Alabama vs. Texas A&M score: Crimson Tide rolls over Aggies to capture SEC Tournament championship

Alabama makes its case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with its second SEC Tournament title in three seasons

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Alabama completed a dominant run through the SEC Tournament on Sunday by crushing Texas A&M 82-63 in the championship game to cap a stretch of three wins in three days and cement its place as a projected No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Brandon Miller led Alabama with 23 points in the title game, and Jahvon Quinerly added 22.

While their combined offensive performance stood out, so did the Crimson Tide's defense, which held the Aggies to just 29.7% shooting only eight days after Alabama lost 67-61 at A&M to close the regular season.

That loss last week underscored the team's struggles following revelations of Miller's connection to a fatal January shooting. With Alabama under intense scrutiny for its handling of the matter -- Miller was never suspended -- the Crimson Tide struggled to regain the form they enjoyed for much of the regular season a the postseason approached.

But after beating three likely NCAA Tournament teams by double digits in the SEC Tournament in Mississippi State, Missouri and Texas A&M, it's clear Alabama is back to its peak form entering the Big Dance.

Here is a look back at how the SEC Tournament transpired.

2023 SEC Tournament schedule, scores

Location: Bridgestone Arena -- Nashville, Tennessee
Live stream:  fuboTV (Try for free) | Follow live: CBS Sports App  

All times Eastern; some start times approximated

SEC Tournament Championship Game -- Sunday, March 12
Game 13: No. 1 Alabama 82, No. 2 Texas A&M 63 | Recap

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First round -- Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: No. 13 Ole Miss 67, No. 12 South Carolina 61 | Recap
Game 2: No. 14 LSU 72, No. 11 Georgia 67 | Recap

Second round -- Thursday, March 9
Game 3: No. 9 Mississippi State 69, No. 8 Florida 68 (OT) | Recap 
Game 4: No. 5 Tennessee 70, No. 13 Ole Miss 55 | Recap
Game 5: No. 10 Arkansas 76, No. 7 Auburn 73 | Recap
Game 6: No. 6 Vanderbilt 77, No. 14 LSU 68 | Recap

Quarterfinals -- Friday, March 10
Game 7: No. 1 Alabama 72, No. 9 Mississippi State 49 | Recap
Game 8: No. 4 Missouri 79, No. 5 Tennessee 71 | Recap
Game 9: No. 2 Texas A&M 67, No. 10 Arkansas 61 | Recap
Game 10: No. 6 Vanderbilt 80, No. 3 Kentucky 73 | Recap

Semifinals -- Saturday, March 11
Game 11: No. 1 Alabama 72, No. 4 Missouri 61 | Recap
Game 12: No. 2 Texas A&M 87, No. 6 Vanderbilt 75 | Recap

Follow below for updates, analysis and highlights throughout the 2023 SEC Tournament championship game on Sunday. 

[Mar 11, 2023 at 6:03 pm ET · David Cobb]

Semifinals: Texas A&M 87, Vanderbilt 75

No. 2 seed Texas A&M cruised into the SEC Tournament title game with an 87-75 win over No. 6 seed Vanderbilt in the semifinals on Saturday behind 25 points from Wade Taylor IV and a prolific offensive performance from the team as a whole. The Aggies shot 59.6% from the floor and 52.6% from 3-point range.

Vanderbilt mounted a charge after trailing 49-25 at halftime but couldn't get the deficit to single digits in the second half. The Commodores entered the day as one of the "First Four Out" of Jerry Palm's projected NCAA Tournament bracket and will have to hope for a favorable decision from the selection committee. The 'Dores shot 64.3% from the floor in the second half but simply couldn't overcome an A&M squad that built an insurmountable lead by shooting 69% in the first half.

