Depending on the source you study, the SEC still has as many as four teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble (we believe there are really only two, but we’ll explain that in greater detail later today.)  Fans of bubble hopefuls Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Tennessee should be pulling for a couple of different things to happen at the SEC tourney in Nashville this week — either for their own team to cut down the nets or for Florida or Missouri to capture the title.

A championship for UA, UK, UM, or UT will give that winning team the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and prevent any Selection Sunday sweating they might have to endure otherwise.  A win by Florida or Missouri would give the auto-bid to a team that’s already earned its ticket to the Big Dance.

What the SEC’s bubble teams don’t need is some underdog squad making a surprise run to capture the tournament crown.

Just as upsets in other league tourneys can take away at-large berths, so too can an upset-winner in Nashville.  If a Georgia, Arkansas, LSU, or some other team works its way onto the SEC’s trophy-presentation podium on Sunday, there will be one less NCAA at-large bid available to the Crimson Tide, Rebels, Volunteers, and Wildcats.

That’s just the state of things in Nashville.  The SEC’s bubble teams also need to be keeping an eye on the following key conference tournaments across the country this week:

Conference USA – SEC bubble hopefuls should be pulling for Memphis to win its league tournament.  The Tigers were regular-season champs and are currently 27-4 with an RPI of 16.  Southern Miss is 21-8 with an RPI of 35 and a seat squarely on the bubble.  It’s possible C-USA might just be a one-bid league if Memphis wins the title.  The Tigers went 16-0 in conference play and fans in Knoxville, Lexington, Oxford, and Tuscaloosa should be rooting for them to be just as successful in their league tourney this week.

Horizon League – It’s doubtful that regular-season champ Valparaiso (24-7, RPI 60) would earn an at-large bid if it’s upset in its league tournament, but better safe than sorry.  Fans of SEC bubble teams should be pulling for Valpo when they play Wright State in the finals on Tuesday.

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Looking at Wednesday’s signees — including junior college and prep school athletes — here’s a snapshot of the talent produced by the state of Mississippi in 2013 (as graded by Rivals.com):

5-stars = 1

4-stars = 11

3- stars = 36

Total 3+ stars = 48

Here’s where the state’s 10 highest-ranked players are headed:

Ole Miss = 4

Mississippi State = 3

Auburn = 1

Memphis = 1

Southern Miss = 1

Loyalty:  Eight out of the Magnolia State’s 10 best recruits decided to stay close to home for their college careers.  While the SEC’s two Mississippi-based schools may duke it out every year, if they can continue to divvy up the tip-top local talent each year they’ll both benefit.

Butch Jones named Tennessee’s new football coach…
Jones spent last three years at the University of Cincinnati, where he was twice named Big East Coach of the Year…
Jones has a 50-27 career record as a head coach
Jones will be the 24th head coach in the history of the Volunteers football program
Texas A&M quarterback Manziel named Davey O’Brien Award winner Thursday night
Alabama’s Barrett Jones wins the 2012 Rimington Trophy as the nation’s best center
Follow all the news from around America’s best sports conference at MrSEC.com and twitter.com/mrsec

Lashay Page is going home to the Palmetto State.  (And having just spent a few days over there, I can’t blame him.)

The Southern Miss guard who averaged 11.6 points and 3.4 rebounds last season said over the weekend that he’s “thrilled about having the opportunity to play for Frank martin and turning the South Carolina program around.”  Page was given his release by new Golden Eagles coach Donnie Tyndall earlier this month.  His mother died in February the player — who has a five-year-old daughter in Marion, South Carolina — is hoping to get NCAA and SEC waivers that would allow him to play immediately for the Gamecocks.

The SEC instituted a “no one-year transfer rule for graduate students” just a year ago, but the league has already shown that it will allow players — like new Missouri hoops transfer Alex Oriakhi — to play if they enter a graduate program not offered by their old school.  (So, basically, the rule has no teeth, which is a good thing because it was a bad rule.)

Page is on schedule to graduate at Southern Miss this summer.

Headlines only today as yours truly starts a little mini-break.  The next few days, Mike Mitchell will provide daily headlines and Josh Ward will handle recruiting news — as usual — as well as any breaking news coverage.  I might have an extra story or two in the hopper for early next week, but just be aware the next few days are mid-summer breaktime.

Now, on with the news…

1.  College hoops coaches are now free to call and text around the country at their whim.

2.  The fight for a college football playoff creeps and crawls towards a resolution.

3.  This isn’t a sports story, but questions are now being raised about how quickly Auburn students were informed of a weekend shooting… and a shooter who was on the loose.

4.  Arkansas will open its 2013 football slate against Southern Miss in Fayetteville.

5.  Comedian Dave Chappelle got a kick out of a trademark Razorback Hog Call during a Little Rock show.

6.  For a guy that throws a lot of barbs and needles, Dan Mullen has got some thin skin.  MSU’s coach took offense to something Louisiana Tech’s Sonny Dykes said in praise of his own players… and then Mullen took a straight shot at Dykes’ coaching ability.  (State fans love him the way Vandy fans love Franklin, Gamecock fans love Spurrier, and Volunteer fans once loved Kiffin… but all four of those guys are/were bratty.)

