Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
College basketball
March 15, 2003
NEW ORLEANS -- Down by nine points, Kentucky had no reason to be concerned.
The No. 2 Wildcats simply put together one of their patented runs, cruising to a 81-63 victory over Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament Friday night.
One night after top-ranked Arizona was upset in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, the next team in line avoided a similar fate with plenty of room to spare.
Kentucky (27-3) extended its winning streak to 21 after becoming the second SEC team in 47 years to go through the league schedule with a perfect record (16-0).
"We have a lot of guys coming off the bench who could be starting for other programs," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "You can plug someone in the game and not have a major drop-off. The group I put in gave us a big lift. That's a real luxury to have as a coach."
Keith Bogans scored 16, leading four in double figures. Seven others scored as Kentucky cleared its bench and still shot 53 percent from the field.
Vanderbilt started strong this time. The Big Blue faithful squirmed nervously when Brian Thornton dunked to give the Commodores a 17-8 lead eight minutes into the game.
The Wildcats shifted gears and quickly reeled off nine straight to tie it. Kentucky took its first lead (28-26) when Jules Camara stole the ball near halfcourt and cruised in for a dunk with 3:58 remaining.
Camara's basket was part of a 14-2 run that closed the half for the Wildcats, who led 36-28 at the break. And they weren't done, either. Kentucky scored 12 of the first 14 in the second half, sandwiching a 26-4 spurt around that locker-room stopover.
Mario Moore scored 18 to lead Vandy, which needed a late spurt just to reach 35 percent shooting (21-of-60).
AUBURN 66, TENNESSEE 53: The Tigers (20-10), who had not made the NCAA Tournament since 2000, were looking for a good enough showing to erase the memories of an embarrassing 22-point loss at Mississippi State on Saturday. Marco Killingsworth led Auburn with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Marquis Daniels scored 12 and Lewis Monroe added 10.
Ron Slay led Tennessee with 16 points before fouling out with 5:07 remaining. Brandon Crump and Thaydeus Holden each scored 14, Crump also had 10 rebounds.
Tennessee shot less than 37 percent from the field and made 12 of 21 free throws. Auburn never trailed or allowed the Volunteers to come closer than four early in the second half. The Tigers outscored the Volunteers 40-22 in the paint.
MISS. ST. 73, MISS. 64: The Bulldogs (20-8) looked every bit like the team that ranked second in the SEC in points allowed. Using its advantage in height and bulk, MSU rarely let the Rebels (14-15) get inside.
While Ole Miss was hoisting long jumpers, the Bulldogs were making dunks and layups. Mario Austin scored 19 and Derrick Zimmerman and Timmy Bowers added 14 apiece for MSU.
Mississippi State made 23-of-39 shots from the field, a 59 percent success rate that could be attributed largely to 34 points in the lane. On the other hand, Ole Miss connected on 23-of-60 (38.3 percent), managing a paltry 16 points in the paint. Leading 28-20 at the half, the Bulldogs took control by scoring the first 10 of the second half.
MSU, considered a lock for the NCAA Tournament no matter how it does in New Orleans, wasn't taking any chances against its state rival. They were meeting for the 227th time, but this was their first in the SEC tournament.
Ole Miss needed a victory to qualify for the postseason. The Rebels will be staying home for the first time since 1996.