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SEC East Headlines – 3/19/10

John — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:29:35 +0000

With four SEC East schools in action yesterday, there will be a lot more East Division headlines than West Division headlines.

That said, here goes…

1. Double-overtime meant double the pain for Florida, which lost to BYU 99-92 in yesterday’s first round.

2. Senior Dan Werner said, “We left it all out there, and that’s all you can ask.”

3. Ultimately the Gators didn’t have the depth they needed to advance.

4. Billy Donovan said his team had its chances.

5. Urban Meyer seems to love freshman receiver Solomon Patton.

6. Speaking of Meyer, this writer says he can’t get upset when reporters ask about his health… he was the one who scared “his players and UF fans.” She’s right, too.

7. Tim Tebow hasn’t decided whether to attend the NFL draft or not. (Don’t do it, Tim. You don’t want to be Aaron Rodger-ed.)

8. Josh Davis — returning from offseason surgeries to both shoulders — will be the key to Georgia’s O-line success.

9. New secondary coach Scott Lakatos is embracing the southern lifestyle. (I’m tempted to ask if he’s moved into a double-wide, but as a southerner, I’d find that offensive. D’oh.)

10. Here’s a practice report from yesterday’s work in Athens.

11. Richard Samuel has changed positions again… this time going from outside linebacker to inside.

12. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner is having to make a lot of adjustments as the system and coaches around him have changed.

13. Thanks to some really stupid/careless Georgia fans who trashed their own campus last year, UGA is putting in some tough tailgating rules for everyone.

14. The Junkyard Blawg says Mark Richt disagreed with him on a point he didn’t make. (Which, given my dealings with the Junkyard Blawg, I find pretty ironic.)

15. Mark Fox says that Travis Leslie has told him he’ll be back at Georgia next year.

16. Kentucky’s 100-71 win over ETSU was such a yawner that fans were seen sleeping in the stands.

17. UK used a barrage of three-pointers to sink the Buccaneers.

18. Eric Bledsoe drained 9-of-11 shots and if he keeps shooting like that, the Cats have just added “a dangerous new dimension.”

19. DeMarcus Cousins got a marriage proposal from a fan during yesterday’s game.

20. It had been a long time coming, but Patrick Patterson’s first NCAA tournament game was worth the wait.

21. South Carolina’s running back corps is ready to welcome in hotshot tailback prospect Marcus Lattimore.

22. Carolina’s offense has been all no-huddle through three spring practices.

23. USC’s is looking for deeper kickoffs — and possibly a new kicker — in 2010.

24. Bruce Pearl was proud of his team’s effort in a gritty, ugly 62-59 win over San Diego State yesterday.

25. The Vols got an unexpected boost from backup point guard Melvin Goins who sank four of five treys… including the game-winner.

26. UT’s players were glad to give Pearl a nice present on his 50th birthday.

27. It was yet another scrappy win for Tennessee.

28. Derek Dooley said his quarterbacks have a “long way to go” but yesterday was a good first day of practice.

29. A day after saying former tight end/receiver Brandon Warren hadn’t approached him about returning, Dooley said the he “forgot” that he had indeed had a conversation with Warren.

30. Dooley also said that running back Bryce Brown isn’t necessarily done at Tennessee just yet…

31. But it doesn’t sound likely that he’ll return.

32. Jeffery Taylor said that Vanderbilt’s 66-65 last-second loss to Murray State was “just heartbreaking.”

33. To make matters worse, the SEC’s best foul-shooting squad hit just 17 of 29 free throw attempts yesterday.

34. Murray State’s buzzer-beating shot was “a miracle play” according to coach Billy Kennedy.

35. President Barack Obama might have lost some votes in Nashville by picking Murray State, but he did help his bracket.

About Those Seeds…

John — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:25:06 +0000

Remember all the talk about seeding for much of the week? Tennessee fans filled the ol’ inbox wondering why their school had been dropped to a six seed. “How is Vanderbilt a #4 while we’re a #6?”

What’s everybody saying about seeding now?

The #4 seed Commodores were bounced by #13 Murray State. It was the second time in its last two tourney appearances that Vandy has lost to a #13 in the first round.

Meanwhile, #6 seed Tennessee survived a scare from #11 San Diego State but gets #14 seed Ohio in the second round. No #3 Georgetown, a below-.500 MAC club instead. Beat Ohio and Tennessee would likely face #2 seed Ohio State. Had they gotten that #4 seed, they’d be looking at a Sweet Sixteen date with #1 seed Kansas.

Which seed looks better now? Think Vandy wouldn’t have preferred a matchup with San Diego State? Think UT would want to face Murray State?

And that’s why I don’t believe any fanbase should cry too much (though most do) when they’re favorite team lands a seed one or two slots lower than expected. The tourney has a funny way of working things out on its own. Seven upsets yesterday prove that.

With UT Win, SEC Goes 2-2 On Day 1

John — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:49:50 +0000

With Tennessee’s 62-59 win over San Diego State last night, the Southeastern Conference wrapped up the day at 2-2. It wasn’t the kind of performance the league was looking for, but it could have been worse.

As we showed you all week leading up to the tournament, many national analysts believed Kentucky would be the only SEC club standing at the end of yesterday’s action. They were almost right.

