After the first night of the third annual ACC/SEC Men's Basketball Challenge, the SEC appeared to be in dire trouble, winning just three of the nine games scheduled against opponents from the rival ACC.
The Oklahoma men were one of the three SEC teams that survived the opening night of this year's ACC/SEC Challenge, using a big second half to defeat Wake Forest 86-68 on Tuesday. Texas A&M and Georgia were the other two teams out of the SEC that came out on the winning side on the first night. A&M defeated Pittsburgh 81-73, and Georgia protected home court with a 107-73 beatdown of Florida State. OU's and A&M's victories were both road wins.
Oklahoma helps SEC win ACC/SEC Men's Challenge
The tides turned in dominant fashion on the second night of action, however, with SEC teams victorious in six of the seven matchups. Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt were all winners on Wednesday night. Texas lost at home to Virginia 88-69, preventing what could have been a SEC clean sweep on the second night.
Among the casualties in the two-day interconference challenge were defending national champion Florida, a loser to Duke, and Tennessee, an Elite Eight team in last season's NCAA Tournament. No. 4 Duke edged the No. 15 Gators 67-66, and No. 13 Tennessee fell to Syracuse 62-60.
The dramatic turnaround on Wednesday night enabled the SEC to complete the third year of the challenge -- the second for both Oklahoma and Texas -- with a 9-7 record. Oklahoma also won its challenge game a year ago, defeating Georgia Tech 76-61.
The two conferences split the 14 games in Year 1 of the ACC/SEC Challenge in 2023. The SEC was 14-2 in Year 2. After three seasons, the SEC leads with an overall record of 30-16.