7.  Ex-Bulldog hoopster Renardo Sidney has been dropped by his agent.

8.  Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze says his school doesn’t “have the talent level that people in the SEC West have right now at a lot of spots” and “that’s not fixed overnight.”

9.  Kevin Sumlin – talking of a a fresh start for the Aggies in 2012 — joked with Texas A&M boosters that his team’s still undefeated and he just won his fifth straight spring game.

10. Virginia Tech freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith is reportedly transferring to Florida’s basketball program.

11.  Good news: Gator linebacker Neiron Ball has been cleared to return to football after suffering a brain hemorrhage in February of 2011.

12.  Kentucky players are loving the upgrades made to their football facility.

13.  New South Carolina hoops coach Frank Martin believes his school’s support for baseball can carry over to the Colonial Life Arena.  (Of course, winning back-to-back NCAA titles hlps.)

14.  Former DePaul and Virginia head coach Dave Leitao is joining Frank Haith’s staff at Missouri.

15.  Tiger football coach Gary Pinkel told a Nashville radio station that Mizzou’s recruiting “is going as well as it has ever gone for us” thanks in large part to a move to the SEC.

During the 2011 football season, Steve Spurrier raised eyebrows with occasional digs at his defense.  The rumor mill began to spin.  Spurrier and Ellis Johnson — Carolina’s de facto defensive coordinator — were no longer seeing eye to eye.

When Johnson left his home state of South Carolina to take over as head coach at Southern Miss, some took it as a sign that there really had been a growing gulf between the Cock’s top two coaches.

But the words of Carolina’s new secondary coach — former USM and Johnson assistant Grady Brown — suggest otherwise:


“(Johnson) was really good about me coming here.  He had nothing but good things to say about his time spent here in Columbia.  He actually encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity.  He told me about how Coach Spurrier was a great coach to work for and this town is a great town.

He hated to see me go, obviously, but he had nothing but good things to say about South Carolina and really encouraged me to take advantage of this opportunity.  I’m definitely happy and pleased with how he handled it.  We have a great relationship.  He thinks a lot of South Carolina.”


Johnson had decided to hang onto Brown, convincing him to return to Hattiesburg rather than depart for North Carolina with Larry Fedora.  Impressive then that he would encourage Brown to follow up on the opportunity presented by Spurrier and the Gamecock program.

Auburn has received a commitment from offensive lineman Robert Leff from Fairhope (Ala.) High School.

Leff had been committed to Southern Miss but switched his commitment after Auburn offered him a scholarship on Tuesday morning.

“It’s playing in the SEC against the best of the best,” Leff told 247Sports.com. “That’s how you get better is playing against people better than you. If you don’t look for competition, you’re not going to get any better.”

Leff is Auburn’s 16th commitment for the class of 2012 and third offensive lineman to choose the Tigers.

1.  Auburn slipped past Florida A&M 76-69 last night, but Tony Barbee isn’t happy his team plays down to the level of its competition.

2.  Might AU use a “mystery tailback” in the Chick-fil-A Bowl?

3.  Alabama is getting back to basics for its bowl preps.

4.  Outgoing offensive coordinator Jim McElwain got emotional when Nick Saban praised him to the team during practice… and the team responded with applause.

5.  Freshman quarterback Brandon Allen is drawing praise at Arkansas during bowl practice.

6.  Will tailback Knile Davis play in the Cotton Bowl and burn a medical redshirt?  Will he return next year?  Or turn pro?  No one’s saying.

7.  Of LSU’s two All-American cornerbacks, Morris Claiborne is the low-key one.

8.  MSU’s linebacking corps jelled as the season played out.

9.  Quarterback Tyler Russell will play through the pain of an MCL sprain in the Music City Bowl.

10.  Mississippi’s Hugh Freeze and his staff of five assistants are trying to play catch-up on the recruiting trail.

11.  The Rebels’ new head coach said yesterday that he’ll be calling plays next season… even though he still might give someone else the “offensive coordinator” title.

12.  In hindsight, Will Muschamp says he should have put his first Florida team through a more physical August camp.

13.  The roundball Gators whooped up on Mississippi Valley State 82-54 last night.

14.  Georgia has wrapped up the on-campus part of its Outback Bowl preps.

15.  The Dawgs want to make amends for last season’s bowl loss to UCF when they face Michigan State.

16.  Mark Fox’s basketball team hosts Mercer tonight.

17.  Kentucky’s Darius Miller says he’s been rushing the 3-point shot.

18.  John Calipari is trying to create a “Breakfast Club” on his Wildcat team.  (That’s my cue to do this for those of you who are children of the ’80s.)

19.  UK and the city of Lexington continue to differ over the future of Rupp Arena.

20.  Melvin Ingram told fellow Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney to “keep pushing” through the freshman wall.

