The SEC Tournament saw a day of total carnage on Friday, as 3 of the top 4 seeds in the field all fell.
Mississippi State, the 9-seed in the tournament, got the day started by blasting top-seeded Tennessee. In the afternoon window, Auburn blew out South Carolina for its first SEC Tournament win since the 2018-19 season. But the Tigers would be the only higher seed to win all day. Texas A&M kicked Kentucky out of the field and then Florida sent Alabama packing in the nightcap.
Here’s a look at the slate for the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament, followed by 3 betting picks:
(All times Eastern; spread and totals via FanDuel)
Game 11: 1 p.m. – No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 9 Mississippi State (ESPN)
Mississippi State (21-12, 8-10 SEC) beat Tennessee 73-56 on Friday in what was an eye-opening performance. Despite hitting just 4-of-13 from 3 and getting only 18 points on 14 shots from Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State completely dominated the Volunteers. The Bulldogs won the paint 42-14 and held the Vols to 31% shooting from the field and 24% from 3. In the following game, Auburn (25-7, 13-5) blew South Carolina off the court with an 86-55 drubbing. The Tigers led by 20 in the first half.
Spread: Auburn -7.5
Total: 143.5
Game 12: 3:30 p.m. — No. 6 Florida vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (ESPN)
Texas A&M (20-13, 9-9 SEC) got 32 points and 6 triples from Wade Taylor IV to power a 97-87 win over Kentucky. Taylor and the Aggies shot the lights out from 3 and pulled away from the Wildcats in the second half. Florida (22-10, 11-7) jumped on top of Alabama in the first half of Friday’s final quarterfinal game and never looked back. Walter Clayton Jr. and Tyrese Samuel have been incredible for the Gators through 2 SEC tournament games, combining to score 80 total points on 45% shooting. And after Samuel went 9-for-23 from the free throw line on Thursday, he made all 4 of his attempts on Friday. (Clayton is 16-for-16 from the line.)Â Â
Spread: Florida -2.5
Total: 150.5
2 picks against the spread
Auburn -7.5 (BetMGM)
The Bulldogs ran into a Tennessee team that was disinterested in playing defense in the quarterfinals. And that lack of energy bled over to the other end of the floor where UT had its worst shooting performance of the season. Auburn, which has won 25 games this season by double-digits, had the exact opposite game against South Carolina. The Tigers were ready to roll from the jump and played their game. BetMGM has Auburn -7.5 priced at -110.
Texas A&M +3.5 (ESPN BET)
The matchup between Wade Taylor IV and Walter Clayton Jr. will be worth the price of admission. Taylor had 20 points in A&M’s first game at the SEC Tournament and followed that up with a 32-point explosion against Kentucky. Meanwhile, Clayton has scored 22 and 23 points in the Gators’ two tournament wins thus far. Gut feeling here is to ride with the hotter team. ESPN BET has the Aggies as a 3.5-point dog priced at -105.
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1 player prop
Texas A&M G Wade Taylor IV over 18.5 points (DraftKings)
Taylor is rolling toward another All-SEC Tournament selection. He has topped 19 points in each of his last 3 games and has done so while hitting the 3 ball at a high clip. The volume is just huge. The Aggies are making a convincing case to the NCAA Tournament selection committee, and they’ve turned Taylor loose in that pursuit. He’s 13-for-31 (42%) from the 3-point line over his last 3.
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Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