[Mar 11, 2023 at 3:15 pm ET · David Cobb]

Semifinals: Alabama 72, Missouri 61

No. 1 seed Alabama rolled past No. 4 seed Missouri with a 72-61 victory in the first semifinal of the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide led just 31-29 at halftime and fell behind early in the second before rallying behind a strong performance from freshman forwards Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney. The duo combined for 39 points, including 24 of Alabama's 41 in the second half.

Missouri had some big moments, including a 13-5 run to close the first half. D'Moi Hodge hit a fallaway 3-pointer from the corner just before the halftime buzzer to bring the Tigers within 31-29 at the break. Mizzou also started strong in the second half with a quick 6-0 spurt. But once Miller and Gurley got going, Alabama couldn't be stopped. The Crimson Tide will play either Texas A&M or Vanderbilt in the title game as they seek their second SEC Tournament title of the past three seasons.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 11:58 pm ET · David Cobb]

Quarterfinals: Vanderbilt 80, Kentucky 73

No. 6 seed Vanderbilt trailed 14-4 early but then got hot and never looked back as the Commodores rolled into the semifinals of the SEC Tournament with an 80-73 win over No. 3 Kentucky in the quarterfinals. Ezra Manjon led the Commodores with 25 points, including 16 in the second half.

Vanderbilt came up with timely buckets and stops throughout the second half to send the Wildcats to an early exit from Nashville. The Commodores entered the day on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm. But this win will certainly improve their chances.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 9:20 pm ET · David Cobb]

Quarterfinals: Texas A&M 67, Arkansas 61

No. 2 seed Texas A&M rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to knock off No. 10 seed Arkansas 67-61 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Wade Taylor IV led the Aggies with 18 points, and Henry Coleman III added 16 for A&M, which will play either Vanderbilt or Kentucky in the semifinals on Saturday.

Arkansas shot just 30% in the second half, including an 0 for 8 clip from beyond the arc. Taylor and Coleman combined for 28 after halftime. Neither team made a 3-pointer in the second half, but the Aggies had fresh legs, and it showed. Arkansas will enter the NCAA Tournament -- barring a bad Selection Sunday surprise -- with a 3-6 record over its last nine games.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 6:07 pm ET · David Cobb]

Quarterfinals: Missouri 79, Tennessee 71

No. 4 seed Missouri made No. 5 seed Tennessee's elite defense look shoddy for the second time this season as the Tigers shot 52.6% from the floor on their way to a 79-71 win. D'Moi Hodge led the way with 26 points for Mizzou while Kobe Brown added 24. Those two combined to make 7 of 15 attempts from 3-point range.

Tennessee opened up a 38-30 lead early in the second half and had five players reach double figures but failed to get crucial stops down the stretch. Missouri will take on No. 1 seed Alabama in the semifinals on Saturday.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 3:08 pm ET · David Cobb]

Quarterfinals: Alabama 72, Mississippi State 49

Alabama began the postseason with an authoritative victory on Friday as the top seed in the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide knocked off No. 9 seed Mississippi State 72-49 in quarterfinals action with stifling defense and a 20-2 edge in fast break points. Brandon Miller led Alabama with 18 points, but the Crimson Tide received contributions from across their roster with 11 players seeing extended minutes. 

Mississippi State entered the day as one of the "Last Four In" the projected NCAA Tournament field by CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm. The Bulldogs will now wait nervously to hear if their names are called on Selection Sunday.

[Mar 10, 2023 at 12:02 am ET · David Cobb]

Second round: Vanderbilt 77, LSU 68

Vanderbilt's late-season run continued Thursday night with the No. 6 seed Commodores outlasting No. 14 seed LSU 77-68 behind 22 points from Tyrin Lawrence. KJ Williams scored 26 to pace the Tigers, but he didn't get much help.

The 'Dores advance to play No. 3 seed Kentucky on Friday in the quarterfinals, while LSU's first season under coach Matt McMahon ends with a 14-19 record. Vanderbilt will likely need a win over Kentucky to reach the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. This win marked nine wins in the past 10 for Vandy, but some bad losses early in the season are dragging them down in the metrics.

