Follow along here to recap a loaded Saturday of men’s college basketball.
Here’s a closer look at some of the most exciting games:
Vanderbilt holds off No. 9 Kentucky
On back-to-back Saturdays, Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) has taken down a top-10 opponent in Memorial Gymnasium. Last week, the sixth-ranked Volunteers fell, and today the Commodores handed Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) its fifth loss of the season.
It was all Vanderbilt at half as the Commodores went on a 20-4 run in the final eight minutes of the first to take a 41-27 lead into the break.
However, Mark Pope’s squad found some life in the locker room, going on an 11-0 run inside the first three minutes of the second half to cut the Vandy lead to just three points. It was a game of runs as the Commodores jumped back out to an eight-point before the Wildcats knotted the SEC battle 51-51 with 12 minutes to play.
Kentucky held the lead for the next six minutes, but it was unable to put Vandy away in front of its home crowd.
Tyler Nickel drilled a huge three for the Commodores with 1:50 to play, giving Vanderbilt a 71-69 lead. Devin Mcglockton picked off Lamont Butler before getting down the floor to tip in a missed shot on the ensuing possession for the Wildcats.
NICKELLLLLLLLL 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/EBOd1uqUQQ
— Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (@VandyMBB) January 25, 2025
The Wildcats now trailed by four with a minute to play, and Kentucky turned the ball over again, sealing Vanderbilt’s second top-10 upset in seven days. Kentucky turned the ball over three times in the final three minutes, totaling 17 on the night compared to Vandy’s five.
Texas rallies from 22 down to beat No. 13 Texas A&M 70-69
Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) pulled off a stunning comeback, rallying from 22 points down to defeat No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) 70-69 in an SEC rivalry game. The win marks the Longhorns’ second victory over a ranked team this season, with the first coming just days earlier when they knocked off No. 22 Missouri.
Tramon Mark delivered the game-winning shot just like he did against Texas A&M last season. Mark finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and one block, shooting 50% from the field and 3-point range.
Freshman Tre Johnson delivered a standout performance, scoring 30 points and becoming the first Texas freshman since Kevin Durant to reach the 30-point mark in a game. Johnson also added four assists, two blocks, one steal and one rebound while shooting 44% from the field and 40% from three.
The first half didn’t start well for the Longhorns. Texas A&M dominated, outscoring Texas 43-25. Trailing 18 points at halftime, the Longhorns found themselves down by as much as 22 early in the second half.
But at the 16:45 mark, Texas began its comeback. The Longhorns quickly went on a 15-4 run, trimming the lead to 55-44 with under eleven minutes remaining.
After a brief free throw from Texas A&M, the Aggies failed to score for over two minutes while the Longhorns added six more points to pull within six at 56-50.
The Aggies then managed to push their lead back to 14 points, but Texas wasn’t ready to give up. It forced another scoring drought for Texas A&M, cutting the lead to just four with less than four minutes on the clock.
With the game winding down, Johnson hit a big three-pointer to make it a one-point game. Julian Larry came up with a huge block on an Aggies shot attempt on the next possession. The block led to a timeout, and out of the break, Texas executed a play for the game-winning layup, sealing the upset win.
No. 14 Mississippi State holds off South Carolina in overtime
A day full of electric SEC games started with an overtime win for the Bulldogs 65-60. South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC) trailed No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC) by as many as 14 points, but a 19-5 Gamecock run to end regulation forced overtime at home in search of their first SEC win. A string of great South Carolina defensive possessions to end the second half culminated in a steal from Zachary Davis and the game-tying basket with 26 seconds to play. Mississippi State and South Carolina headed to overtime 55-55.
Z-looooooooooooooooo 🔒@zacharydavis2_
📺 » SEC Network
💻 » https://t.co/opgeJxtIFS#Gamecocks🐔🏀 // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/SfZzu2KG5S— Gamecock Men’s Basketball (@GamecockMBB) January 25, 2025
In overtime, the defensive fest continued with only one field goal made in the first four minutes of extra time. Down 59-57 with 56 seconds to play South Carolina’s Nick Pringle spun in the post and put up a shot under the basket. Pringle missed and attempted a put-back attempts, but a basket interference call took the points off the board with 34.6 to play.
From there, it was up to Mississippi State to sink its free throws and the Bulldogs went 2-3 from the line to clinch the win, before a costly turnover on an inbounds play put South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles at the line for two free throws, down three points, with 7.1 seconds to play.
Murray-Boyles missed both free throw under pressure, but Pringle grabbed the rebound off the second miss. Pringle kicked the ball out to Arden Conyers but the ball went off his finger tips out of bound, ending hope for South Carolina’s upset attempt.
