1.  Urban Meyer’s old Florida players have mixed reaction to his move to Ohio State.

2.  So how does Georgia compare to other big SEC title game underdogs?

3.  Kentucky has supplanted North Carolina as the top-ranked basketball team in the country.

4.  Here’s a report card from South Carolina’s win over Clemson.

5.  Tennessee’s Derek Dooley says “we’re going to begin our climb right now.”

6.  Vanderbilt will host 12th-ranked Xavier in Nashville tonight.

7.  The waiting game has begun for Alabama.

8.  Tony Barbee and Auburn are gunning for a 4-0 start tonight.

9.  Arkansas will likely go bowling in Orlando or Dallas.

10.  Mark Richt has been wowed by LSU’s power running game.

11.  LSU defensive end Sam Montgomery says Alabama would provide “the ultimate test” for the Tigers.

12.  This writer has updated his list of Ole Miss coaching candidates.

13.  Rick Stansbury has Mississippi State ranked in both hoops polls.

Between expansion news, multiple radio shows and phone calls and texts buzzing back and forth with sources… our headlines will be short and sweet today:


1.  This writer wants no more talk of a potential Alabama-LSU rematch.

2.  JaMychal Green is Bama’s basketball leader.

3.  Auburn’s Gene Chizik asks “Who are we going to be?”

4.  Tony Barbee expects more improvement and more wins in Year Two.

5.  Arkansas needs good first-down production against Vanderbilt.

6.  Mike Anderson wants to restore the Hogs’ “40 Minutes of Hell” style.

7.  Jarrett Lee and the LSU O-line are ready for Bama’s defense.

8.  Trent Johnson isn’t over the games that got away last season.

9.  Ole Miss is prepping for Auburn’s run-heavy attack.

10.  The goal for the Rebel basketball team?  Reach the NCAA tourney.

11.  If Dan Mullen wants to get his team to a bowl game, he’ll need to steer them past Kentucky tomorrow.

12.  MSU’s hoops team is past the chemistry issues and trials of last season.

13.  Looking for a 19th win over Georgia in 22 tries, here are five reasons Florida has dominated the Dawgs.

14.  Sworn complaints now reveal what defensive lineman Dominique Easley did during a fight after the UF-Alabama football game.

15.  Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario gives Florida another scoring option.

16.  Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray will get his second shot at his homestate school tomorrow… and he’ll be looking for redemption.

17.  It’ll be a rebuilding year for the basketball Dawgs.

18.  Kentucky’s big defensive line will try to slow Mississippi State’s rushing attack tomorrow.

19.  John Calipari says nothing will come easy for his Cats.

20.  Here are the keys for South Carolina as they travel to Tennessee tomorrow.

21.  The closest you’ll get to hoops coverage in the Palmetto State is the fact that Bruce Ellington will be healthy enough to play football tomorrow night.

22.  The Vols and Gamecocks will be relying on young players.

23.  Cuonzo Martin kept his cool when peppered with Bruce Pearl questions at media day yesterday.

24.  Vandy hopes Arkansas will get off to another slow start tomorrow.

25.  The Commodore basketball squad is one of the favorites in the SEC this year.

With basketball practice about to tip off across the SEC, second-year Auburn coach Tony Barbee says he may have more talent on this year’s team, but his expectations never change:


“Nobody’s going to put higher expectations on the team than me.  I don’t see a game on our schedule we can’t win.  That’s the kind of coach I am.  That being said, the goals are going to be the same as they were last year.  When you play one of my teams, you’re going to expect a fight for 40 minutes.”


Barbee says every returning players is “markedly better” than last season, when the Tigers went 11-20 overall, 4-12 in the SEC.

The leading scorer from Auburn’s basketball team last year is heading west.  Earnest Ross announced yesterday via Twitter that he is transferring from The Plains to Missouri.

Ross averaged 13.2 points a game and 6.6 rebounds a game for the Tigers last season, leading Tony Barbee’s squad in both categories.

“There was never a mutual agreement between me and the (Auburn) coaches,” Ross said yesterday.  “I came to this decision with me and my family, and I think this is the best decision for me and my future.”

Compare that to Barbee’s official statement: “I have mutually agreed with Ty Armstrong and Earnest Ross for them to go in a different direction both academically and athletically.  We with them the best in their future.”

Armstrong and Ross are both juniors.  Armstrong tore his ACL last summer but returned to play in 12 games for the Tigers.