Florida fell to Brigham Young to get things started. Next Vanderbilt was upset on a buzzer-beater by Murray State of the OVC. After an expected UK win, Tennessee had to hold off #11 seed San Diego State which had a chance to tie on a last-second three-pointer.

Had the Aztecs pulled the shocker — and that was THE vogue pick for a first-round upset — the SEC would have really had some egg on its face.

As it stands, the league actually has a pretty good shot at having two teams reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Kentucky will face Wake Forest at 8:15pm ET on Saturday. Wake (a #9 seed) came from behind to slip past Texas in overtime last night. Having played in a power conference and been on the NCAA stage many times before, it’s doubtful that the Demon Deacons will be intimidated by the name on UK’s jerseys. Still, it would be a major, major upset for the Wildcats to lose.

Tennessee will play at 3:35pm ET against Ohio. The #14 seed Bobcats whipped up on Georgetown yesterday. If Ohio can repeat their 13-of-23 shooting performance from three-point range they might just take down Tennessee, too. But if you look at their full body of work, Ohio is a much more desirable opponent for the Vols than the Hoyas would have been. Ohio was just 20-14 coming into the tourney and had to win the MAC tournament to get a bid.

If the SEC can land two teams in the Sweet Sixteen it would constitute a respectable performance for a league that just had four teams invited.

But if the SEC wants to impress folks around the country, it needs Kentucky and Tennessee to not only reach the next round… but the one after that. If two league schools can reach the Elite Eight THEN the SEC might start to regain some national respect.

After Day One, at least that remains a possibility.

(It was a first day that some are calling the best ever thanks to seven upsets by seed out of the 16 games played.)

Murray State Buzzer-Beater Sinks Vandy; SEC 0-2

John — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:57:40 +0000

A buzzer-beating shot — literally — from Murray State’s Danero Thomas has knocked Vanderbilt out of the NCAA tournament in the first round. Again.

The #4 seed Commodores were bounced 66-65 by the #13 seed Racers. Two years ago, it was another #13 seed (Siena) that evicted Vandy in the tourney’s first round.

The loss is a stunning way for one of Vanderbilt’s best-ever seasons to end. VU hung with Kentucky in the SEC East race for much of the season, but today’s loss was Vandy’s third in its last four games.

Freshman John Jenkins led the Commodores with 13 points. AJ Ogilvy finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

The loss is a gut-punch for the SEC. The league was hoping to gain some respect today, but already two of the conference’s schools are heading home.

The baton will now be passed to Kentucky and Tennessee who play later tonight.

The fact that Vandy — a team that went 12-4 in SEC play — has already been ousted doesn’t say much for the overall strength of the conference. So far the Mountain West Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference have looked stronger in the day’s head-to-head matchups. So if you have UK or UT going a long way in your office pool, you might want to find a rabbit’s foot to rub.

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All Four SEC Teams In NCAA Tourney Action Today

John — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:14:37 +0000

If many bracket gurus are correct, this could be a bad day for the SEC. Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee have all been mentioned numerous times as being vulnerable in today’s first round action.

But today could be the day the SEC starts to regain some national respect. A four-for-four would be a nice showing for a league that quite frankly hasn’t been up to its usual basketball standards the past two years.

By this time tomorrow, we’ll know if the SEC is on the rebound… or tumbling further.

10 Florida vs 7 BYU
12:20pm ET
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
West Region

13 Murray State vs 4 Vanderbilt
2:30pm ET
San Jose, California
West Region

16 East Tennessee State vs 1 Kentucky
7:15pm ET
New Orleans, Louisiana
East Region

11 San Diego State vs 6 Tennessee
9:45pm ET,
Providence, Rhode Island
Midwest Region

SEC East Headlines – 3/18/10

John — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:40:25 +0000

1. This writer has had some success picking tourney winners… and he’s tabbing Kentucky this time around.

2. DeMarcus Cousins admits that his mental approach has been a bigger issue than his basketball skills.

3. Every game is big now for the Cats.

4. UK still has two areas of concern.

5. Patrick Patterson has been hiding out for fear of a freak non-basketball injury costing him a shot at the NCAA tournament.

