This week in SEC hoops: Mizzou topples 'Bama in week of upsets

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With a 21-2 run in the final minutes, Alabama nearly escaped with another league win. Instead, Missouri hung on to hand the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season in SEC play on Saturday. Alabama still has a two-game lead in the conference standings, but the loss meant they can't quite be coronated yet. Plus, Missouri's win kept the Tigers in second place in the standings, ahead of a pack of teams with four losses. The top six teams in the conference have begun to separate themselves, with a two-game gap between Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Arkansas and the next closest pursuers.

Alabama wasn't a heavy favorite entering the game, but it was one of several upsets last week. Tennessee fell to Ole Miss, Florida lost at home to South Carolina and Georgia pulled out a win at Auburn.

As we enter the stretch run, the scheduling continues to get more interesting. Three games got postponed due to COVID-19 last week, with Texas A&M missing both its scheduled contests. This week's slate has already changed before a game has been played. Georgia, which was scheduled to play Texas A&M on Wednesday, and Tennessee, which was scheduled to host Florida, will play one another on Wednesday instead of March 3, as previously scheduled.

Here's our recap of last week's action, rundown of the standings and look ahead at the games to come this week.

Missouri led its two games for more than 76 of a total 80 minutes last week, yet both were in doubt in the final minutes. But the Tigers did what they've done all season: find ways to win close games. Missouri is now 5-0 in games decided by five points or fewer this season, including winning three straight such games. Cuonzo Martin's group is now the only team with a legitimate shot to catch Alabama atop the league standings, although it would need a lot to go right, including no more games getting canceled and the home contests against LSU and Vanderbilt that were postponed earlier this season being made up. The two wins boosted Missouri all the way to No. 10 in this week's AP Poll, the highest ranking of any SEC team.

The Tigers weren't the only team to go 2-0 last week. Their next opponent, Ole Miss, pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season in league play by holding Tennessee to 50 points, then won a thriller against Auburn when Devontae Shuler hit a game-winning jumper as time expired in overtime. Georgia has turned the corner, as well, winning three games in a row. The Bulldog schedule gets a lot tougher now, though, as they will play at Tennessee, at Alabama and at home against Missouri in their next three matchups. Finally, while Arkansas had its Saturday matchup against Texas A&M postponed, the Razorbacks suffocated Mississippi State for a 61-45 win last week and have now won four league games in a row.

At the other end of the spectrum, Kentucky continues to spiral. The Wildcats' late-game woes were on display both against Missouri on Wednesday and against Tennessee on Saturday, when they blew a 10-point second-half lead. At this point, there is no realistic path to an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament for Kentucky. Auburn has reverted to its early-season form, as well. The Tigers have now lost three games in a row after winning four of five. Freshman star Sharife Cooper has failed to reach 20 points in each of those three games, and the Auburn defense has gotten gashed, giving up an average of 87 points during the losing streak.

Missouri's schedule appears to get a bit easier with Alabama out of the way, but the Tigers will still have to face two teams that are trending in the right direction this week. Ole Miss looked like perhaps the biggest disappointment in the SEC not named Kentucky a week ago, but the Rebels pulled off consecutive upsets, each by two points. The senior tandem of Shuler and forward Romello White scored a combined 45 and 40 points, respectively, over the team's past two games.

Arkansas will look to avenge its loss to Missouri earlier this season when it comes to Mizzou Arena on Saturday. The Razorbacks appear to have recovered from a brutal stretch during which they lost to LSU by 16 points and Alabama by 31. Forward Justin Smith, who missed the first meeting between Missouri and Arkansas due to injury, has played well since returning to the floor, averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds per game over his last five contests. If the Razorbacks beat Kentucky on Tuesday, they would come to Columbia having won five SEC games in a row, but Missouri will also have a winning streak on its side, no matter what happens against Ole Miss. The matchup has been designated the annual Rally 4 Rhyan game to raise funds to fight pediatric cancer. Missouri has never lost in five such games.

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Alabama at South Carolina: 5:30 p.m., SEC Network

Arkansas at Kentucky: 6 p.m., ESPN

Auburn at Vanderbilt: 7:30 p.m., SEC Network

Wednesday, Feb. 10

Georgia at Tennessee: 7 p.m, ESPN 2

Missouri at Ole Miss: 8 p.m., SEC Network

LSU at Mississippi State: 8 p.m. ESPN U

Saturday, Feb. 13

Vanderbilt at Mississippi State: 12 p.m., SEC Network

Auburn at Kentucky: 12 p.m., CBS

Tennessee at LSU, 1 p.m., ESPN2

Georgia at Alabama: 2:30 p.m., SEC Network

Arkansas at Missouri: 3 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2

Ole Miss at South Carolina: 5 p.m., SEC Network

Texas A&M at Florida: 7:30 p.m., SEC Network

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