SEC Tournament 2015: Round 2 Scores, Updated Bracket, Quarterfinals Schedule

The SEC is a conference that has been dominated by No. 1 Kentucky all season long, but a number of talented teams have an opportunity to prove their worth by making a run in the SEC conference tournament.

Thursday's second round features eight teams that have very little chance of an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament, but some of them could potentially put themselves in position for one by winning a couple games in the SEC tourney.

Here is a rundown of how the second-round action has played out thus far, as well as a full listing of matchups for Friday's quarterfinals.

Second-Round Scores

Game	Team 1	Team 2	Score
1	Florida	Alabama	69-61, Florida
2	Texas A&M	Auburn	66-59, Auburn
3	Vanderbilt	Tennessee	67-61, Tennessee
4	Mississippi	South Carolina	60-58, South Carolina

Bracket (courtesy of JOX Roundtable on Twitter)

Quarterfinal Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Team 1	Team 2	Watch
Friday, March 13	1 p.m.	Kentucky	Florida	SEC Network
Friday, March 13	3:30 p.m.	LSU	Auburn	SEC Network
Friday, March 13	7 p.m.	Arkansas	Tennessee	SEC Network
Friday, March 13	9:30 p.m.	Georgia	South Carolina	SEC Network

Second-Round Recap

Alabama vs. Florida

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

The reward may not be ideal, but Florida kept its SEC title hopes alive Thursday with a 69-61 win over Alabama in the second round of the tourney.

The Gators improved to 16-16 on the season with the victory, and they will now have to go through mighty Kentucky in the quarterfinals after losing to the Wildcats 67-50 on March 7.

Florida has suffered through an up-and-down season thus far, but it looked very good against an 18-win Crimson Tide team that many expected to go much further in the SEC.

The Gators lagged behind in the early portion of the first half as Alabama led by as many as eight points, but head coach Billy Donovan's squad started to turn it around. Thanks largely to the play of forward Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida held a 33-29 advantage at halftime.

Florida was also aided by the Tide's poor shooting as they failed to do anything offensively during the latter portion of the opening half, according to Cecil Hurt of The Tuscaloosa News:

"

HALF: Florida 33, Alabama 29. Crimson Tide with 6 points (one FG) in final 10:42 of the half.

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) March 12, 2015"

Despite Kentucky's undefeated mark this season, the Wildcats kept a very close eye on both of their potential opponents Thursday, per Larry Vaught of The Advocate:

Size proved to be one of Florida's biggest advantages against Alabama as it was able to dominate in terms of rebounding, according to Richard Johnson of Jacksonville.com:

"

Florida is crushing Alabama on the glass.

— Richard Johnson (@RagjUF) March 12, 2015"

Finney-Smith grabbed 11 of the Gators' 35 rebounds for the game, and Florida ultimately beat the Crimson Tide 35-24 on the boards.

Florida continued to open up its lead throughout the second half, but Alabama seemed to get back in it late. Guard Rodney Cooper seemed to hit a basket that would have cut Florida's lead to four with the free throw with roughly three minutes remaining in the game, but it was ruled a charge, which resulted in Cooper fouling out, per Charlie Potter of 247Sports:

That decision effectively ended Bama's comeback bid as Finney-Smith nailed a three soon after to give the Gators an insurmountable lead of 10 points.

The win not only keeps Florida in the hunt, but it also extended Donovan's dominance over former assistant and current Alabama head coach Anthony Grant, according to Jerry Tipton of The Herald-Leader:

While it was an impressive victory for Florida, things will get much tougher when it faces a Kentucky team in the quarters that has already beaten it twice this season.

The Gators have given themselves a chance to ruin the Wildcats' perfect season, though, which is a great opportunity for a team that has gone through a roller-coaster season.

Texas A&M vs. Auburn

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Texas A&M is squarely on the bubble, and it really didn’t do itself any favors Thursday.