6. Kentucky’s players know that some of them won’t be back around for another NCAA shot next year.

7. John Calipari is a finalist for national coach of the year honors.

8. Calipari’s tournament theme is “Land the plane.”

9. The NFL draft stock is rising for former Wildcats Corey Peters and Alfonso Smith.

10. Florida tips off the NCAA tourney against BYU shortly after noon ET today.

11. Dan Werner’s career has come full circle.

12. To advance, the Gators have to shut down BYU guard Jimmer Fredette.

13. UF’s players want to make some noise in the tourney.

14. It’s going to take time for Florida’s new defensive assistants to get on the same page.

15. Quarterback John Brantley said Urban Meyer was “his same old self” at practice yesterday.

16. Tim Tebow drew some rave reviews at Florida’s Pro Day.

17. Georgia’s offensive players are having to adjust to going against a 3-4 defense in practice.

18. Tiny back Carlton Thomas (5-7) is trying to earn some carries in Athens.

19. Quarterback Aaron Murray is trying to learn from Zach Mettenberger’s mistake.

20. Derek Dooley is focused on his team, not the media and the fans.

21. Dooley is only worried about Tennessee’s roster issues in the short term.

22. All scrimmages and practices will be closed in Knoxville this year.

23. Here are five questions facing UT football.

24. The Vols’ quarterback battle is on.

25. An injured toe cut Eric Berry’s Pro Day short.

26. Tennessee is playing the disrespect card leading up to tonight’s game with San Diego State.

27. Wayne Chism is the last man standing from UT’s “fab five” signing class in 2006.

28. Bruce Pearl wants Tennessee to finally make a long tourney run.

29. If Vanderbilt is to advance past Murray State today, the Commodores will need AJ Ogilvy to be at his best.

30. The Racers have been off for 12 days… does that help them or hurt them?

31. Vandy will have to overcome some tournament inexperience.

32. Bobby Johnson likes his football team’s energy and attitude as spring practice starts in Nashville.

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SEC West Headlines 3/18/10

John — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:07:21 +0000

1. When you watch the NCAA tournament you’ll see a lot of players from Alabama… who got away from the Tide and Tigers.

2. Former Auburn tailback Ben Tate won’t be changing his lifestyle until the NFL cash starts pouring in.

3. Have you seen Auburn football’s flashy new website?

4. Bobby Petrino is looking forward to seeing his four running backs compete during spring practice. (Arkansas will do some running from the “pistol” formation this year, too.)

5. Ryan Mallett says he feels great. Despite his healing left foot.

6. Les Miles is hoping Stevan Ridley and Richard Murphy can carry the load at running back for LSU.

7. With Ole Miss students on Spring Break, there wasn’t much enthusiasm surrounding last night’s NIT win over Troy.

8. Terrico White’s 27-point night was a pleasant surprise. “Certainly he has the ability to do that, and we’d like to see it every night,” Andy Kennedy said. “Maybe he’s just not ready to do it every night.”

9. The Rebels looked “looser” last night than they did in the SEC tournament.

10. Dexter McCluster is ready to improve on the 40 time he ran at the NFL combine.

11. Mississippi State fans — many of whom believe MSU gets no respect — love the fact that Rick Stansbury is complaining about the missed lane violation call.

12. As expected, tickets for State’s NIT contest with North Carolina are going fast. “Those teams don’t come to Starkville, that’s just the way it is.”

13. In case you missed it, here’s the crotch punch that Dee Bost took in Tuesday’s Jackson State game.

SEC East Headlines – 3/17/10

John — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:01:02 +0000

1. Mark Richt says Zach Mettenberger needs to regain the trust of his teammates, coaches and fans.

2. Fellow QB competitor Aaron Murray is experimenting with a glove on his throwing hand this spring.

3. Here are some notes from yesterday’s practice in Athens yesterday.

4. UGA held their Pro Day yesterday, too.

5. ETSU has overcome a lot for the right to face #1 seed Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.

6. The President has picked UK into his Final Four… along with Kansas, Kansas State and Villanova.

7. It doesn’t appear that Kentucky fans will take command of New Orleans this week they way they did Nashville last week. (Probably because many fans are saving their cash for a potential trip to Indianapolis in a couple of weeks.)

8. Carolina’s quarterbacks have been working on drills to help them avoid sacks this fall.

9. This writer says Stephen Garcia is becoming more of a leader in Columbia.

10. USC’s coaches will be keeping an eye on these five offensive players this spring.

11. Here’s an early look at what the Cocks’ 2010-11 basketball lineup might look like.

12. Some West Coast Vols are familiar with the players on San Diego State’s team.

13. Vol guard Scotty Hopson is working on his footwork trying to correct a flaw in his shooting motion.

14. This writer thinks Tennessee will bounce back in the NCAA tourney.

15. Vanderbilt could cause problems in the NCAA tournament for teams unfamiliar with their offensive system.

16. John Jenkins knows the Murray State player whose mother was killed in a car accident on Monday.

17. While many experts are picking the Racers to upset the ‘Dores, Murray State coach Billy Kennedy says, “They’re the biggest and most physical team we’ve faced.”

18. As Vandy opens spring practice, Bobby Johnson wants his team to use last year’s terrible record as motivation.

19. You can get live updates from Florida’s Pro Day right here.

20. Needless to say, Tim Tebow will be the focus of the media.

21. Urban Meyer did indeed show up for Pro Day… and Day One of Florida’s spring practice.

More Confusion Over Lane Violation Rules

John — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:41:49 +0000

When Monday morning rolled around, I never dreamed that I would type the words “lane violation” so often this week. But the end of the Kentucky/Mississippi State game on Sunday has folks on both sides of the battle shouting to the heavens.

First came the emails from MSU fans regarding John Wall stepping over the three-point arc on Eric Bledsoe’s “I’m gonna miss this on purpose” free throw attempt.

Then came more MSU emails pointing out that Darnell Dodson was also over the line. And Eric Bledsoe had jumped the gun and stepped over the free throw line, too.

Yesterday, after posting our follow-up to the story — because Rick Stansbury was talking about it — UK fans got in on the action. I received four different emails from folks saying that it was a good “no call” because State’s players on the lane itself all jumped into the paint before the ball hit the rim.

And that’s why I think it’s time for some more clarification. Here’s the deal on lane violations:

1. Players lined up outside the three-point arc (and the extended lanes) cannot cross inside the three-point area (or the extended lanes) until after a free throw attempt has hit the rim. Both Wall and Dodson appear to have done just that. MSU’s Dee Bost might also have jumped the gun on this area. In Stansbury’s view, the whistle should have been blown when Wall crossed the line, so it would not have mattered what Bost did after that point.

