Kentucky has reached the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament with a 78-72 victory over 8-seeded Mizzou in Nashville. The Cats led by as many as 16 points early in the second half, but lost that entire lead due to a dominant performance by Mark Mitchell, a Mizzou forward who led all scorers with 32 points. With 2:34 left in the game, Mitchell put Mizzou ahead 70-69, but the Cats responded with a 7-0 run that left them in control. Both Otega Oweh (21 points) and Denzel Aberdeen (16 points) had huge, late-in-the-shot-clock, drive-to-the-basket-and-get-fouled-but-they-don't-call-the-foul-because-it's-late-in-a-close-SEC-game buckets to give UK the victory.
For the first time since 2018, the Cats have won two games in the SEC Tournament. They are now 21-12 on the year, and ranked 27 on Ken Pom. Their Luck score has improved to 212.
While the close wins over LSU and Mizzou were entertaining, tomorrow the scrappy Cats play the Big Kids. Florida, the National Champions, brings its 11-game winning streak to Nashville for a noon tip-off. In 80 minutes against Florida this year, the Cats have never held the lead. The Gators rolled over UK 92-83 in Gainesville on Valentine's Day, and cruised to an easy 84-77 victory in Rupp last Saturday. Ken Pom thinks the Gators will win this game 83-73, although he gives UK an 18 percent chance of pulling the upset.
UK hasn't made the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament since 2022. Here are their last three trips to the quarter-finals, none of which was impressive:
03/10/23: Vanderbilt 80, Kentucky 73
03/15/24: Texas A & M 97, Kentucky 87
03/14/25: Alabama 99, Kentucky 70
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