Ross will have to sit out a year before suiting up for Frank Haith’s Tigers — the ones in Missouri — in 2012-13.

Auburn basketball coach Tony Barbee has been hired, introduced, and welcomed.  He’s coached through a full season and an SEC Tournament.

And now he says he’s about ready to sign his contract.

Barbee — who has been working under a letter of agreement / memorandum of understanding — says there are “no major roadblocks” left in his contract negotiations with Auburn.

“I’ve made it be known I had no interest in negotiating my contract through the season.  I wanted my focus to be solely on this team and making sure we were competing at a high level.  And it wasn’t just the season, it was the season and spring recruiting.”

Barbee’s deal is expected to be worth $1.5 million per season for five more years.

Coaches working under letters of agreement has become an almost standard storyline in college sports of late.  The more money on the line, the more clauses to add to the ol’ contract.

The two-time Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama, Trevor Lacey, is expected to narrow his college decision down to the Crimson Tide and Kentucky.  But Auburn, Kansas and national champ UConn are interested in the 6-4 guard as well.

With good reason.  Lacey averaged 31.3 points per game at his Huntsville high school last year.

If he signs with Anthony Grant, he’ll join a signing class already ranked #16 in the nation by both Rivals.com and ESPN.com.  If he inks with John Calipari, he’ll make the nation’s #1 rated class even better.

UK’s coach is expected to visit Lacey tomorrow morning, before the player heads to Tuscaloosa for a visit.  Tony Barbee, Bill Self (Kansas), Jim Calhoun (UConn) and Mark Gottfried (NC State) are all expected to visit Lacey next week.  (Gottfried?)

Lacey is expected to make a final decision after playing in Louisville’s Derby Festival Classic game on April 22nd.

1. Is Arkansas close with Mike Anderson? The coach was in Columbia, Missouri and Hutchinson, Kansas on Saturday.

2. Bruce Pearl awaits his review.

3. David Climer:  ”Those close to Pearl say he is expecting the worst.”

4. If Pearl goes, expect Tobias Harris to leave as well.

5. Mike Strange:  ”When I got back to my desk Saturday from the debacle in Charlotte, I had eight voice messages waiting. All eight were the same: Keep Bruce Pearl. Fire Mike Hamilton.”

6. Florida 73 – UCLA 65.  Erving Walker scores 10 of his 21 points in the last four minutes.

7. Mike Bianchi: “The Florida Gators own the most storied program in all of college basketball.”

8. Kenny Boynton not expected to miss time with his ankle injury which is a good thing because he faces off against Jimmer Fredette and BYU Thursday in New Orleans.

9. Kentucky 71 – West Virginia 63.  Career-high thirty points for Brandon Knight.

10. Yet UK’s MVP may have been DeAndre Liggins.

11. Josh Harrellson - Kentucky’s steadiest player.

12. John Clay: The pressure’s off.

13. Expect a new-look Georgia Bulldogs team in 2012.

14. And a post-mortem on the 2011 edition.

15. Auburn coach Tony Barbee to his team - improve or else.

16. Kevin Scarbinsky: “Abolish the divisions. Make SEC basketball one big, unruly family again.”

17. Today’s tournament schedule.

SEC Football

18. Spencer Ware is a two-sport athlete and a potential star running back for LSU.

19. A “partial scrimmage” for the Tigers on Saturday.

20. Several early commitments for Alabama.

21. The five questions facing the Tide as spring practice begins.

22. Questions about some pictures of Auburn players.

23. Couple of Ole Miss players will miss spring practice.

24.  Stephen Garcia rejoins the Gamecocks after a three practice suspension.

Extra

25. One-legged wrestler wins NCAA championship.

1.  Auburn can now focus on Tony Barbee’s second year.

2.  Barbee challenged his players to get better or get left behind.

3.  Sorry Auburn, ESPNU will show Alabama’s spring game live, not yours.

4.  Anthony Grant wants his Bama team focused on Georgia, not the NCAA Tournament.

5.  Here are some interesting trend and tendencies for Tide roundball.

6.  Arkansas didn’t defend or rebound well enough to win last night.

7.  All this debate over incidental contact.  It’s doubtful the NCAA will be too worried about a bump rule violation in the first place.  (Unless John Pelphrey had lied about it or committed after a mea culpa press conference.)

8.  Yawn.  If you really want to read more about LSU’s loss to Vandy last night, here you go.  (Personally, I thought that game should have been pumped into Gitmo as cruel and unusual punishment.)