If this violation had been called against either UK player, Mississippi State would have been given the basketball with a two-point lead and 4.9 seconds remaining on the clock.

2. The shooter can not step across the foul line until his attempt hits the rim. Bledsoe did. In this case, however, he fired up a lollipop of a shot in order to force a big rebound. He stood his ground for a second before moving forward. I’m guessing the official watched his feet, saw that he didn’t come immediately across the line, and then eyed the ball… thus missing Bledsoe’s violation. Still, this WAS a violation of the rule.

3. Players along the lanes (be they Kentucky or MSU players) can’t go into the paint until the shot has been released from the shooter’s hands. On replay, it looks like the players for both teams waited until after Bledsoe released his shot before they jumped into the paint. So there was no violation. Meaning that this was NOT a good “no call.”

Here’s the video one… more… time.

Hopefully that puts an end to this discussion until the SEC comments on the play… or fines Stansbury for doing so.

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Lunardi Not Real Big On The SEC

John — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:16:30 +0000

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is considered to be THE bracket expert when it comes to the NCAA tournament. Now, he does do a good job of predicting the 65-team field, but I’ve never gone back to check his accuracy on predicting seeds. In other words, “field” expert might be a better term than “bracket” expert, but that’s neither here nor there.

For those of you who do view Mr. Lunardi as a tourney guru, he’s now posted his tourney picks for you. And SEC fans won’t be real happy about them.

In the Midwest, he has Tennessee losing to San Diego State in the first round.

In the West, he has Vanderbilt losing to Murray State in the first round.

Still in the West, he has Florida losing to BYU in the first round.

In the East, he does have Kentucky reaching the Sweet 16… before falling to #4 seed Wisconsin.

That’s right, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the SEC out of the tourney before the round of eight. And that includes UK.

Looking around the nation at other experts’ picks, it’s obvious that the SEC is fighting a pretty big perception problem. Very few analysts expect Florida to win a game. Several see Vandy as an early upset victim. And Tennessee is perhaps the trendiest pick in the field to fail in its opener.

There’s only one way to change what folks think about SEC basketball — win.

But if the SEC’s teams go belly-up as Mr. Lunardi and so many others expect, those of us down south shouldn’t complain about a lack of respect. The SEC’s schools will have earned it.

The Truth About Seeds, Rankings And RPI

John — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:58:59 +0000

It’s Wednesday and I just found yet another note in my email box from a Tennessee fan upset that I defended the NCAA (sort of) in their seeding of the Vols.

Apparently 48 hours isn’t enough time to move on from the fact that Bruce Pearl’s team was seeded sixth instead of fifth.

Well, in response to the cries of “We wuz robbed!” I thought I’d take a look at this year’s NCAA tournament seeds and see if Tennessee truly was singled out for a spanking.

A quick comparison of the selection committee’s seeds to the national rankings and RPI rankings shows that the “eyeball test” of human voters is a more accurate predictor of seeding.

Below you’ll see the Top 25 going into Sunday’s selection process. At right, you’ll see three columns. The first shows where each team should have been seeded IF seeding were based strictly on national rank. The second shows their actual seed. The third shows how much up or down they moved.

Top 25 Rank	School	“Expected” Seed	Actual Seed	Difference
1	Kansas	1	1
2	Kentucky	1	1
3	Duke	1	1
4	Syracuse	1	1
5	Ohio State	2	2
6	West Virginia	2	2
7	Kansas State	2	2
8	New Mexico	2	3	Down 1
9	Villanova	3	2	Up 1
10	Purdue	3	4	Down 1
11	Butler	3	5	Down 2
12	Temple	3	5	Down 2
13	Michigan State	4	5	Down 1
14	Georgetown	4	3	Up 1
15	Tennessee	4	6	Down 2
16	Wisconsin	4	4
17	BYU	5	7	Down 2
18	Pittsburgh	5	3	Up 2
19	Baylor	5	3	Up 2
20	Maryland	5	4	Up 1
21	Vanderbilt	6	4	Up 2
22	Gonzaga	6	8	Down 2
23	Texas A&M	6	5	Up 1
24	Richmond	6	7	Down 1
25	Xavier	7	6	Up 1

So what do we see? First, it’s pretty obvious that the committee gave extra credit to teams from the Big East and Big 12, the perceived two best conferences all season. Villanova, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Baylor and Texas A&M were all seeded a bit higher than their national ranking would have indicated.

We also see that no team fell or rose more than a couple of spots from where they were expected to land. Overall, eight teams moved up and nine teams moved down.

Tennessee dropped two slots along with Butler (who has been a fixture in the Top 12 all year), Temple, BYU and Gonzaga. Hard to say, then, that UT was singled out.

One of the biggest risers was Vanderbilt. The Commodores — ranked 21st — would have been expected to be a #6 seed, but instead they received a #4 seed. That might give some Vol fans something to complain about, but Vanderbilt beat Tennessee handily in both of their contests this year, finished ahead of them in the SEC standings and went 4-2 against Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida. As Pearl himself noted, the Vols went just 2-5 against Kentucky, Vandy and the Gators.

