KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- It took Nate Oats a season and 10 games to finally get a big one.
The second-year Alabama coach devised a solid game plan and got his players to execute it to finally claim a Top 10 victory Saturday night. In fact, it was the program's first true road win over a team ranked in the Top 10 since 2004.
John Petty hit three critical three-pointers and finished with 19 points, leading Alabama to a 71-63 victory over No. 7 Tennessee.
"Attitudes are all great right now," Oats said. "I really like where we're at. Petty's all about the right stuff."
The Crimson Tide (7-3, 2-0) turned a two-point halftime lead into a 10-point advantage midway through the second behind Petty's three-pointers, and two more long-range makes by Joshua Primo.
"Primo just turned 18 before SEC play," Oats said. "We're 2-0 since he's 18, and he's played two pretty good games."
Primo and Herbert Jones finished with 11 points, and Jahvon Quinerly scored 10.
"This was good for us," Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes said. "Everything we had talked about the last two weeks happened tonight. We had to guard the three-point line because they can really get it going.
"We didn't deserve to win tonight and they did."
Tennessee (7-1, 1-1) struggled from the floor the entire game, hitting 21 of 66 shots (32%).
Victor Bailey Jr. scored 16 points and Santiago Vescovi had 13 for the Volunteers. Keon Johnson added 12 points.
Yves Pons had five second-half blocks when Tennessee clawed its way back to single digits late in the game, but never got closer than six points.
"Alabama did what it wanted to do," Barnes said. "Still, we had a chance if we would have executed in the last three minutes."
"Defense the last 8 minutes was great," Oats said. "We won the game on the defensive end."
KENTUCKY 78,
MISSISSIPPI STATE 73, 2OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Freshman Dontaie Allen scored a career-high 23 points with seven three-pointers and Kentucky ended its six-game skid by beating Mississippi State.
Allen finished 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc and 8 of 14 overall.
Olivier Sarr's three-pointer to start the second overtime gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
Iverson Molinar missed a contested three-pointer at the buzzer to send it to a second overtime. The Wildcats missed three shots on their final possession to force the first extra session.
Kentucky Coach John Calipari was ejected after being issued consecutive technical fouls with 9:04 left in regulation and the Wildcats down 52-46 after Molinar's jump shot. Allen knocked down five of his three-pointers after Calipari's ejection.
Allen entered the contest having scored just a pair of baskets in 20 minutes of action in his career.
It was Kentucky's (2-6, 1-0) first win since its season opener the day before Thanksgiving.
D.J. Stewart Jr. led the Bulldogs (6-4, 1-1) with 19 points.
FLORIDA 83, LSU 79
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Colin Castleton scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half as Florida held off LSU.
Castleton scored Florida's first 15 points of the second half, including a personal 9-0 run that put the Gators up 51-45. He made two free throws and Tre Mann followed with a three-pointer to push the lead to 62-52 at the 12-minute mark.
The lead was never more than 10, but was at 10 on a Mann jumper with 3:15 to go. From there, the Gators missed four shots and the Tigers twice made it a one-possession game. Scottie Lewis made 5 of 6 free throws in the last 29 seconds, including the clinchers with 5.9 seconds to go, for Florida.
Mann scored 19 points, Lewis had 17 and Anthony Duruji 16 with 7 rebounds for the Gators (5-1, 2-0). Castleton was 7 of 10 from the floor and 7 of 7 from the line, where Florida was 20 of 23.
Freshman Cam Thomas scored 28 points for the Tigers (6-2, 1-1), who had their five-game winning streak stopped. Trendon Watford added 21 points with 8 rebounds, and Javonte Smart had 20.
TEXAS A&M 68, AUBURN 66
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Andre Gordon scored 10 points, including the game-winner with 0.9 seconds left, as Texas A&M held off Auburn.
Gordon drove the lane, pivoted and faked a shot before scoring off the glass. Jamal Johnson, who made five three-pointers, missed a three-pointer at the buzzer for the Tigers.
Emanuel Miller had 16 points and five rebounds for Texas A&M (6-3, 1-1). Miller leads the Aggies in scoring and rebounding, and his 9.2 rebounds are first in the SEC.
Jay Jay Chandler added 10 points for the Aggies, who have won seven of the last nine games against the Tigers.
Auburn (6-4, 0-2) cut a nine-point deficit with 5:34 left and tied it 66-66 with 14 seconds remaining. JT Thor had a steal and two dunks during the stretch.
Johnson finished with 20 points. Allen Flanigan (Little Rock Parkview) had 16 points, including four three-pointers, for Auburn (6-4, 0-2). Thor finished with 10 points.
SOUTH CAROLINA 78,
FLORIDA A&M 71
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- AJ Lawson scored 25 points and made two clinching free throws in the closing seconds as South Carolina held off Florida A&M, as the Gamecocks played for the first time in 28 days.
The covid-19 issues that befell the South Carolina (2-2) program ever since Dec. 5 were still in evidence as the team had just nine players available. Jermaine Couisnard added 15 points, 5 assists and 4 steals, Justin Minaya added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
WICHITA STATE 83,
MISSISSIPPI 79
OXFORD, Miss. -- Tyson Etienne scored a career-high 29 points, making a season-best five three-pointers, and Wichita State battled past Mississippi, wresting the lead away with just under two minutes left.
Etienne scored 19 in the second half, making 11 of the Shockers 13 points during one stretch to almost single-handedly keep the game tight while Ole Miss led for most of the final period.
Etienne scored a layup and a three-pointer to push Wichita State (6-2) over the top, 73-71 with 4:47 remaining. Trey Wade hit a three-pointer as the Shockers tied it 76-76, and Etienne free throws gave them the lead for good, 78-76 with 1:48 remaining.
Devontae Shuler led Ole Miss (5-3) with 20 points and KJ Buffen added a season-high 18. Shuler made a career-best six three-pointers. Romello White, who was 4-for-5 shooting in the first half, scored three points in the second, taking just one shot.