away South Carolina) and that could springboard them to a good second half of the season.   12. Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC): The Rebels play hard and make it tough for everybody, but they just don’t have the horses to win consistently.   11. Missouri (14-6, 4-3 SEC): You never know which Mizzou team is going to show up: the one that beat Florida and Kentucky or the one that LSU beat without Dedan Thomas?   10. Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC): We’ll see if the Longhorns have turned the corner Wednesday night at Auburn.   9. Alabama (13-6, 3-3 SEC): Charles Bediako says the Tide can win it all with him in the lineup. Well, he was in the lineup Saturday night when Bama lost at home to Tennessee. Bama still has to have a hot night from the 3-point line to win tough games.   8. Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC): The Vols got a huge win at Tuscaloosa, a game in which Jaylen Causey hyper-extended his knee. The Vols will need his rebounding if they’re going to win on the road this week at Georgia and Auburn.   7. Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC): If Steven Pearl can get the Tigers to play every game like they did the first half at Florida, then Auburn is a team to be reckoned with in the second half of the SEC season.   6. Vanderbilt (17-3, 4-3 SEC): The Commodores broke their 3-game losing streak at Mississippi State. They get Kentucky at home Tuesday. That’s a must win game.   5. Arkansas (15-5, 5-2 SEC): The big game of the week is Saturday with Kentucky. It’s in Fayette-Nam, so give a big edge to John Calipari and the Hogs.     4. Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC): It’s a big week for the Bulldogs with homers against Tennessee and the Aggies. The Bulldogs can be formidable at Stegman.   3. Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC): The Aggies have had it easy so far. Now it’s time to find out how Bucky (McMillan) Ball handles good teams starting with a roadie to Georgia Saturday.   2. Kentucky (14-6, 5-2 SEC): The Wildcats have won five in a row, but they’re down two point guards. How will Denzel Aberdeen fare at the only point on the road at Vandy and Arkansas this week?   1. FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC): The Gators played their worst game of the season against Auburn and still had a chance to win the game. It’s time for the Gators to play up to their potential. They’re still the best team in the SEC, but right now they’re an enigma.

Tommy Haugh scores two of his 27 points against Auburn (Photo by Chris Spears) For the sixth time this season, the Florida Gators (14-6, 5-2 SEC) let a perfectly winnable game slip through their fingers. Give Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC) plenty of credit for scoring a 76-67 win over the 16 th -ranked Gators at the O-Dome, but it’s not like the Tigers didn’t get a lot of help.   Last Saturday in Nashville, the Gators were money at the foul line. Against Auburn, it was hit or miss. Too many misses. Florida went 16-27 from the line. Auburn, meanwhile, went 19-21. That’s not the only place the Gators rolled snake eyes, but it’s a rather good place to start. And while on the subject of shooting, Florida went 7-27 from the 3-point line, quite a few of the misses uncontested.   “ I think the biggest thing was the free throws,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We left some points on the board, missed some open shots when we needed to.”   In Florida’s six losses, they are a combined 40-153 from the 3-point line. That’s 26.1 percent. That’s grim.   Add first half defense, particularly on Keyshawn Hall, to Florida’s list of woes. Hall scored Auburn’s first 10 points as the Tigers blew out to a 19-5 lead in the first 4:33 of the game. He scored 22 in the first half, hitting 7-10 from the field overall, 3-4 from the 3-point line and 5-5 from the foul line. Golden tried numerous defenders to try to cool off Hall, but he was having nothing of it.   Making matters worse, KeyShawn Murphy put in 10 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes. Auburn hit 15-29 from the field in the first half, 4-10 from the 3-point line and 9-9 from the foul line.   The Gators, meanwhile, played their worst half of basketball all season. They missed shots (10-26 from the field and 4-9 from the foul line). They couldn’t get stops in the paint (Auburn outscored the Gators 22-12 in the paint in the first 20 minutes). They were outrebounded 19-13 and their six turnovers were transformed into 16 Auburn points.   It was 43-28 at the half and it would have been much worse except for a 13-2 run that saw the Gators cut the Auburn lead to 21-18 on an Xaivian Lee 3-ball with 10:34 remaining. Auburn regained its composure with a 10-1 run led by Hall, who nailed a pair of threes while scoring eight of the Tigers’ points.   Hall would score only two in the second half, but the damage he did in the first half was practically irreversible.   “Our first half effort on Keyshawn Hall – he deserves a lot of credit for the shots that he was making – but we have to find a way to prevent him from getting 22 in the first half. We did a better job in the second half. He only scored two, so we were capable. We just didn't do a good enough job showing bodies, going vertical. We sent him to the line and gave him threes in the first half.”   The Gators found themselves down 18 within the first minute of the second half, but then came the rally. Over the next 9:45 the Gators played like the team that is capable of beating anyone in the country with one slight exception. While outscoring Auburn 26-8 to tie the game at 54-54, the Gators got off to a rocky start at the foul line. Tommy Haugh went 1-2 and Lee went 1-3.   Those misses were critical and so was a reversal of a goal tend call that erased a Haugh layup with 7:27 left. On that play, Haugh rebounded a miss by Auburn’s Elyjah Freeman, put the ball on the deck and led a one-man fast break. Murphy trailed, swatted away Haugh’s layup and it was called a goal tend. Florida 58, Auburn 56.   