Now, on to the RPI comparison…

RPI Rank	School	“Expected” Seed	Actual Seed	Difference
1	Kansas	1	1
2	Kentucky	1	1
3	Duke	1	1
4	West Virginia	1	2	Down 1
5	Syracuse	2	1	Up 1
6	Kansas State	2	2
7	Georgetown	2	3	Down 1
8	Temple	2	5	Down 3
9	Baylor	3	3
10	New Mexico	3	3
11	Villanova	3	2	Up 1
12	Butler	3	5	Up 2
13	Texas A&M	4	5	Down 1
14	Tennessee	4	6	Down 2
15	Pittsburgh	4	3	Up 1
16	Purdue	4	4
17	Northern Iowa	5	9	Down 4
18	San Diego State	5	11	Down 6
19	Xavier	5	6	Down 1
20	California	5	8	Down 3
21	Wisconsin	6	4	Up 2
22	Ohio State	6	2	Up 4
23	BYU	6	7	Down 1
24	Maryland	6	4	Up 2
25	Richmond	7	7

Clearly, RPI is used only as a “guide,” just as various committee members say each year. There was much more variation in this chart than in our first one. Temple, Northern Iowa, San Diego State, California and Ohio State all moved up or down by three or more slots.

Again we see that Tennessee moved down two lines while Vandy climbed two.

As for the school that got “most hosed” in both charts, that would be Temple.

But knowing that this is a fluid process that seems to change a bit from year to year, it’s hard for me to say, “Yes, this team’s fans should be crying.” We’re talking about a seed line or two… not a tourney snub.

If the teams who feel snubbed are upset, they’ll have every opportunity to prove the experts wrong starting tomorrow. And if Tennessee isn’t good enough to get by San Diego State, how much farther would they have gone as a #4 or a #5?

And for the record, I’d have had Kentucky a #1, Vandy a #4 and Tennessee a #5. But that’s just me. And judging from my inbox, many of you disagree.

Top O’ The Mornin’ To Ya

John — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:04:58 +0000

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Mr. SEC.com!

Nothing like Irish Serbs to kick off your morning. Enjoy this — and an early morning black and tan — as we put together your morning news.

And as our photo clearly shows… be smart today and don’t have TOO many black and tans.

SEC East Headlines – 3/16/10

John — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:07:40 +0000

1. Billy Donovan enjoyed seeing his team celebrate an NCAA tourney berth again.

2. Billy D compares BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette to John Wall and Devan Downey.

3. There are five big storylines for the Gators’ spring practice this year.

4. Georgia’s Trey Thompkins made the AP’s first-team All-SEC squad.

5. UGA AD Damon Evans says it’s time for the Bulldogs to schedule a season-opener in the Georgia Dome.

6. This writer/Dawg fan says a Clemson-Georgia game would be perfect for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.

7. It’s Pro Day in Athens today.

8. Bruce Pearl says San Diego State is a patient team that takes after its coach, Steve Fisher.

9. A lot of national analysts expect Tennessee to get bounced by the Aztecs in Round One.

10. Derek Dooley apparently didn’t realize that he was tossing some former Vols when he cleared UT’s indoor practice facility of visitors.

11. UT’s Wayne Chism and Vandy’s Jermaine Beal were named to the AP’s All-SEC team.

12. Vandy’s players — booted as a #4 seed in 2008 — know better than to underestimate #13 seed Murray State on Thursday.

13. One Murray State player will be with his team despite the death of his mother in a car accident yesterday.

14. The SEC tournament brought in 12 million bucks to Nashville last week.

15. John Calipari gave his players the day off yesterday to help combat fatigue.

16. Are Kentucky’s fantastic freshmen better than Michigan’s Fab Five? We’re about to find out.

17. No team in the NCAA tournament field is more inexperienced than UK. (But inexperience hasn’t hurt the Cats yet, has it?)

18. There’ll be no crying in Lexington this week — the AP honored John Wall as the SEC’s Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson made the All-SEC team, and John Calipari was named Coach of the Year.

19. Here are five questions facing South Carolina’s basketball team in the year ahead.

20. Devan Downey was a unanimous pick for the AP’s All-SEC team.

21. Backup quarterback Aramis Hillary — arrested on alcohol-related charges last week – has requested a jury trial.

22. The spotlight will shine on five defensive players during spring practice in Columbia.

Getting The Calls: An SEC Statistical Breakdown

John — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:07:20 +0000

In football, Alabama and Florida supposedly got all the calls this past fall.

In basketball, it’s Kentucky that’s been “taken care of.”

At least that’s the way many SEC fans saw things this year at least.

I don’t know who thought Kentucky was getting all the calls when Billy Gillispie was missing the NCAA tournament last year.

And I don’t remember anyone talking about Bama getting help from officials during Nick Saban’s first 7-6 season in Tuscaloosa.

But, hey, the perception is that good teams really aren’t that good… they’re just being aided by the refs. Or so a lot of people seem to think.

So I’ve gone back through every Southeastern Conference basketball game this season (that’s 96 regular season games) and tallied up all of the fouls called in each game. Below you’ll see which teams were whistled for the most fouls, which teams saw their opponents most often called for fouls, and which teams got the biggest boost in foul differential per game.

Keep in mind, this is purely a numbers exercise. There’s no way to know how numbers are skewed by the fact that good teams usually lead and therefore their opponents are forced to foul more at the ends of games.

In other words, are fouls called because a team is good or is a team good because fouls are called? Depending on your belief in conspiracy theories, that can go either way.

