Florida beat Auburn in the final seconds in the first round
ond stanza, the lead changing hands 26 times before being tied and going into overtime where a 40-foot desperation shot almost went in. With the score at 43-43, Vernon DeLancy hit what appeared to be the game-winner with nine seconds to go. But he was called for traveling. Auburn's Byron Hen-son missed a shot from the top of the circle, but Darrell Lockhart tipped it in. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was after the buzzer had sounded, sending the game into overtime. Florida won the game with 43 seconds to play in the extra period when forward Ronnie Williams scored a layup to boost the Gators into a 49-48 lead. From there, there were plenty of opportunities, but no conversions, as Florida missed two one-and-one situations. With eight seconds to
go, Auburn's Alvin Mumphord was whistled for traveling, and the Tigers were forced to foul the Gators' Mike Moses who made one of the two-shot free throws. As the buzzer sounded, Darrell Lock-hart's desperation heave at the basket hit the front of the rim before bounding away.
The second day, March 5, would go down as a day of upsets, and set the stage for the rest of the tournament. The nation's No. 7 and No. 10-ranked teams would lose and No. 3 would get a big scare. All-in-all, three upsets were recorded in the four games played.
Ole Miss and Tennessee opened up with their annual game in the tournament, and the Rebels came out on top, 81-71, in a game that was close in the first half, but decided in the second by a crucial
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Rebel spurt early in the period, and then Ole Miss' ability to hit free throws came into play as the Rebels made a tournament record 31 in the process, and Cecil Dowell of Ole Miss hit a record 16-of-18. Both teams shot 50 percent or better in the first half as the Rebs eked out a 39-35 lead over the tenth-ranked Vols. In the second half, Sean Tuohy and Carlos Clark went on scoring binges to give the Rebs a 13-point lead they never relinquished, though the Volunteers threatened, cutting the lead to six points with 4:26 to go. Dowell, after a shaky start in missing the front end of a one-and-one with 3:47 to go, commenced to making 11 of the next 12 free throws to ice the win for the Rebels. Dale Ellis led Tennessee in scoring with 31 points, while Dowell had 22 points and Clark 21 for Ole Miss.
The next game of that Thursday was a great exhibition of offensive basketball as Georgia and the Bulldogs' talented front line of Dominique Wilkins, Terry Fair and James Banks upset Alabama and the Crimson Tide's great inside game of Ken Johnson, Eddie Phillips and Phillip Lockett. The key to this win was that the 'Dogs' front line accounted for 53 points while Alabama's could muster only 40 as Georgia won 88-80. Alabama spurted to a 25-15 lead, but from there, Georgia outscored the Tide 26-9 to take a 43-36 halftime lead to the dressing room. With Lockett in foul trouble, the Tide had a fit keeping up with the Bulldogs on the boards as Georgia steadily pulled away for the win. Wilkins finished with 31 points while Phillips had 25 for Bama. And the upsets kept occurring.
Vanderbilt came to the tournament an embattled team. Their coach was under fire and there had been rumors of problems on the team. But all that was swept away by the Commodores' incredible 60-55 upset of Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Wildcats went up 10-0 in the first half, and it looked like a breather for the No. 2-seeded Cats, seventh nationally. But suddenly, Al Miller began to hit. And Ted Young began to rebound and score. And Charles Davis, the grizzled, veteran forward with the smooth-as-silk jump shot, started to score and breathe confidence into a young team. Suddenly, Kentucky went cold. At half-