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The second year of the SEC/ACC Challenge tipped off on Tuesday night with an exciting slate of matchups.
Over the past year, both conferences have added more teams, meaning more intriguing matchups. The first 10 games were played on Tuesday and six more will follow on Wednesday.
The annual event gives teams from both conferences the chance to boost their resume and get some good competition under the wing before conference play starts in just over a month.
The SEC dominated the first day of play, winning nine of 10 games on Tuesday to clinch the challenge. The ACC’s only win was also the biggest upset of the day as Clemson toppled No. 4 Kentucky.
Here is a look at the schedule and results from Tuesday’s slate.
Tuesday’s Schedule and Scores
- Georgia def. Notre Dame, 69-48
- Arkansas def. Miami, 76-73
- Missouri def. Cal, 98-93
- No. 3 Tennessee def. Syracuse, 96-70
- South Carolina def. Boston College, 73-51
- No. 21 Oklahoma def. Georgia Tech, 76-61
- No. 22 Texas A&M def. Wake Forest, 57-44
- No. 23 Ole Miss def. Louisville, 86-63
- LSU def. Florida State, 85-75
- Clemson def. No. 4 Kentucky, 70-66
Arkansas def. Miami, 76-73
John Calipari picked up his best win since leaving Kentucky for Arkansas over the offseason.
A back-and-forth game saw the Razorbacks take a late lead against Miami as freshman guard Boogie Fland hit a three with less than two minutes to play. The Hurricanes had a chance to tie it up at the last second, but their shot attempt fell a few feet short.
Fland continued his outstanding first season in Fayetteville as he dropped a team-high 18 points and six assists.
DJ Wagner, who followed Calipari from Kentucky to Arkansas, added 14 and FAU transfer Johnell Davis put up 12.
Miami guard Nijel Peck had a season-high 22 points while Matthew Cleveland added 15 off the bench, but it wasn’t quite enough to take down the Razorbacks.
No. 3 Tennessee def. Syracuse, 96-70
Tennessee debuted as the No. 1 team in the NCAA’s first net rankings earlier this week, and they certainly looked like the best team in the country on Tuesday.
Chaz Lanier, a super senior transfer from North Florida, continued what has been a phenomenal season for him. He matched his season high with 26 points to lead the way for the Vols.
Igor Milicic Jr. notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards while star point guard Zakai Zeigler had 11 points, eight assists and four steals.
Syracuse freshman Elijah Moore had 24 points off the bench, but it was an otherwise forgetful night from the Orange as they shot a lousy 31.6 percent from deep.
The win helped the Vols improve to 8-0 for the first time in 24 years. They’ll get the chance to face another ACC opponent next week when they take on Miami in the Jimmy V Classic.
Clemson def. No. 4 Kentucky, 70-66
The ACC walked away with just one win on the first day of the challenge, but it was one of the biggest of the night.
The unranked Tigers knocked off one of the top teams in the country behind Chauncey Wiggins’ 12 points, Jaeden Zachary’s 11 points and a monster night from Ian Schieffelin, who had 11 points along with 20 rebounds.
Clemson and Kentucky went back and forth all night until the Tigers built a bit of a cushion heading into the final minutes. The Wildcats cut the lead to two points with just over two seconds to play, but Clemson put the game away at the line as fans stormed the court.
Clemson, which reached the Elite Eight a year ago, suffered a fluke loss to Boise State earlier this year but has been otherwise perfect. The Tigers proved they’re capable of another deep tournament run on Tuesday when they knocked off a top-ranked team.
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