Also, it would stand to reason that more talented teams would force their opponents to foul more in an attempt to even the playing field. In other words, not everyone has a guard as fast as John Wall, so it would figure that Wall might draw more slaps on the arms as he blows down the lane.

In addition, more physical teams — like Vanderbilt — probably get a foul advantage because other teams have to use multiple players to bang around inside with them.

Personally, I’m not a believer in conspiracy theories. I believe home teams get more calls because officials get caught up in crowd noise just as players do (and we’ll show you those numbers, too). I believe more talented teams get “benefit of the doubt” calls. And I believe teams that have a reputation for being physical get more calls in their favor as well.

But I don’t believe officials take care of certain teams in order to protect their rankings, seedings, etc. You might, but I don’t.

All that said, here are the numbers:

MOST FOULS CALLED AGAINST OPPONENT PER GAME

School	Fouls Against Opp. Per Game	SEC Record
Vanderbilt	22.87	12-4
Kentucky	20.75	14-2
Arkansas	19.56	7-9
Tennessee	17.81	11-5
Auburn	17.62	6-10
Florida	17.00	9-7
Mississippi State	17.00	9-7
Ole Miss	16.50	9-7
Georgia	16.06	5-11
Alabama	15.87	6-10
LSU	15.68	2-14
South Carolina	15.00	6-10

It seems that Auburn and Arkansas tend to spoil the conspiracy theory on this one.

FEWEST FOULS CALLED AGAINST PER GAME

School	Fouls Called Against Per Game	SEC Record
Florida	14.06	9-7
Mississippi State	15.06	9-7
Georgia	16.37	5-11
LSU	17.00	2-14
Kentucky	17.12	14-2
South Carolina	18.00	6-10
Alabama	18.18	6-10
Arkansas	18.50	7-9
Tennessee	18.87	11-5
Ole Miss	18.93	9-7
Auburn	19.75	6-10
Vanderbilt	19.87	12-4

Again, I’m not seeing any evidence of conspiracies here. Vanderbilt saw it’s opponents whistled for more fouls than any other school. Yet the Commodores also led the league in the number of fouls that were called against them. That seems to suggest that style of play is a pretty big factor.

As for Kentucky, the Wildcats were actually whistled for more fouls than Florida, Mississippi State, Georgia and LSU. That would be 2-14 LSU, by the way.

FOUL DIFFERENTIAL PER GAME

School	Differential in Fouls Called Per Game	SEC Record
Kentucky	3.63	14-2
Vanderbilt	3.00	12-4
Florida	2.94	9-7
Mississippi State	1.94	9-7
Arkansas	1.06	7-9
Georgia	-0.31	5-11
Tennessee	-1.06	11-5
LSU	-1.32	2-14
Auburn	-2.13	6-10
Alabama	-2.31	6-10
Ole Miss	-2.43	9-7
South Carolina	-3.00	6-10

Finally. Something for the folks in the tin foil hats.

No school sees a bigger difference between their own number of fouls and their opponents’ fouls than Kentucky. Of course, the SEC refs are having to be awfully sneaky about this if it’s planned out… because UK doesn’t lead either of the two individual categories (above) that are used to determine this number.

But what about homecourt advantage? Is it real?

Oh, yes. There’s a reason 76% of BCS league games have been won by the home team in recent years. A loud crowd influences players AND officials.

All 12 teams in the SEC this past year saw more fouls called against their opponents at home than on the road. All 12.

And all 12 SEC teams saw fewer fouls called on themselves when playing at home, too. Again, all 12.

But of all the official-affecting home gyms in the SEC, here are the ones that provide the best advantage for their occupants:

FOUL DIFFERENTIAL AT HOME

School	Differential in Fouls Called Per Game	Home Record
Florida	6.87	6-2
Kentucky	5.78	8-0
Vanderbilt	5.00	6-2
Arkansas	4.00	5-3
Georgia	3.12	5-3
Mississippi State	2.88	6-2
Auburn	1.88	5-3
Tennessee	0.88	7-1
LSU	0.87	2-6
Alabama	0.37	4-4
Ole Miss	-0.38	4-4
South Carolina	-1.87	4-4

As you can see, only two SEC teams (Ole Miss and South Carolina) averaged more fouls called against them than their opponents at home. Every other team had a positive foul differential in their own gym.

Of all the gyms in the SEC in 2010, the O’Connell Center in Gainesville was the most inhospitable to visitors looking to get a call or two.

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SEC East Headlines – 3/15/10

John — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:49:08 +0000

1. It’s been a while, but Florida is going dancing again.

2. With a #10 seed in the tourney, the Gators apparently weren’t even on the bubble.

3. Chandler Parsons said “it was a stressful 48 hours” waiting to learn their NCAA fate.

4. Florida’s upgrade in non-conference scheduling clearly helped UF land a bid.

5. Still, this writer says the Gators are stumbling into the tourney.

6. On the football front, meet the men expected to be the Gators’ new leaders in 2010.

7. Jimmy Johnson believes drafting Tim Tebow high would be a risky move.

8. Despite a losing record, Mark Fox’s first season at Georgia got the attention of Dawg fans.

9. Turns out yesterday’s SEC tournament championship meant plenty to Kentucky’s players after all.

10. After the win over Mississippi State, DeMarcus Cousins said the Bulldogs deserved to be in the NCAA tourney “hands down, no questions asked.”

