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Mississippi State, LSU Advance To Semifinals

The Associated Press

LSU's Marcus Thornton (5) and Quintin Thornton celebrate during the second half of their 67-58 win over Kentucky.

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 13, 2009

TAMPA - Florida and South Carolina were viewed as bubble teams in need of big wins in the SEC Tournament if either wanted to make the NCAA Tournament.

After Mississippi State knocked off South Carolina, 82-68, on Friday, Florida's chances of making the big dance has greatly improved.

Mississippi State advanced to the SEC semifinals and will play against LSU, a 67-58 winner against Kentucky, on Saturday at 1 p.m. The other semifinalists will be determined later this evening when Alabama plays against Tennessee at 7:30, followed by Florida against Auburn at 9:45.

If Florida is able to pull off a win, the Gators will greatly improve their chances of receiving a tournament invite, assuming they do not claim the SEC title.

On Friday, a minor upset occurred when Mississippi State knocked off South Carolina.

Bulldogs guard Barry Stewart had scored only three points (one 3-pointer) by halftime, but finished with a game-high 21 points. Stewart made 3-of-5 shoots from beyond the arc in the second half, which helped his team pull away with a win.

Meanwhile, LSU survived a stubborn Kentucky team and advanced to Saturday's semifinals.

The Wildcats narrowed their deficit to 39-34 with nearly 12 minutes remaining before LSU scored seven unanswered points to take a 10 point lead.

Later, Kentucky clawed back into the game and trailed 48-42 with nearly eight minutes remaining, but LSU went on a 10-2 run to pull away from the Wildcats.

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