Friday was not a shining day for the SEC in the NCAA Tournament. Yes, the Auburn Tigers bounced back from a rough last couple of pre-Tournament weeks with a solid performance that served notice of their capability of a deep Big Dance run. But later in the day, Alabama and LSU both bowed out despite being mild favorites. The end of two of the SEC’s most intriguing but also disappointing squads wasn’t exactly a surprise, but it was disappointing. The league went 3-3 in the first round, punctuated, of course, by Kentucky’s historic upset loss to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s.

First things first– Auburn looked like … well, if not the January version of Auburn, at least closer to it than the team that struggled down the SEC stretch, backing into a regular-season league title and getting bounced by Texas A&M in the conference tournament. Jacksonville State hung close to Auburn for most of a half, but the Tigers took control late in the first half and never let the Gamecocks pull within single digits in the second half. KD Johnson and Wendell Green Jr. looked back to their normal selves, as Walker Kessler just missed a triple-double and Jabari Smith absolutely killed a man with a historically ferocious dunk en route to 20 points and 14 rebounds. Auburn 80, JSU 61 was as routine as it was expected.

But that was the sum of good news for the SEC on Friday. Bama never really got going in its 78-64 loss to Notre Dame and couldn’t recover from Jahvon Quinerly’s knee injury just minutes into the game. The Tide hung around for a half, leading 30-29 on a Keon Ellis 3-pointer with 4:06 to play before intermission. But Notre Dame closed the half with a 12-6 run to take a lead they never lost. The Tide climbed to within 44-42 a couple minutes into the second half, but then started giving up shots to Notre Dame’s Cormac Ryan, who had 29 points, including 7-for-9 3-point shooting. Bama hit 8 3s, but allowed Notre Dame to shoot 10-for-16 from long distance. Jaden Shackelford shot 4-for-17 for the Tide, the SEC’s most inconsistent team was done. At its best, Alabama was the kind of team that could have made bracket mayhem … but at its worst, it lost as a No. 6 seed to a tired Notre Dame team that certainly didn’t lack for energy when it counted.

Meanwhile, LSU began the post-Will Wade era with a horrible offensive half. Facing an equally inept offensive squad from Iowa State, the expected rock fight materialized, as ISU led 24-19 at halftime. Both teams actually found their offensive skills in the second half, but LSU had no answer for Iowa State guard Tyrese Hunter, who hit 7-of-11 3-point shots on his way to a game-high 23 points.

The Tigers pulled to a 31-all tie on 3 Tari Eason free throws with 14:54 to play. But Iowa State answered by opening up an 11-point lead at 50-39 with 7:12 left. LSU’s defense made one more valiant run, cutting the lead to 51-50 with 2:13 to play. But Hunter answered, with one 3-pointer making it 54-50 and once LSU had pulled back to within 56-54, with about a 28-foot bomb to end the game with 20 seconds left. Iowa State’s 59-54 win was fairly typical of the late-season slate for LSU– the Tigers were stingy on defense, full of effort, but just lacking enough offensive punch to pull it out late.

Which brings us to Saturday.

Tennessee takes on No. 11 seed Michigan after the Wolverines’ seeding upset of Colorado State on Thursday. Michigan trailed by 7 at halftime of that game, but a 46-point 2nd half salted the game away. Michigan shot 54%, but got only 4 bench points. Michigan did have 15 turnovers in the game, a trend UT will look to continue.

Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson had 21 points, and UT will want to focus on keeping him from taking over. The Vols were razor-sharp in their opener against Longwood, and are a 6-point favorite. Michigan doesn’t have much depth, and bear in mind, this is a Wolverine team that struggled to string together wins all season. Tennessee is a better team, and if they play anything like they did Thursday, the Vols will win by double digits — let’s say 12.

Arkansas got a break as their expected showdown with No. 5 seed UConn was redirected by No. 12 seed New Mexico State, which upset the Huskies 70-63. NMSU guard Teddy Allen had 37 points as NM State shot 11-for-17 from 3-point territory. Allen was actually the only Aggies player who scored in double figures. If Arkansas can slow Allen, the Razorbacks should be fine. The Razorbacks overcame a gutty Vermont squad on Thursday and are a 6.5 point favorite Saturday. If Stanley Umude and JD Notae play to their usual standards, Arkansas will reach the Sweet 16 comfortably, with a 14-point win.

Kentucky’s back home, but don’t look for that performance to reflect on the rest of the league. Arkansas is more vulnerable than Tennessee, but a favorable matchup leaves both of the SEC squads in action on Saturday as solid favorites for the Sweet 16.