The NCAA Tournament has been upsetting for the SEC so far.
The league has five losses and just three wins in the first round.
No. 3 seed Kentucky, sixth-seeded South Carolina, and No. 8 seed Mississippi State all lost Thursday. Seventh-seeded Florida and fourth-seeded and defending SEC Tournament champion Auburn joined them with quick exits Friday.
No. 2 seed Tennessee, No. 4 seed Alabama and No. 9 Texas A&M are the SEC teams that have advanced. The Aggies beat Nebraska 98-83 Friday while the Crimson Tide outscored Charleston 109-96.
Here’s a look at Friday’s upsets:
Colorado 102, Florida 100: KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left, and 10th-seeded Colorado beat the Gators in Indianapolis.
Simpson finished with 23 points as the Buffaloes (26-10) and Florida (24-12) put on the most impressive offensive display of this year’s March Madness.
Colorado extended its single-season school record for wins two days after beating Boise State in the First Four. The Buffs advance in the South Region to face second-seeded Marquette on Sunday.
Walter Clayton Jr. scored the last 16 points for Florida, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 100-all with 9 seconds left. He finished with a career-high 33 points, but his half-court heave at the buzzer didn’t hit the rim, and Colorado moved on to the second round for the third time since 1998.
The Buffs’ astonishing offensive totals: 34 of 54 (63%) from the field, 6 of 10 on 3-pointers and 28 of 33 (84.8%) on free throws. The Gators made five more 3s (11 of 25) and shot 51.5% overall (35 of 68) to keep pace.
Yale 78, Auburn 76: The Ivy League has as many wins in this tournament right now as the SEC.
Yale, the No. 13 seed in the East region, beat the No. 4 seed in Spokane, Washington. It’s the second win in NCAA tourney play ever for Yale.
The Tigers led for 34 of the game’s 40 minutes.
Johni Broome led Auburn (27-8) with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but he was crumpled on the court after the loss. It looked as if he might have injured his right knee in the final scrum. Coach Bruce Pearl was uncertain when asked about the severity of the injury.
Auburn also played most of the game without starting wing Chad Baker-Mazara after he was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul in the opening minutes. Pearl agreed it was a flagrant, but didn’t believe it should have been raised to the level of an ejection.
“It was inappropriate. Clearly a Flagrant 1. The fact that it was elevated to a Flagrant 2 was a decision that the official had to make, but it obviously had tremendous impact on the outcome,” Pearl said.
Up next for Yale is 2023 national finalist San Diego State on Sunday.
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