Texas A&M stuns No. 15 Arkansas 82-64 to reach SEC final

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Quenton Jackson scored 20 factors and eighth-seeded Texas A&M took down a ranked opponent for the second straight day, beautiful No. 15 Arkansas 82-64 on Saturday to achieve the championship sport of the SEC Match.

Jackson additionally had six assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals to tempo the Aggies (23-11), who’ve revived their NCAA Match hopes by successful eight of 9 video games since ending a month-long, eight-game shedding streak in February.

Hassan Diarra, whose cutch 3-pointer within the closing seconds of additional time gave the Aggies an 83-80 victory in A&M’s event opener, had 12 factors. Tyrece Radford and Henry Coleman contributed 12 of 11 factors, respectively, after enjoying key roles in a five-point upset of fourth-ranked Auburn within the quarterfinals.

Arkansas (25-8) cut up a pair of video games with the Aggies in the course of the common season however was no match for them Saturday after falling behind by double digits within the first half.

Stanley Umude led the Razorbacks with 20 factors. Au’Diese Toney added 18, however main scorer JD Notae was restricted to 5 factors — practically 14 under his common — on 2-of-8 capturing.

Texas A&M superior to the title sport for the second time since leaving the Large 12 for the SEC. The Aggies misplaced to Kentucky in additional time in 2016 and can face both the fifth-ranked Wildcats or No. 9 Tennessee in Sunday’s last.

The eighth-seeded Aggies opened a double-digit lead for the third straight day, main 36-24 at halftime after squandering a 16-point lead throughout its victory over Florida and practically letting a 20-point benefit slip away in a 67-62 upset of top-seeded Auburn on Friday.

This time, the Aggies didn’t go away something to likelihood.

Arkansas, the No. 4 seed after successful 14 of 16 video games to finish the common season, used an 8-0 burst to trim an 11-point deficit to 47-44. However Texas A&M was hardly rattled, rebuilding the result in 11 over the subsequent three minutes and climbing it to 68-52 on Radford’s three-point play with 6:30 to go.

Aggies coach Buzz Williams emptied his bench after main by as many as 23 down the stretch.

Faculty basketball icon Dick Vitale was honored earlier than Saturday’s semifinals, with the SEC recognizing his contributions to the game, the league and his combat towards most cancers. The Corridor of Fame tv analyst lives in close by Sarasota, Florida, and was offered a basketball signed by the league’s 14 coaches. Vitale walked into Amalie Area amid a standing ovation — and shouts of “Dickie V!” — and accepted the autographed ball from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey at midcourt.

The 82-year-old Vitale has been public about his remedy for assorted medical points, together with no less than two types of most cancers.

Texas A&M: With three victories in three days, the Aggies have performed their manner into an NCAA Match berth.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks shot 17% from behind the 3-point arc, lacking 15 of 18 makes an attempt.

Texas A&M: Aggies face both No. 5 Kentucky or No. 9 Tennessee in Sunday’s last.

Arkansas: Awaits its seeding within the NCAA Match.