SEC Tournament 2019: Round 1 Scores, Updated Bracket and Round 2 Schedule

The 2019 SEC tournament is officially underway after the 12th-seeded Missouri Tigers discarded the 13th-seed Georgia Bulldogs to open the tournament on Wednesday evening at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The Tigers embarrassed the Bulldogs just last week 64-39 in their second-to-last regular-season game. The dominant win at Georgia was the lone bright spot down the stretch for Missouri, who went 3-7 to finish the regular season.

The Bulldogs' finish to the regular season was even colder, losing 11 of their last 12. The 25-point loss to Missouri on March 6 was the worst loss in that span, and they weren't able to avenge it.

Following Missouri's win, the 11-seed Texas A&M Aggies completed a season sweep of the 14-seed Vanderbilt Commodores with relative ease.

Below is a look at everything you need to know about Day 1 of the SEC tournament.

Wednesday's Schedule and Results

No. 12 Missouri def. No. 13 Georgia, 71-61

No. 11 Texas A&M def. No. 14 Vanderbilt, 69-52

Thursday's Round 2 Schedule

No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Arkansas (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 12 Missouri (25 min. after end of previous game, SEC Network)

No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Alabama (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

No. 11 Texas A&M vs. No. 6 Mississippi State (25 min. after end of previous game, SEC Network)

For the full SEC Tournament bracket, visit NCAA.com.

Recap

Missouri Tigers 71, Georgia Bulldogs 61

Wednesday's rematch was a much closer game, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a better game.

Georgia held a 34-32 lead at the half on 35.7 percent shooting from the field, slightly worse than Missouri's 37.9 percent, and neither team could hit from three-point land, going a combined 3-of-16. It was Georgia's first time holding a halftime advantage since Jan. 9:

Despite poor shooting, the Tigers' biggest concern heading into the locker room was foul trouble.

Sophomore forward Jeremiah Tilmon had two personals and freshman guard Xavier Pinson committed three fouls in the first half. The game remained chippy in the second half. Pinson and Tilmon kept struggling with fouls, and each ended the game with four. With 19:41 to go, Georgia sophomore forward Nicolas Claxton was called for a rough foul on Tilmon. Shortly after, Tilmon earned his third foul.

Luckily for the Tigers, Claxton and Georgia senior guard William Jackson II were the only players to foul out. Before exiting with 2:58 to go and Georgia down 60-51, Claxton had 11 points, six blocks and six rebounds. With Claxton out, the Tigers were able to do something they have struggled mightily to do all season: finish games off.

Tigers senior guard Jordan Geist did the heavy-lifting for Mizzou and finished with 30 points—edging out junior Georgia guard Jordan Harris, who finished with 26—to lead all scorers. His 30 points are also a career-high.

Geist had no other choice as the other four starters shot a combined 7-of-25 from the field.

Outside of Geist and Harris, all shooters were cold. Georgia shot 36.7 percent from the field, and Missouri wasn't much better at 41.5 percent. Combined, Georgia and Missouri went 7-of-30 from three.

Georgia head coach Tom Crean has a massive rebuild on his hands after going 11-21 in his first season in Athens. Crean has a long way to go before these Bulldogs resemble the Indiana Hoosiers teams of Crean's past.

With the win, Missouri improved to 15-16 and kept hopes of a CBI or NIT bid alive. It also marked Missouri's first postseason win under second-year head coach Cuonzo Martin. After the game, Geist told Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "We're trying to lay some foundation for the young guys."

In the short-term, the Tigers' focus turns to No. 5 Auburn on Thursday. Missouri did not fare well against Auburn in the regular season, losing 92-58 on Jan. 30.

Texas A&M 69, Vanderbilt 52

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Vanderbilt's 17-loss to Texas A&M was a fitting way for the worst season in program history to come to an end. The Commodores ended their 2018-19 on a 20-game losing streak and still have not won a game since the calendar turned to 2019. 

The Aggies raced out to a 34-19 halftime lead behind sophomore guard Savion Flagg, who finished with a game-high 29 points—also a career-high. To put the game in perspective: with 12:47 left in the second game, Flagg had nearly as many points (26) as the Commodores did collectively (28).

The closest Vanderbilt got in the second half was within 10 points. Down 53-35 with 9:38 to go, Vanderbilt went on an improbable 8-0 run before the shots started falling again for the Aggies. The leading scorer for Vanderbilt was sophomore guard Saben Lee with 19 points. 

The Aggies (14-17) can't let themselves get comfortable with the blowout win, though. With the win, they will face No. 6 Mississippi State (22-9) on Thursday. Mississippi State topped A&M 92-81 in the regular-season finale just four days ago. 

While an NCAA Tournament bid is out of reach, the Aggies have something to play for as head coach Billy Kennedy is not expected to return next season, per Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle.