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Guard play will be key for Vanderbilt, Arkansas in SEC final

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Syndication: The TennesseanVanderbilt guard Duke Miles (2) starts a fast break against Florida during their semifinal game of the 2026 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 14, 2026.

NASHVILLE — No. 22 Vanderbilt will try to win its first Southeastern Conference tournament championship since 2012 when it meets 17th-ranked Arkansas on Sunday.

The Commodores (26-7), playing two miles from their campus, routed fourth-ranked Florida (the tournament’s top seed) by a 91-74 score on Saturday, snapping the Gators’ 12-game winning streak.

“Proud of the guys,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said afterward. “Not really much celebrating. It’s on to Sunday, and that’s what we started this tournament for, is to play for a trophy on Sunday, and that’s what we have a chance to do tomorrow.”

Vanderbilt enters on a four-game winning streak, none of those wins coming on its campus.

Arkansas (25-8) has also won four straight, surviving in a 93-90 overtime win over Ole Miss to get here.

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It’ll be the third game in three days for both teams, and Arkansas coach John Calipari was particularly perturbed about tournament scheduling on Friday evening.

After beating Oklahoma in a game that ended around 11:30 p.m. Central on Friday, Calipari lamented a Sunday tip-off that comes less than 19 hours after Arkansas finished off the Rebels.

Vanderbilt knows something about overcoming difficult circumstances lately.

The Commodores struggle against teams with size and rebounding, but in their last three games have knocked off the nation’s top offensive rebounding team in Tennessee (twice) and then clocked the Gators, who rank second.

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Vanderbilt was beaten on the glass by Tennessee by counts of 40-31 and 46-34, and then 38-23 by Florida.

But neither team could come close to matching Vanderbilt’s guard play of Tyler Tanner (19.2 ppg, 5.2 apg, 2.4 spg) and Duke Miles (16.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 2.6 spg).

The two have been a wrecking crew most of the season through their quickness and play-making ability. Tanner was a first-team All-SEC pick and Miles scored 30 in the win Friday over Tennessee.

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Arkansas also has elite guards, led by SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff Jr. (22.7 ppg, 6.5 apg) and Meleek Thomas (15.6 ppg). Acuff scored 24 and dished out seven assists on Saturday and Thomas added 29 and five.

Thomas played all 45 minutes on Saturday, just as he did in an 88-84 win over Missouri when Acuff was out with injury.

“There is no one that would say to Meleek anything that would believe him to believe he’s not as good as good as any player in the country,” Calipari said after Saturday. “He has otherworldly — otherworldly, now — confidence. Like, he could run for president one day. … I’ve gotta let him do some crazy stuff. I get on him but he’ll look at me like, ‘You’re nuts. You don’t have any idea how good I am.’ And I love that.”

The Razorbacks handed Vanderbilt its most lopsided loss of the season with a 93-68 walloping in Fayetteville on Jan. 20.

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Arkansas is best in the country at avoiding turnovers (12.2%), per KenPom.

The 6-foot-3 Acuff and 6-5 Thomas also have the height advantage, respectively, on Tanner (6-0) and Miles (6-2), who had just 11 and five points, respectively, in the first game.

–Chris Lee, Field Level Media

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England backs shine as Bath beat Saracens to reach Champions Cup quarter-finals

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Bath turned to a quartet of their England backs to turn the tide as they edged into the Champions Cup quarter-finals with a 31-22 victory over Saracens.

Trailing 10-0 at the interval at the Recreation Ground, the hosts burst into life with tries from Henry Arundell, Joe Cokanasiga, Ben Spencer and Ollie Lawrence as they set up a last-eight appointment at home against Northampton.

Spencer’s 59th-minute finish of an audacious attack that began on their own try-line looked to be pivotal but determined Saracens refused to throw in the towel and were only truly beaten when Arundell ran in his second in the 80th minute.

Bath’s scrum needed rescuing after a humbling first half with the introduction of prop Thomas du Toit making the difference and the South Africa tighthead was named man of the match.

Unlike their visit to the Recreation Ground a fortnight ago when they were overwhelmed 62-15, it was clear Saracens meant business from the start as they halted an early Bath onslaught including holding up a forward drive over the line.

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Having proved their mettle in defence, they surged ahead in the 14th minute when Charlie Bracken deceived Cokanasiga with a dummy from the base of a maul and raced over.

It was poor defending from Cokanasiga, but at the other end Saracens continued to show far greater determination as the outstanding Tom Willis bulldozed a way through heavy traffic to rescue a dangerous position.

Bath’s scrum was beginning to buckle and they were also suffering at the breakdown, but the visitors were their own worst enemies at times with Fergus Burke failing to find touch with a penalty.

Rhys Carre rampaged into space and Noah Caluori almost crossed in the left corner before Guy Pepper was shown a yellow card for cynically heading the ball away on the floor.

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So many elements of Saracens’ game were firing but the points they deserved proved elusive with a Farrell penalty their only other score in a half they had controlled.

To punish their wastefulness, Arundell sprinted across after being released by Charlie Ewels early in the second half and then Cokanasiga scooped up a loose ball to weave over after Lawrence had carried into space.

The tries sandwiched a dramatic reversal in the scrum with Beno Obano sin-binned for a cumulation of penalties before Du Toit forced a penalty, providing Cokanasiga with the platform to score.

Bath led for the first time and then produced the highlight of the afternoon by stopping Saracens from scoring by dislodging the ball from Andy Onyeama-Christie as he ran at the line before striking with a move that began from their own whitewash.

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Cokanasiga escaped the 22, found Alfie Barbeary who waited for Spencer and the England scrum-half had gas to finish from long range.

Maro Itoje and then Ivan van Zyl burst through the breakdown and Saracens were far from done as a period of pressure ended with Max Malins touching down in the left corner.

But Harry Wilson was the next to see yellow for a dangerous tackle on Miles Reid and soon after Lawrence crashed over from close range.

Caluori replied for Saracens, but Bath had the final say at the death through Arundell.

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Top AEW star in trouble; asks history making champion for help against Death Riders

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A top AEW star, currently in the crosshairs of the Death Riders, recently asked a historic champion outside the promotion to help him against Moxley’s group.

The star we’re highlighting here is none other than Will Ospreay. The British talent recently made a major comeback to AEW, returning at Revolution 2026 last month after being sidelined with a neck injury since Forbidden Door 2025 in August. Upon his return, the Aerial Assassin immediately targeted the Death Riders, the group responsible for his long absence. The Sky King is set to face group leader Jon Moxley in a highly anticipated showdown at Dynasty 2026 on April 12. Meanwhile, Ospreay also recently made his in-ring return for NJPW, appearing at the promotion’s Sakura Genesis event, where he teamed up with United Empire’s Great-O-Khan and HENARE in a six-man tag team match, which his team won. Beyond that, Ospreay had an interesting discussion with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman.

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The main event of NJPW Sakura Genesis featured Newman defending his title against Yota Tsuji. Newman, who made wrestling history by becoming the youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion, managed to defeat Tsuji in their match. Later backstage, Ospreay was seen asking the United Empire and Newman for help at work, seemingly implying that he needs assistance in dealing with the Death Riders.

Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley at AEW Dynasty will now be a title match

Many fans know that Will Ospreay’s chance to face Jon Moxley at Dynasty later this month was initially set as a regular singles match. However, recent events between the two at Collision this Thursday have caused the Purveyor of Violence to now defend his coveted Continental Title in that matchup.

For context, Moxley was attacked by the Aerial Assassin on Collision after his Continental Title eliminator match against Anthony Bowens. Ospreay was about to take out the One True King with a chair before the Death Riders arrived to make the save. The British star then challenged Moxley to put his Continental title on the line at Dynasty. The match change was soon made official by AEW.