11. No surprise here, this Lexington writer believes UK’s talent will lead to a national title.

12. That same writer says the Cats will face some tough tests in the NCAA tourney.

13. John Calipari — bless his heart — isn’t complaining about UK’s bracket draw.

14. UK’s coach also said that his team has already played every style of basketball that might be thrown at them in the tourney.

15. Are the Wildcats tourney ready?

16. Bruce Pearl seemed to grasp why his team might have gotten a #6 seed, but his players didn’t.

17. The Vols — including Pearl — were really ticked that CBS’ Seth Davis said they’d be upset by San Diego State in Round One.

18. Scotty Hopson — who was 6 of 29 shooting in the SEC tournament — said, “Seth Davis has me a little upset right now. I think he just gave us enough attitude to go out there and take this whole tourney.”

19. Did UT deserve a better seed? This writer says yes and no.

20. While the Vols were stunned by a #6 seed, Vanderbilt was happy to land a #4.

21. Kevin Stallings finds it “ironic” that Vandy will have to travel “2,500 or 3,000 miles” to play nearby Murray State.

Updated “Everyone Cries” Post

John — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:28:01 +0000

Quick note… we’ve added Ole Miss and Mississippi State to our “Who’s got a right to cry?” post from earlier today.

As you’ll find, I don’t think any of the SEC teams have many reasons to be whining today.

Scroll down or click here to see the updated post.

Four SEC Teams Get Bids, Two Don’t, Everyone Cries

John — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:45:44 +0000

Congratulations to Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Florida for making this year’s NCAA tournament.

And condolences to Ole Miss and Mississippi State for missing out.

Now that the brackets have been announced, a quick check of the messageboards for each school reveals a lot of upset feelings, a lot of complaints about seeding, respect, travel, etc.

Johnny Cash summed up the mood nicely…

So which schools/teams/fans really do have reason to cry? We’ll tell you below:

Kentucky — RPI of 2, SOS of 31, 5-1 vs RPI Top 50
#1 seed
East Regional vs #16 ETSU
Thursday at 7:15pm ET in New Orleans

The Cats got their #1 seed but they didn’t get the #1 overall. UK fans shouldn’t cry too much about that one. Kansas was 12-2 against Top 50 RPI teams while Kentucky was just 5-1.

But the selection committee didn’t do the Wildcats any favors. In the second round, they will face the winner of Texas and Wake Forest. Those are two power programs from power conferences who won’t be intimidated to stand on the same court with the Wildcats. They’ve been on the big stage before. (Kansas’ 8-9 teams are UNLV and Northern Iowa, for comparison.)

Path to the Final Four (by highest seed):
16 ETSU (121)
8 Texas (29)
4 Wisconsin (21)
2 West Virginia (4)

That’s not a real easy path to Indianapolis. You could argue pretty easily that West Virginia is the best of the #2 seeds.

VERDICT: No crying. You can’t cry when you get a #1 seed. You just can’t.

Vanderbilt — RPI of 26, SOS of 25, 4-2 vs RPI Top 50
#4 seed
West Regional vs #13 Murray State
Thursday at 2:30pm ET in San Jose

Vanderbilt fans won’t be happy with being shipped so far away from Nashville. Some are saying that that amounts to a punishment for a team that was clearly the second-strongest SEC squad all year long. But those ‘Dore fans don’t have much of an argument to make.

The other #4 seeds were shipped off as well — Purdue to Spokane, Wisconsin to Jacksonville, and Maryland to Spokane.

Vandy’s first-round game is a good one. Murray State’s RPI is #57, but the Racers played only one Top 50 club all year (losing to Cal in their season opener). Of the #13 seeds, Wofford (which beat Georgia and South Carolina) and Houston would have both been more dangerous (on paper) than Murray State. And Vandy fans would have wanted no part of another first-round battle with Siena, either. The Saints toppled Vandy in the 2008 first round.

Path to the Final Four (by highest seed):
13 Murray State (57)
5 Butler (12)
1 Syracuse (5)
2 Kansas State (6)

Overall, that’s a mighty steep hill to climb for the Commodores. A second-round game with Butler could be one of the best games in the tourney. Two smart, patient, well-coached teams. It’ll be a throwback to 1955.

VERDICT: Maybe some grumbling about the path, but no real reason to cry. If VU wanted a better seed, they shouldn’t have dropped two of their last three games.

Tennessee — RPI of 14, SOS of 19, 2-5 vs RPI Top 50
#6 seed
Midwest Regional vs #11 San Diego State
Friday at 9:45pm ET in Providence

Oh, boy. The weeping/anger in East Tennessee is pretty loud this morning. After becoming the first team since 2002 to knock off a #1 and a #2 in the same season, Vol fans expected no worse than a five seed. Most projections listed UT as a #4 seed prior to the selection show.

Instead, they get a long trip. A late game. And a matchup with one of the tournament’s true sleeper teams. In fact, San Diego State plays the deliberate, patient (ie: they won’t turn the ball over again and again) ball that has given UT trouble all season.

The SEC was not viewed as a power conference, and UT’s record against the other SEC teams to make the field (2-5) had to have worked against them.

Path to the Final Four (by highest seed):
#11 San Diego State (18)
#3 Georgetown (7)
#2 Ohio State (22)
#1 Kansas (1)

Baaaa-rutal. That’s a real murderer’s row for the Vols. Especially considering how limited UT is offensively. Without turnovers and transition baskets, the Vols can’t seem to score. For proof of that, just consider Tennessee’s 21-point first half against LSU and their 19-point first half against Kentucky in the SEC tourney. It looks like the committee did.