[Mar 9, 2023 at 9:20 pm ET · David Cobb]

Second round: Arkansas 76, Auburn 73

Auburn got a really nice look out of a late timeout that would have tied the game at the buzzer. However, Wendell Green Jr.'s shot came up just short and the No. 10 seed Razorbacks advanced to the quarterfinals to play No. 2 seed Texas A&M. Anthony Black led the way with 19 points for the Hogs.

A valiant comeback from No. 7 seed Auburn made this one a game late. Ultimately, though, Nick Smith Jr. came up with the clutch bucket and Devo Davis hit a pair of free throws to keep the Razorbacks in good shape. A much-needed win for Arkansas, which entered on a three-game losing streak.

[Mar 9, 2023 at 5:43 pm ET · David Cobb]

Second round: Tennessee 70, Ole Miss 55

On the heels of its victory over South Carolina last night, No. 13 seed Ole Miss started hot against the No. 4 seed Volunteers but couldn't sustain it as Tennessee's fresh legs and stifling defense eventually won out. The Vols advance to play No. 4 seed Missouri in Friday's quarterfinals. Josiah-Jordan James led the way with 20 points for Tennessee and Santiago Vescovi added 15. Vols held Ole Miss to 33.3% shooting in the second half

For Ole Miss, attention turns to what's next. The Rebels could be closing in on an announcement of Chris Beard as their next coach.

[Mar 9, 2023 at 4:07 pm ET · David Cobb]

Second round: Mississippi State 69, Florida 68 (OT)

 No. 9 seed Mississippi State outlasted No. 8 seed Florida in a nutty first game of the day in Nashville that could be a critical outcome for the Bulldogs' NCAA Tournament hopes. The Bulldogs blew a six-point lead with under one minute remaining on overtime only to get it back with a Tolu Smith layup with under five seconds remaining. The Gators got one last crack at it, but Myreon Jones' buzzer-beater missed left. Smith was unreal for Mississippi State with 28 and 12.

Bulldogs advance to play No. 1 seed Alabama in the quarterfinals on Friday. Gators won't have a shot at the Big Dance but could potentially be an NIT team under first-year coach Todd Golden.

[Mar 8, 2023 at 11:55 pm ET · David Cobb]

First round: LSU 72, Georgia 67

No. 14 seed LSU had lost 17 of 18 games entering the SEC Tournament, but the Tigers edged No. 11 seed Georgia 72-67 in first-round action despite shooting just 36.4% from the field. A 25-4 edge in second-chance points helped spur the Tigers, who led by 12 at halftime and held on late as the Bulldogs tried to stage a rally. KJ Williams finished with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead LSU, which advances to play No. 6 seed Vanderbilt.

The one team LSU beat during that dismal run of losses? It was Vanderbilt. That came back on Feb. 22, and the Tigers will look to replicate that outcome on Thursday and become one of this week's surprise teams.

[Mar 8, 2023 at 9:03 pm ET · David Cobb]

First round: Ole Miss 67, South Carolina 61

No. 13 seed Ole Miss fended off a late rally from No. 12 South Carolina for a 67-61 victory in the opening game of the SEC Tournament, living to fight another day against No. 5 seed Tennessee in Thursday's quarterfinals. The Gamecocks got seven late points from star freshman GG Jackson in a 95-second span to cut a nine-point deficit to 64-61 with just a minute to play. But Ole Miss recovered to advance while playing under interim coach Win Case on a day when reports swirled suggesting Chris Beard could be the program's next coach.

Amaree Abram led Ole Miss with 20 points and Jaemyn Brakefield added 16 as the Rebels hit 9 of 22 attempts from beyond the arc and used a 13-2 edge in fast break points to build its lead. Jackson led South Carolina with 24 points in what will likely be his final college game before entering the NBA Draft. The loss wraps up the Gamecocks' season with an 11-21 record under first-year coach Lamont Paris.