Or so it seemed. A media time out followed during which time Auburn coach Steven Pearl asked for and received a review. The zebra crew of Pat Adams, Olandis Poole and Lucas Santos took a look and decided it was a clean block.   “We dug ourselves in an 18-point deficit, crawled all the way back to take a two-point lead, get a tough reversal on the goaltend,” Golden said. “And they made a couple of tough shots after that, but we had dug ourselves in too big of a hole with defense in the first half and obviously the free throw shooting. As I explained to the team, if we had made our free throws at a decent rate up until that point, instead of it going from two to being tied with their ball, it would have been from six to four and we could still with a little bit of a lead and a little bit of confidence. But I do think a big part of it was the fact that we had to expend so much energy getting back in the ballgame."   From that point onward, the Gators made only 2-12 shots from the field (1-9 from the 3-point line) and 6-9 from the foul line. Auburn, meanwhile, went 8-9 from the foul line while outscoring the Gators 20-11 for the final margin.   Auburn gets credit for a hard-earned victory, but this had more to do with things Florida didn’t do than what Auburn did. Such as terrible defense in the first half and also in the paint where Auburn outscored the Gators 38-28. Such as only four offensive rebounds in the first half. Such as 37 percent shooting from the field overall along with the bad shooting at the foul and 3-point lines.   Now, Auburn had something to do with it, for sure, but the Gators had plenty enough opportunities to win the game on their own. Instead, they wasted a 27-point, 10-rebound night by Haugh, who scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots during Florida’s furious rally to tie the game in the second half.   Chinyelu, a dominant force during Florida’s 5-game winning streak that led up to the Auburn game, scored 10 but he had only seven rebounds total, just two in the first half. Alex Condon had perhaps his worst offensive game ever at UF. His only point of the game came when he hit the second of two free throws with 47.8 seconds left in the game.   So many things went wrong and yet the Gators still could have won the game.   “There's ups and downs,” Golden said. “We have been through a lot of those already this season. It obviously starts with me. Anytime you get to a point where you got things rolling a little bit and the moment you feel like you are on the right track, you get punched in the mouth. That's what happened to us today. Credit to Auburn. We have some things that we need to clean up before we get on the road to South Carolina next week.”   ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC No. 15 Vanderbilt (17-3, 4-3 SEC) 88, Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) 56: Tyler Tanner scored 24 points as Vandy broke a 3-game losing streak in Starkville. The Commodores put a lid on Josh Hubbard, holding him to seven points and just 1-5 from the 3-point line.   Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) 79, No. 17 Alabama (13-6, 3-3 SEC) 73: Nate Ament (29) and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (24) combined to score 53 of Tennessee’s points as the Vols got a huge road win in Tuscaloosa. Labaron Philon Jr. scored 26 to lead Alabama. Alabama brought Charles Bediako off the bench. The controversial former G-League player scored 13 while grabbing three rebounds and contributing two steals and two blocked shots.   No. 20 Arkansas (15-5, 5-2 SEC) 85, LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) 81: Darius Acuff Jr. hit 10 of 11 second half shots, scoring 24 of his 31 points to lead the Razorbacks past LSU. Arkansas went on a second half run when they made nine straight shots. Acufff made six of them including three threes and he had three assists on the other three Arkansas makes. Dedan Thomas scored 18 to lead LSU.     Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) 87, No. 21 Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC) 67: Texas outscored Georgia 57-30 in the second half to score the upset in Austin. Dailyn Swain (26) and Tramon Mark (23) led Texas while Jeremiah Wilkinson led Georgia with 17.   Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC) 92, South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) 69: Zach Clemence came off the bench to score 21 as the Aggies took sole possession of first place in the SEC with their blowout win over South Carolina. Meechie Johnson scored 26 for the Gamecocks.   Kentucky (14-6, 5-2 SEC) 72, Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC) 63: The Wildcats got to the foul line for 38 shots and knocked down 28. Ole Miss was 14-21. Free throws were the difference as Otega Owey led Kentucky with 26 including 10-10 at the line. AJ Storr led Ole Miss with 20.   Missouri (14-6, 4-3 SEC) 88, Oklahoma (11-9, 1-6 SEC) 87: Two buzzer beaters saved Mizzou. Trent Pierce’s 37-foot three at the buzzer sent the game into overtime where Mark Mitchell hit a three for the win. Mitchell led Mizzou with 25 points and 10 rebounds while Nijel Pack led Oklahoma with 25.   Tuesday’s games Kentucky (14-6, 5-2 SEC) at No. 15 Vanderbilt (17-3, 4-3 SEC) Missouri (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at No. 17 Alabama (13-6, 3-3 SEC) No. 20 Arkansas (15-5, 5-2 SEC) at Oklahoma (11-9, 1-6 SEC) Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at No. 21 Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC)   Wednesday’s games No. 16 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) Texas (12-5, 3-4 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC) Mississippi State (10-10, 2-3 SEC) at LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC)