SEC Tournament Wednesday Night Results
Mississippi State 70, South Carolina 59
Texas A&M 71, Auburn62
Thursday SEC Tournament Games…
LSU vs Georgia…Tennessee vs Mississippi State…Vanderbilt vs Arkansas…Texas A&M vs Missouri
Florida’s Billy Donovan was named the SEC’s Coach of the Year
Georgia F Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was named the SEC’s Player of the Year
Vanderbilt DT Jared Morse is currently away from school after breaking a team rule, though coach James Franklin is hopeful he can return
East Tennessee State is considering re-starting its football program and on top of the school’s wish list of coaches is former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer
In 2011-12, Kentucky made $21.6 million in basketball revenue, tops in the SEC
Ole Miss made $5.9 in basketball revenue in 2011-12, the worst number in the SEC

1. Vanderbilt defensive tackle Jared Morse is no longer with the team or enrolled in school. Coach James Franklin: “Jared broke a team rule and is not here this spring. We’re hoping that Jared will have a chance to come back. We’ll see.” Depth at defensive tackle a concern.

2. Spring practice starts Friday at Vanderbilt.  Expect a battle at quarterback.

3. The brother of former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson signed with LSU in February.  Just days before, Rickey Jefferson was charged with resisting arrest.

4. Spring practice begins tomorrow at LSU.  Despite returning top four players, no position will be under the microscope more than wide receiver.

5. Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds are competing to be the feature back at South Carolina. Running backs coach Everette Sands says whoever emerges will get 60 to 65 percent of the snaps.

6. Will Muschamp announces several position changes at Florida.  Cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy will move to wide receiver - at least temporarily – where he’s listed as a starter.

7. Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel: “We’re no longer the underdog, like we were a little bit last year.” More troubles for Florida lineman Jessaman Dunker.

8. New Tennessee running backs coach Robert Gillespie spent four years as a running back at Florida battling the Vols.  ”You never know where life is going to take you.”

9. “Real football” at Tennessee starts Thursday when the players will practice in pads for the first time.

10. Mario Cristobal will make $475,000 as offensive line coach at Alabama.  He earned $522,000 as a head coach in 2012.

11. Auburn’s 2013 coaching staff will make about $1.6 million less than the 2012 staff did.

12. Arkansas had the worst rushing attack in the SEC last year – and with Knile Davis gone to the NFL – is the cupboard looking a little bare?

13. First choice for football coach at East Tennessee State?  Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer -was on campus Friday.

SEC Basketball

14. No SEC team generates more basketball revenue than Kentucky.  $21.6 million in 2011-2012.  Ole Miss last at $5.9 million.

15. With Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson named second-team All-SEC on Tuesday, it marked the first time in twelve years that the SEC’s leading scorer was left off the first team.

16. Peers picked Florida’s Billy Donovan as SEC Coach of the Year – but NBC Sports selected Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy for the honor.

17. SEC Player of the Year Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is ranked the No. 31 overall NBA prospect by ESPN’s Chad Ford.  Georgia sophomore will decide after season if he will leave early.

18. Georgia will face LSU Thursday in the SEC Tournament.  Tigers coach Johnny Jones on Caldwell-Pope: “He’s crafty. He’s excellent with the basketball in terms of his ball-handling skills.”

19. NBA questions surround underclassmen Arkansas players BJ Young and Marshawn Powell – but for now the focus is the postseason.

20. Charles Barkley’s message for most underclassmen? Stay in school.  “I don’t think these guys understand how physically imposing the NBA is. The (Noel) Nerlens kid needs to stay in school. It’s not an easy decision.”

21. Did Tennessee’s Jordan McRae deserve the POY honor? Teammate Jarnell Stokes was second-team All-SEC despite being the only player to average a double-double in league play.

22. SEC Tournament gets underway tonight with Mississippi State playing South Carolina in the first game. Not a single player on the Mississippi State roster has played in an SEC Tournament.

23. South Carolina coach Frank Martin will be an assistant coach for Team USA in the 2013 World University Games.

24. Texas A&M likes their tournament draw.  Aggies have defeated five of the six opponents on their side of the bracket.

25. Elston Turner has a broken bone in his finger and didn’t play in the Aggies last game but Auburn is planning on him to show tonight.  Auburn coach Tony Barbee: ”The type of competitor he is, I fully expect him to be out there playing.”

26. Five years ago, Georgia went 4-12 in the SEC but won the tournament.  How does that team compare to this year’s bottom of the SEC?

27. Kentucky coach John Calipari on UK’s season.  ”Some of the stuff went on that won’t go on next year…The bench is going to be my best friend.”

28. Mizzou senior Alex Oriakhi won a national title at Connecticut in 2011, but he wants to be identified with the Tigers.  “Other people might not like that. But oh, well.”

29. The father of Mizzou guard Phil Pressey says talk of the point guard leaving early for the NBA is premature. “When the season is over with, we’ll sit and talk with his coach and my wife and him and evaluate what’s best for Phil.’ ”

30. How good was Alabama in the SEC Tournament under Wimp Sanderson?  25-7 record and reached the finals nine times in 12 years.

31. Get used to Nashville as the host city for the SEC Tournament.  Counting this year’s tourney, it will be there three of the next four years.

Extra

32. Here’s what happens when Jeff Gordon shows up in a disguise on the car lot and wants to take a test drive.

A rumor about Les Miles that started on an Alabama messageboard quickly spread to Twitter over the weekend.  But it took a few days before the LSU coach even heard about it. He was unfazed. Miles told AJC.com, “Yes, I don’t pay much attention to those kinds of things. “It’s just one of those things, I guess.”

Miles, who counts more than 100,000 Twitter followers, does occasionally find time for new technology.

“I’m an inconsistent tweeter, in general. For instance, the Super Bowl and the Miami Heat game, those were two events where I had nothing to do but watch. Know what I mean? The time before that was the College World Series when South Carolina was playing Arizona, and I tweeted a couple of innings from one of those games.

“What I do when I do it, this Twitter thing, it’s a self-entertaining piece for me. I certainly enjoy the acknowledgements, letting people know spring ball is getting start and that Johnny Jones is doing a great job in basketball. Those kinds of tweets are the real information but the fun stuff for me is pretending to call a game a live. I think Twitter for that is a little self-entertaining.”

Miles was asked about Twitter’s impact on recruiting.

“I got to be honest, I don’t know what role Twitter plays in recruiting. I really don’t. I can only tell you it’s entertaining, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of other things you’re doing. If you’re consumed by getting onto your electrical Social Media, it can be a problem.”

You can find Miles on Twitter @LSUCoachMiles.  

South Carolina 79 – Mississippi State 72. Video Highlights

1. Gamecocks win behind career-high 38 points from Brenton Williams.  That’s the most ever for a South Carolina player in an SEC game, second-highest point total in the league this year behind Elston Turner, Jr.’s 40 at Kentucky.

2. South Carolina coach Frank Martin: “Brent, for the last eight, 10 days, something has re-clicked there. I don’t know what it’s been. Maybe I need to ask him. But his whole vibe, his enthusiasm, his aggression, his attention to detail has been better.”

LSU 68 – Texas A&M 57. Video Highlights

3. For the fourth straight game, 20 points for Charles Carmouche.  With the victory, Tigers assured of not having to play on the opening day of the SEC Tournament.

4. With 16 points and 13 rebounds Ray Turner sparked an Aggies comeback that fell short.  A&M Billy Kennedy: ”I thought LSU physically, their guards, gave us a lot of problems.”

Florida 66 – Vanderbilt 40. Video Highlights

5. Gators clinch fourth outright SEC title in school history.  Smothering Florida defense held Vanderbilt to just 26.9 percent from the floor.

6. Kedron Johnson scores 15 points for Vanderbilt.  Commodores become the 12th team this season that fails to score at least 50 points against Florida.

Tennessee 82 – Auburn 75. Video Highlights

7. Vols go on 14-2 second-half run to pull away.  Trae Golden and Jordan McRae each score 21 points.

8. Frankie Sullivan scores 24 points to keep Auburn in the game. Tigers 14th loss in 15 games – 21st loss of the year, most total losses in a season.

Wednesday night SEC basketball
South Carolina 79, Mississippi State 72… Florida 66, Vanderbilt 40… LSU 68, Texas A&M 57… Tennessee 82, Auburn 75
Kentucky travels to Georgia Thursday night
Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel will likely take out an insurance policy to protect him against devastating injury
Ole Miss has hired Jason Jones from Oklahoma State as its new cornerbacks coach
As spring practice opens, South Carolina is having to replace all three of its starting linebackers
Texas A&M will be replacing five starters from its defensive front seven this spring
Alabama coach Nick Saban: “I really like where our team is, how they’ve worked during the offseason conditioning program.”
You can follow SEC football and basketball action every day at MrSEC.com and on Twitter at twitter.com/mrsec

The College Football Hall of Fame unveiled its 2013 ballot today.  82 players and five coaches are on the list.  Fourteen of those players and one of those coaches toiled at SEC schools.

The National Football Foundation stipulates that:

“Players must have been named a First Team All-America by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams; played their last year of intercollegiate football at least ten years prior; played within the last 50 years and cannot be currently playing professional football.”

The votes are tabulated, but a special panel actually takes that information and uses it to decide who will be inducted each year.  This year ten of the SEC’s 14 football programs are represented:

Alabama

Derrick Thomas, LB

Arkansas

Brandon Burlsworth, OG

Leotis Harris, OG

Auburn

Buddy McClinton, DB

Florida

Danny Wuerffel, QB

Georgia

Matt Stinchcomb, OT

Scott Woerner, DB

Kentucky

Art Still, DE

Mississippi

Wesley Walls, TE

South Carolina

Sterling Sharpe, WR

Jim Carlen, Coach (1975-81)

Tennessee

Bobby Majors, DB

Paul Naumoff, LB

Jackie Walker, LB

Texas A&M

Tony Franklin, K

SEC Basketball

1. Billy Donovan and Florida are preparing for another run in March.

2. Florida has a healthy lineup, something the Gators have rarely seen this year.

3. Alabama coach Anthony Grant is concerned with foul calls from his team’s aggressive play.

4. Missouri was left in “great shape” for Frank Haith, according to former coach Mike Anderson.

5. There will be plenty of drama tonight when Arkansas and Missouri play.

6. Kentucky believes it still has plenty to play for following a loss at Arkansas.

7. Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork isn’t discussing Andy Kennedy’s job status. “Our focus is on the rest of the season.”

8. Here’s where Georgia stands entering the final week of the regular season.

9. Mississippi State will need to beat South Carolina in a different way this time.

10. Tennessee guard Jordan McRae is giving “no thoughts” to the NBA.

11. Vanderbilt’s Kevin Bright was named the SEC freshman of the week for the second time this season.

SEC Football

12. Athlon takes a look at the top spring storylines for all 14 SEC teams.

13. Nick Saban on impending deregulation of recruiting rules: “I’m kind of happy with the system we have now.”

14. What will Auburn’s offense require from its quarterbacks? Find out here.

15. Early enrollee J.J. Green, who could play wide receiver, is helping Georgia at running back.

16. Kentucky has already sold 23,000 tickets to the spring game. Last year? Less than 5,000 people attended.

17. Darryl Slater has thoughts on South Carolina’s depth chart as spring practice is set to begin.

18. ESPN will broadcast Texas A&M’s spring game on April 13.

19. Texas A&M has a “different mojo going on” compared to last spring.

Extras

20. Coming in August: Fox Sports 1, an all-sports network “to compete with ESPN.”

21. Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com has predictions for all the conference tournaments.

22. Speaking of, ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan wants to do away with automatic bids for conference tourney winners.