9.  But spring practice begins in Baton Rouge today, Tiger fans.

10.  Everybody’s paying close attention to the quarterback battle.

11.  Mississippi State needs a good run in Atlanta to reach the NIT, a great run to reach the NCAA tourney.

12.  Dee Bost says he and his teammates “know that we have what we need to get the job done.”

13.  Former Bulldog offensive tackle Derek Sherrod made the most of MSU’s Pro Day this week.

14.  Ole Miss’ first SEC tourney victory in four years (over South Carolina) sets up a rematch with Kentucky.

15.  Andy Kennedy expects 26,500 of the 27,000 people at the Georgia Dome today “will be wearing blue.”  UK blue.

16.  Chris Warren is just 22 points shy of 2,000.

1.  NFL scouts descended on Tuscaloosa yesterday for Alabama’s Pro Day.

2.  Alabama transfer left tackle Aaron Douglas will serve 48 hours in jail for a DUI.

3.  Bama’s Trevor Releford has turned into a standout point guard as a freshman.

4.  Unlike his predecessor, Tony Barbee doesn’t leave his Auburn basketball players to self-motivate.

5.  The Tigers seem to be peaking at tourney time.

6.  Arkansas point guard Jeff Peterson is questionable for today’s tourney game against Tennessee with a groin injury.

7.  Today is the last shot for John Pelphrey’s club to make the NCAA Tournament…

8.  Which means it could be the last shot overall for the coach himself.

9.  Bobby Petrino likes the fact that his next Razorback squad is “real fast.”

10.  Trent Johnson says his team still has a chance to keep playing… as long as it wins.

11.  LSU will need to do some serious improving — and quick — if its to upset Vanderbilt tonight.

12.  Which means the Tigers’ long, sad season is nearing its end.

Well, it looks like the “haters” won out, just as John Calipari had feared.  Tony Barbee — he of the 4-12 record at Auburn — did not win the SEC’s Coach of the Year award.  Instead, Florida’s Billy Donovan took that honor.

Last week, we stated that we would have given that award to Anthony Grant on the basis that going 12-4 with his roster trumps — by a smidge — Donovan going 13-3 with his roster.  Grant did more with less.  But you’ll hear no complaints from us about Donovan’s selection.  Our feelings were 51-49 in favor of Grant, but Donovan had a tremendous year, too.

His Gators have no pure star and there isn’t a string of one-and-doners in their line-up.  And Donovan’s squad proved to be the class of the league while playing in the more dangerous SEC East.

In terms of other honors, here goes:


SEC Player of the Year: Chandler Parsons, Florida

SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Riley Benock, Mississippi State

SEC Freshman of the Year: Terrence Jones, Kentucky

SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Brian Williams, Tennessee

SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Sam Muldrow, South Carolina


The selection of Parsons will be met with hoots and hollers because he’s not a big “numbers” guy.  Instead he’s a glue guy, a good-attitude guy.  Being that he was the MVP of the best team in the league, it’s no surprise he won the award.

The other controversial selection will be Terrence Jones over teammate Brandon Knight for Freshman of the Year honors.  Both were good, but one ran the point and the other didn’t.  We’d have given Knight the award, but you can’t argue with Jones’ production.


First Team All-SEC
JaMychal Green, F, Alabama
Chandler Parsons, F, Florida
Trey Thompkins, F, Georgia
Terrence Jones, F, Kentucky
Brandon Knight, G, Kentucky
Chris Warren, G, Ole Miss
Scotty Hopson, G, Tennessee
John Jenkins, G, Vanderbilt

Second Team All-SEC
Tony Mitchell, F, Alabama
Rotnei Clarke, G, Arkansas
Kenny Boynton, G, Florida
Erving Walker, G, Florida
Travis Leslie, G, Georgia
Dee Bost, G, Mississippi State
Tobias Harris, F, Tennessee
Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt
Jeffery Taylor, F, Vanderbilt

SEC All-Freshman Team
Trevor Releford, G, Alabama
Patric Young, F/C, Florida
Terrence Jones, F, Kentucky
Brandon Knight, G, Kentucky
Doron Lamb, G, Kentucky
Ralston Turner, G, LSU
Bruce Ellington, G, South Carolina
Tobias Harris, F, Tennessee

SEC All-Defensive Team
Delvon Johnson, F, Arkansas
DeAndre Liggins, G, Kentucky
Reginald Buckner, F, Ole Miss
Sam Muldrow, F/C, South Carolina
Jeffery Taylor, F, Vanderbilt