A couple of huge upsets.
Everyone has said it for weeks, but maybe nobody saw it playing out like it did on Tuesday night. We knew playing on the road in the SEC would be tough, and it certainly still will be, but Alabama and Florida got caught sleeping. Ole Miss and Missouri each came away with huge top five wins last night, knocking off Alabama and Florida, respectively.
The result leaves Auburn and Ole Miss as the only undefeated teams remaining in the league, both sitting at 4-0. The Gators took their second league loss while Alabama took their first. Tennessee is in that crowded 3-1 group, set to battle it out over the next two months for the SEC crown.
Missouri hangs on to take down No. 5 Florida
Big-time shot from a big-time player #MIZ pic.twitter.com/dIsmuTbZwE
— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) January 15, 2025
Missouri jumped on the Gators early and needed every ounce of that quick lead in the end. The Tigers led by as many as 19 points after a hot shooting start from the floor. Senior guard Caleb Grill came off the bench and shot 6-10 from three-point range, pouring in 22 points.
13 Florida turnovers helped doom the Gators, despite 28 points from Florida star Walter Clayton Jr. The help just wasn’t quite all the way there for Clayton, but Florida still managed to claw back into this one late.
Despite getting it to a one possession game late multiple times, Missouri hit clutch free throws down the stretch to ice it. So Florida, just one week after beating then No. 1 Tennessee by 30 points, falls at home to Missouri. That’s going to be a common theme this season in the SEC — you better show up every single night.
Ole Miss upsets Alabama in Coleman
It didn’t take long for Chris Beard to get Ole Miss rolling, did it? The Rebels improved to 15-2 on the year, pulling away from Alabama late to spring the upset. Ranked No. 21 in the country now, Ole Miss has thrown themselves into the thick of the early SEC race and perhaps in the running for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Junior forward Malik Dia led the way with 23 points and a whopping 19 rebounds for the Rebels. Alabama star Mark Sears was held to just 11 points. Beard’s patented defense has made its way to Oxford, with Ole Miss now ranking 14th overall in defensive efficiency on the year, per KenPom.
Alabama averaged 91.1 PPG entering tonight’s game against Ole Miss. The Rebels held the Crimson Tide to just 64 in a 10-point win. A Chris Beard masterclass in Tuscaloosa.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 15, 2025
Alabama three-point happy offense fell flat against Beard’s defense, shooting 5-20 from long range. An eye-popping 21 turnovers was ultimately the reason for the Crimson Tide going down on Tuesday night.
Wednesday night SEC Basketball schedule
The show rolls on tonight with newly-ranked Georgia heading to Knoxville to face No. 6 Tennessee. The Volunteers bounced back on the road over the weekend to shake off that ugly Florida performance, beating Texas in Austin. Now No. 23 Georgia comes to town with a brutal week ahead — at Tennessee and home against No. 1 Auburn.
Texas will travel to Oklahoma, who will both be looking for SEC win No. 1 tonight. Both teams are 0-3 in league play. South Carolina will also travel to Nashville to face Vanderbilt.