Moody, Tate help No. 12 Arkansas win 11th straight SEC game
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Moses Moody scored 28 points, Jalen Tate added 22 and No. 12 Arkansas beat Texas A&M 87-80 on Saturday to match the program's longest Southeastern Conference winning streak at 11 games.
The Razorbacks also won 11 straight SEC games in 1993-94 en route to a national championship.
Arkansas (21-5, 13-4) trailed by two until Moody sank a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left, prompting Texas A&M to take a timeout. Davone Davis stole the ensuing inbound pass, threw it up the court to Justin Smith, and Smith threw down an emphatic, two-handed dunk.
Quenton Jackson’s 3-pointer from the corner on the next possession rimmed out ,and Arkansas finished the game from the free-throw line.
Moody, a freshman, tied his career high for points, while Tate finished three points shy of his best. Neither team led by more than three points from the 13-minute mark until J.D. Notae’s free throws after Jackson’s miss.
Moody and Tate torched Texas A&M for 29 of Arkansas’ 38 points at halftime on a combined 10-of-18 shooting. Texas A&M had an 18-2 run in the first, though, and led by three at the break.
Seconds before the under-12 timeout of the second half, Moody found Tate at the elbow, and the senior made a jumper to give Arkansas its first lead, 58-57.
Texas A&M (8-9, 2-8) relied on a trio, rather than Arkansas’ duo. Jackson (23 points), Emmanuel Miller (23) and Savion Flagg (16) combined for 60 points.
Davis and Justin Smith joined Moody and Tate in double figures for Arkansas with 12 and 11, respectively.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas is playing for NCAA Tournament seeding and a potential SEC Tournament crown, a trophy the Razorbacks have captured only once, in 2000. They’re likely a top-six for the NCAAs but could play their way into a top two or three with a deep SEC run.
The game was only Texas A&M’s second since Jan. 30 as postponements prompted by COVID-19 protocols sapped half the Aggies’ season. Still, the .200 winning percentage in league play was the team’s worst showing since joining the SEC in 2012-13.
UP NEXT
Arkansas was locked into its No. 2-seed for the SEC Tournament before Saturday’s result. The Razorbacks’ first game of the postseason will be Friday against the winner of the No. 10-seed and No. 7-seed game.
Texas A&M will play in the league tournament in Nashville this week, though its seed and opponent are yet unknown. The Aggies will play in the tournament opener Wednesday as either the No.12 or No. 13 seed.
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