21.  When Ellis Johnson is announced as Southern Miss’ new head coach, Steve Spurrier will lose a solid recruiter.

22.  Tennessee may be on a four-game losing streak but Cuonzo Martin is “sticking to the script.”

23.  Martin also won’t cut Trae Golden’s minutes just because he’s got a broken nose.

24.  Vanderbilt got a 29-point performance from Jeffery Taylor — who was coming off a bad stomach bug — in a 99-71 win over Longwood last night.

25.  It looks like Cincinnati will have a healthy Zach Collaros at quarterback when they face the Commodores in the Liberty Bowl.

In a blow to the South Carolina football program, the Gamecocks’ top defensive assistant, Ellis Johnson, will be taking over as head coach at Southern Miss according to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger.  The hire is expected to be made official today.  With Larry Fedora coaching USM once last time in their bowl game, it’s expected that Johnson will stay with USC for its Capital One Bowl date with Nebraska.

Johnson was in Hattiesburg interviewing for a second time with the school yesterday.  The 59-year-old — who turns 60 on Friday — once served as an assistant at USM in 1988 and 1989.

He has served as defensive coordinator at Clemson (1995-1996), Alabama (1997-2000), Mississippi State (2004-2007) and at South Carolina since ’07.  From 2001 to 2003 he served as the head coach of The Citadel.

Steve Spurrier’s turnaround of the Carolina program can be traced to two things: recruiting and defense.  Oddly enough, the Ol’ Ball Coach’s offense has not just found a way to take flight in Columbia.  A quick look at the Cocks’ D under Johnson shows how much improvement has been made on his watch:


2007 — 9th in total defense (SEC), 56th in total defense (nation)
2008 — 4th in total defense (SEC), 13th in total defense (nation)
2009 — 3rd in total defense (SEC), 15th in total defense (nation)
2010 — 7th in total defense (SEC), 46th in total defense (nation)
2011 — 4th in total defense (SEC), 4th in total defense (nation)


Clearly, Johnson has played a big role in changing the fortunes of his homestate school. 

This isn’t to say, of course, that Spurrier can’t find a new coordinator to fill Johnson’s shoes.  After all, he was the man who grabbed Johnson in the first place.

But it does mean the Cocks will have to wade out into the coaching pool and compete with the likes of Auburn for a top coordinator.  Better get out the checkbook.

Johnson was making $750,000 in Columbia as the “assistant head coach for defense.”  Lorenzo Ward actually bears the title of “defensive coordinator.”  So it’s possible that Spurrier will simply promote Ward if he feels he’s got the chops to run the show on his own.

1. Ohio State 74 –  South Carolina 66. Early second-half lead evaporates for the Gamecocks.

2. Mississippi State 80 – Detroit 75.  Bulldogs win their 10th straight game.

3. Florida 84 – Texas A&M 64.  Billy Donovan: “I thought the first half was the best we’ve played all year.” Kenny Boynton dominates with 22 points.

4. Arkansas  62 – Southeast Louisiana  55. Mike Anderson: “A raggedy ride is better than a smooth walk.”

5. Southern Miss 86 – Ole Miss 82.  Southern Miss scores 53 points in the second half.

6. Indiana State 61 – Vanderbilt 55. Commodores drop a third non-conference game at home for the first time since the 1977-1978 season.

7. Kentucky 87 – UT Chattanooga 82.  UTC coach John Shulman on the Wildcats 18-2  run to start the game.  ”I looked at [assistant] Ricky Cabrera and said, ‘I don’t know what to do,’” Shulman said. “He looked back and said, ‘We’re playing against five NBA players. It’s OK.’”

8. Terrance Jones dislocates a finger.

9. Auburn 84 – North Florida 71.  Tigers off to their best start since the 2003-2004 season.

10. Kansas State 71 – Alabama 58.  K-State goes on a 19-6 run in second half.  Tide have lost three of last four games.

11. Georgia 63 – USC 59.  Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scores 21 for the Bulldogs.

12. Former Florida quarterback Kerwin Bell interviews at his alma mater.

13. Auburn coordinator search continues.  Mark Stoops reportedly staying at Florida State.

14. Is the Auburn program “barely recognizable”?

15.  Kiehl Frazier prepares to adjust to a post-Malzahn career at Auburn.

16. SEC Freshman of the Year Isaiah Crowell is currently reduced to second-string status.

17. Alabama is fired up for a second opportunity to face LSU.  ”This is what the world wants to see,” said strong safety Brandon Taylor.

18. Should SEC officials work the Alabama-LSU game?

19. Georgia backup quarterback Hutson Mason may transfer. Why the Bulldogs 2012 schedule could be easier than this year’s version.

20. Five South Carolina juniors submit paperwork for the NFL.

21. Mississippi State has started game planning for Wake Forest. All-SEC lineman Gabe Jackson is a key cog.

22. Attendance eroding but still high at Tennessee for both football and basketball.

23. Bobby Petrino wants the Arkansas-Texas A&M game to remain in Dallas every year.