2025 SEC Tournament Second Round: 4 Takeaways

The SEC Tournament second round kicked off Thursday, with 5-8 seeds playing the winners of Wednesday’s matchups.

It was an electric day in Nashville, with a buzzer-beater and a double-overtime thriller in the morning session.

The nighttime session brought the Big Blue takeover in Nashville in Rupp Arena South, and Otega Oweh bailed out the Wildcats late with a go-ahead bucket with 0.5 seconds left. 

Eight games down, seven games to go.

Final Scores

Ole Miss 83 Arkansas 80

Texas 94 Texas A&M 89

Missouri 85 Mississippi State 73

Kentucky 85 Oklahoma 84

Takeaway #1: Sean Pedulla game winner, puts Rebels on top in instant classic over the Razorbacks

Murfreesboro native and Belmont transfer Malik Dia put the team on his back in the first half with 14 points. He was dominant in the paint and finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Arkansas went on a 33-11 run from the end of the first half to the 9-minute mark of the second half, forcing the Rebels into five turnovers. Coach John Calipari was putting on a clinic, getting big men Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo open looks, who both combined for 32 points. The Razorbacks continue to play with just a seven-man rotation without leading scorer Adou Thiero, who should be back for the NCAA Tournament.

Ole Miss guard Jaylen Murray caused trouble for the Hogs’ defense all game. Murray scored 17 points and was a big contributor behind Dia.

Aidoo fouled out with five minutes to go in the game, relying on freshman Billy Richmond III and Karter Knox to carry the load down the stretch and keeping the Hogs in the match with both guys with 15 and 14 points.

With just seven seconds to go, Ole Miss fouled Brazile with the chance to gain the lead but missed both free throws, allowing Ole Miss point guard Sean Pedulla to hit a deep dagger three with Ole Miss legend Marshall Henderson in attendance. Richmond III had a half-court heave rim out after Pedulla had prematurely celebrated.

The Razorbacks will now wait to hear its name called on Sunday in what is another tournament appearance for Calipari.

Takeaway #2: Tre Johnson and Texas keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive with Double Overtime Win

In what will be the game of the day around the country, the renewed rivalry of the Longhorns and Aggies clashed for a third time and did not disappoint with the game of the tournament thus far with a double-overtime thriller. 

A&M had multiple chances to pull away in overtime but could not hit free throws down the stretch in the first overtime, and Texas hung around. Tre Johnson had a tough first half but was lights out in the second half and overtime and finished with 20 points. 

The Aggies are one of the best rebound teams in the country, and they out-rebound Texas 53-40 on the glass. Aggies finished 27-40, and Texas went 23-31 from the free throw line in a 5-point final, with the difference coming at the charity stripe. 

Guard Jordan Pope only had 13 points, but the big-time shot-making in overtime and grabbing eight crucial rebounds as an under-sized guard was huge. 

Despite the loss, SEC All-First Team guard Wade Taylor IV scored 29 points, going 17-18 from the free-throw line, and had six turnovers.

Takeaway #3: Missouri guard plays too much for the Bulldogs

This game seemed like it could go either way until Missouri pulled away in the final four minutes, and as the Mississippi State coach has harped on all year de, defense and rebounding, the Bulldogs could not get enough stops down the stretch and got outrebounded 43-35. 

Tony Perkins and Tamar Bates carried the Tigers all night long and combined for 45 points on the night. The Tigers were money from the charity stripe all night, going 23-28 from the line, while State shot 19-27. Josh Hubbard had another good night offensively with 24 points on the night and could not carry the Bulldogs through

The Bulldogs will limp into the postseason, and Chris Jans is still looking for his first NCAA Tournament victory with them. Missouri continues to be a team nobody wants to face in March. 

Takeaway #4: Big Blue Nation showed up

It was not just the fans who showed up in Bridgestone; the Wildcats team fed off the 95%- filled Bridgestone Arena, with all Kentucky fans feeding off the energy.

The Wildcats had to dig deep and play without star guard and best-on-ball defender Lamont Butler, who reaggravated the shoulder again and was out for the entire second half. 

The Oklahoma Sooners would not go away until Kentucky went on a 9-0 run to get up by 10, fought all the way back, and grabbed the lead after trailing by seven with a minute left after two questionable turnovers in a row from Kentucky. Oweh went coast-to-coast to bail out Kentucky to hold onto the win. Oweh and Kobe Brea carried the Cats and combined for 49 of the 85 points. Brea continues to be one of the best 3-point shooters in the country, going 4-7 from deep. 

Oklahoma will now wait to hear its name called on Selection Sunday.

Friday’s games:

8. Ole Miss vs. 1. Auburn – Noon CT

13. Texas vs. 4. Tennessee – 2:30 p.m. CT

7. Missouri vs. 2. Florida – 6 p.m. CT

6. Kentucky vs. 3. Alabama – 8:30 p.m. CT