23. Did officials at a medical facility violate federal law during the NCAA’s investigation of Connecticut?

24. Could former Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft?

Tennessee has a new running backs coach. Head coach Butch Jones announced Friday night that West Virginia running backs coach Robert Gillespie has been hired to replace Jay Graham, who departed for Florida State.

“Coach Gillespie brings a vast knowledge of the SEC, having been part of it as both a player and a coach,” Jones said. In addition to coaching at West Virginia, Gillespie has spent time at South Carolina and Oklahoma State.  Jay Graham replaced Gillespie at South Carolina when he left for Oklahoma State.  Gillespie played his college ball at Florida, rushing for more than 1,800 yards from 1998 to 2001.

In addition to Gillespie, Tennessee also interviewed Georgia assistant Tony Ball.  Georgia A.D. Greg McGarity confirmed Friday night that Ball interviewed with Tennessee but is staying with the Bulldogs.  Footballscoop.com reported Friday night that Ball had “accepted UGA’s counter.”  Current Tennessee assistant coaches John Jancek and Willie Martinez had spent time on the Georgia staff with Ball, who has coached the Bulldogs wide receivers the past four seasons.

Alabama at Florida

1. Possible regular season SEC title on the line today in Gainesville.  Since beating Mississippi State back in 2004, Alabama is 0-12 in road games against ranked teams.

2. Anthony Grant was Billy Donovan’s assistant for 12 years - 10 of them at Florida.  ”Our relationship is way bigger than basketball.”

3. Florida is expecting the return of Michael Frazier II and Will Yeguete today. Forward Erik Murphy: “Obviously it’s great to have those guys back… but we can’t expect too much out of those guys.”

Tennessee at Georgia

4. Tennessee hasn’t lost since the last time they faced Georgia.  Big focus for the Vols -stopping Kentavavious Caldwell-Pope, the SEC’s second-leading scorer.

5. Tennessee has won six straight while Georgia has lost three games in the last two weeks where they were tied or leading going into the final minute.  Forward Nemanja Djurisic: “Emotionally, we’re beat up a little bit from all those losses.”

Kentucky at Arkansas

6. After losing Nerlens Noel and losing to Tennessee by 30 points, Kentucky has won three straight.  Point guard Ryan Harrow: “Everybody is starting to click together.”

7. Arkansas coming off a loss at LSU this week. Coach Mike Anderson: “I want to see how we are going to respond coming off a tough loss playing against a Kentucky team that is playing well right now.”

LSU at Missouri

8. LSU has already beaten Missouri on their home court, but expecting a different challenge on the road.  Coach Johnny Jones: ”They’re a much-improved team than the night that we had an opportunity to play them here, and we are as well.”

9. Quick turnaround for Missouri after playing Thursday night at South Carolina.  Guard Phil Pressey: “That means less practice. I love it, man, I love it.”

Ole Miss at Mississippi State

10. Considered a bubble NCAA Tournament team, Ole Miss needs every win it can get.  Coach Andy Kennedy: “I do feel a sense of urgency. f you don’t have it now, then I’m not sure when you are ever going to find it.”

11. While the Rebels think about the postseason, the Bulldogs try to break a 13-game losing streak.  Coach Rick Ray visits fraternity and sorority houses this week in an attempt to fill the student section today.

South Carolina at Texas A&M

12. Gamecocks have lost two straight after losing at home Thursday night to Missouri. Coach Frank Martin: “The disappointing thing is, we had been doing things good and we didn’t do them well.”

13. Aggies guard Elston Turner, Jr. is the SEC’s third-leading scorer at 17.6 points per game.  A&M coach Billy Kennedy: “His all-around game is the best in the league from a perimeter standpoint.”

Vanderbilt at Auburn

14. Vanderbilt is up to 10th place in the SEC standings and that’s important. Avoid Day One of the SEC Tournament.

15. Auburn has dropped 12 of its last 13 games. Coach Tony Barbee: “We’re having to rehash things we taught in August, September, October. That’s the frustration part.”