Auburn riding 3-game winning streak, surging in SEC race

February 8, 2019 at 11:42 a.m.

by STEVE MEGARGEE and DAVID BRANDT, AP Sports Writers

Auburn guard Bryce Brown (2) dribbles against Mississippi State guard Nick Weatherspoon (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Auburn guard Bryce Brown (2) dribbles against Mississippi State guard Nick Weatherspoon (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Here are some things to watch in Southeastern Conference basketball this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK

Auburn at No. 21 LSU: Auburn's bounced back from a tough stretch to win three games in a row. The Tigers (16-6, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) are also starting to get healthy: 6-foot-11 Austin Wiley played five minutes in a win against Florida for his first action since Jan. 16. His presence gives Auburn a needed boost in the paint. LSU bounced back from its only league loss with a 92-88 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday. LSU (18-4, 8-1) has an 11-1 record at home this season.

LSU forward Naz Reid (0) tries to knock away the ball after a rebound by Texas A&M guard Savion Flagg, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
LSU forward Naz Reid (0) tries to knock away the ball after a rebound by Texas A&M guard Savion Flagg, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

LOOKING AHEAD

Can Arkansas climb back into NCAA Tournament contention? The Razorbacks (14-8, 5-4) have quietly moved into fifth place in the league after a three-game winning streak, including a surprising 90-89 victory at LSU . Now they've got a difficult, but not impossible, stretch that includes road games against South Carolina and Missouri before returning home to face Mississippi State.

LSU guard Tremont Waters (3) and Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford (10) scramble for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)
LSU guard Tremont Waters (3) and Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford (10) scramble for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)

NUMBERS GAME

No. 1 Tennessee (21-1, 9-0) has a school-record 17 straight victories, giving the Volunteers the longest active winning streak of any Division I team. ... LSU's victory at Mississippi State on Wednesday was its third overtime road win of the season. The others were a 94-88 triumph at Arkansas and an 86-80 win at Missouri . ... No. 5 Kentucky (19-3, 8-1) has held each of its last six opponents to 63 points or less. The Wildcats' last three opponents haven't exceeded 55 points. ... Vanderbilt (9-13, 0-9) has made a 3-pointer in 1,053 straight games and Arkansas has made a 3-pointer in 999 consecutive games. ... Auburn's 76-62 victory over Florida (12-10, 4-5) marked the Tigers' first regular-season victory over the Gators since 1999. That doesn't include Auburn's SEC Tournament wins over Florida in 2000 and 2009.

In this Jan. 23, 2019, file photo, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes watches the action in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. The Volunteers don't have a single top-100 recruit on their roster, yet they're ranked No. 1 and have a school-record 17 straight victories for the longest active winning streak of any Division I team. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
In this Jan. 23, 2019, file photo, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes watches the action in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. The Volunteers don't have a single top-100 recruit on their roster, yet they're ranked No. 1 and have a school-record 17 straight victories for the longest active winning streak of any Division I team. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

IMPACT PERFORMER

Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford has scored 51 points over his past two games, looking every bit like the NBA prospect he's projected to be. The 6-foot-11 sophomore had 23 points on 11 of 15 shooting in an upset win over LSU and followed that with 28 points and nine rebounds against Vanderbilt in a hard-fought 69-66 win . Gafford is averaging 16.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting nearly 65 percent from the field.

Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford, right, dunks the ball over Vanderbilt defender Clevon Brown, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford, right, dunks the ball over Vanderbilt defender Clevon Brown, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE

No. 6 Mississippi State (21-1, 9-0) is outscoring teams by an average of 33.8 points and leads all Division I teams in scoring margin. Mississippi State's Jazzmun Holmes leads all Division I players in assist-turnover ratio (4.44). The Bulldogs have won 25 straight SEC games heading into Sunday's matchup with Tennessee. The SEC's only other ranked teams are No. 12 South Carolina (16-5, 8-1), No. 18 Texas A&M (18-4, 7-2) and No. 19 Kentucky (18-5, 5-4). Texas A&M has won seven straight games.

Kentucky's Keldon Johnson (3) confers with referee Joe Lindsay during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. Kentucky won 76-48. (AP Photo/James Crisp)
Kentucky's Keldon Johnson (3) confers with referee Joe Lindsay during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. Kentucky won 76-48. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

NW News on 02/09/2019

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