The No. 5 seed Aggies lost 66-59 to underdog No. 13 Auburn in the first real shocking result of the SEC tournament. It could be a crippling blow to their tournament hopes depending on how the rest of the conference tournaments unfold and how much weight the selection committee puts on this late loss.

K.T. Harrell led Auburn with 25 points and five rebounds, while Davonte Fitzgerald and Alex Caruso both spearheaded the Aggies attack with 11 points apiece.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

It didn’t look like Texas A&M was going to choke away its postseason chances at the start of the game when it seized a 33-23 lead at halftime. However, the Tigers gradually chipped away at the deficit before ultimately seizing control in the final minutes. 

The key to the entire contest was how sloppy the Aggies got with the basketball late in the game. In all, they finished with 19 turnovers and simply didn’t look like a team playing for its postseason life down the stretch.

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman didn’t mince any words when discussing the repercussions for Thursday’s loss:

If the Aggies are left out of the field on Selection Sunday, they will have nobody to blame but themselves.

Next up for the Tigers is a date with an LSU squad that they split the two regular-season games with this year. Interestingly, the road team won both contests, although LSU destroyed Auburn by 23 points the second time around.

Friday is the rubber match.

Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Vanderbilt was so close to extending its season Thursday, but then the final three minutes happened.

Tennessee knocked off the Commodores to the tune of 67-61 with an 8-0 run in the final three minutes to send its in-state rivals home. It was a heartbreaking finish for a Vanderbilt team that competed the entire contest and appeared to have control before that final stretch. In fact, the Commodores were ahead 59-47 with 6:18 remaining and still found a way to lose it at the end. 

As for Tennessee, Chris Dortch of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook noted that the hard-fought win was appropriate given how the season has unfolded thus far:

Josh Richardson led the way with 22 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, but he got help from Robert Hubbs III, who finished with 16 points.

The Commodores received 20 points and 15 rebounds from center Damian Jones, and he was an unstoppable force for much of the game. However, Jones’ teammates put on a clinic on how to lose a basketball game when Vanderbilt hit one of its last 10 shots and turned the ball over five times in crunch time.

Next up for the Volunteers is a date with Arkansas. 

Tennessee split its two games against the Razorbacks on the season, with both coming down to the final minutes. The home team won each contest by five points, which makes the tiebreaker at the SEC tournament all the more intriguing.

Mississippi vs. South Carolina

Steve Helber/Associated Press

The 11th-seeded Gamecocks pulled off the upset against Ole Miss, getting 16 points from Michael Carrera to drive a 60-58 win.

But the biggest shots of the game came from a player who didn't make a single field goal. South Carolina guard Tyrone Johnson was fouled on a three-pointer as time expired and sank all three attempts from the charity stripe to put the Gamecocks on top for good.

Chris Hudgison of WLBT noticed former Rebels star Marshall Henderson in the stands as he bore witness to the unsavory play:

This came after Ole Miss' Jarvis Summers converted a four-point play to put the Rebels up late. To say he got redemption for that miscue is an understatement. LaDarius White was the one who fouled Johnson—and White led all scorers with 17 points.

It was indeed a bizarre, captivating finish. Unfortunately for Ole Miss fans, Seth Davis of CBS Sports hints that the Rebels' chances at the Big Dance took a considerable hit:

Ole Miss was a bubble team of sorts entering the SEC tournament, and it could have bolstered its resume with a strong showing. This abrupt end is a big blow to its NCAA tournament aspirations. The recency bias that can come with conference tourneys certainly doesn't help the Rebels here.

The one-and-done format at this time of year in college basketball can produce some interesting results. South Carolina's win is the latest example, and its slim chances at an automatic March Madness bid are still alive.

It's unlikely the Gamecocks will get past third-seeded Georgia in the SEC quarterfinals, but they were also all but counted out prior to playing Ole Miss and were seconds away from losing as it was.

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