VERDICT: UT’s path is tough, but fellow #6 seed Notre Dame got a rough one, too. No room for crying. Aside from the Kansas and Kentucky wins, Tennessee doesn’t have a whole lot to hang its hat on.

Florida — RPI of 56, SOS of 36, 3-8 vs RPI Top 50
#10 seed
West Regional vs #7 BYU
Thursday at 12:20pm ET in Oklahoma City

I’m shocked that the Gators got in in the first place. They were just 3-8 against top 50 opponents, they had two losses to teams outside the RPI Top 100, and they finished the season by losing four of their last five games. Rhode Island, Memphis, Virginia Tech and Seton Hall all have to be wondering about this one.

The first-round matchup with BYU isn’t a bad one, either. The Cougars were just 4-5 vs Top 50 squads. However, Brigham Young does have the highest RPI (23) of all the #7 seeds.

Path to the Final Four (by highest seed):
7 BYU (23)
2 Kansas State (6)
3 Pittsburgh (15)
1 Syracuse (5)

The Gators got one of the toughest paths for a #10 seed, but seeing as how they barely got in, there’s no room for whining. With their resume, UF could have easily landed an #11 or #12 seed. Or not gotten in at all.

VERDICT: Are you kidding me? Count your blessings, Gator fans. The NCAA drought is over. Just enjoy being back in the Big Dance. No tears allowed.

Mississippi State — RPI of 54, SOS of 74, 2-5 vs RPI Top 50
No NCAA bad… NIT bid instead

The Bulldogs showed a lot of heart in Nashville. They came within a tick of the clock — and a possible John Wall lane violation — of earning a bid via the conference tourney for the second consecutive year.

(By the way, at tournament time, I’ll take Rick Stansbury over every other SEC coach. The guy knows how to prepare his team for tournaments.)

But for those who feel bad for the Dogs, remember, this is a team that played a soft non-conference schedule, blew two chances late in the season to lock up an NCAA bid (at Auburn and at home against Tennessee), and it’s also a squad that dropped five games to teams ranked outside the RPI Top 100.

VERDICT: No crying, State fans. Your team had its chances long before the closing seconds of the SEC tournament. They just couldn’t capitalize.

Ole Miss — RPI of 61, SOS of 71, 2-6 vs RPI Top 50
No NCAA bid… NIT bid instead

The Rebels were done-in by two things: an injury to Reggie Buckner midway through the SEC season and two costly losses to Mississippi State.

UM’s fortunes began to fade without Buckner in the middle and they only started to rise again once he returned to 100% late in the year. But the two losses to State that were the nails in the coffin. Had the Rebels won one of those games, their resume would have looked better than MSU’s (pre-conference tourney). Had they swept State, the Rebs might be dancing today.

VERDICT: The only thing UM fans should be crying about is a season of missed opportunities. The Rebels didn’t earn a bid this year.

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SEC notebook: Kentucky coach feels like baby-sitter

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:58:40 +0000

When Kentucky’s freshman act like, well, freshmen, John Calipari is usually willing to cut them some slack.
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SEC Notebook: UK fans descend as ticket costs rise

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:55:39 +0000

NASHVILLE — Having Kentucky, Tennessee and hometown team Vanderbilt among the SEC tournament’s four semifinal teams created the perfect storm on the ticket-buying market. The face value for Saturday’s two-game session was $55. Scalpers on the street said they are selling the ticket for $450-$650.
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Vanderbilt falls to Mississippi State in SEC semifinals

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:41:05 +0000

Shelbyville’s Barry Stewart scored 14 points to lead Mississippi State to a 62-52 win over Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament semifinals at Bridgestone Arena.
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Vanderbilt has a hit in John Jenkins

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:35:03 +0000

John Jenkins scored 22 of his career-high 25 points in the second half, and Vanderbilt got by a tough quarterfinal opponent in Georgia 78-66 in the SEC Tournament.
(more)

Leslie scores 34, but Georgia falls in SEC tourney

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:28:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Georgia-Vanderbilt III turned out to be an unsatisfying sequel for the Bulldogs.
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MrSEC.com’s Predictions For Round Two

John — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:23:57 +0000

Yesterday we posted our picks for the entire SEC tournament… and thanks to a blistering 4-for-4 start, we can simply link you to that post for our second round picks (and beyond).

Of course, the fact that we went 4-0 yesterday almost guarantees that we’ll plummet to 0-4 today.

Nevertheless, for our take on Kentucky/Alabama, Ole Miss/Tennessee, Mississippi State/Florida and Vanderbilt/Georgia, just click right here.

SEC East Headlines – 3/12/10

John — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:44:51 +0000

1. I keep getting emails from Florida folks telling me that I blew it when I said Tim Tebow didn’t do too well on his Wonderlic test. Well, the national headline at every other site — including this one in The Gainesville Sun — is: “Tebow posts below average Wonderlic score.” Why care? It’s not an IQ test and it has very little to do with where QBs have been drafted or how they’ve played in the NFL.

2. Tailback Boo Malcome will be wearing Knowshon Moreno’s old #24 when he suits up for Georgia.

3. Matt Lentz will move from safety to linebacker and Moncell Allen will be spending more time at fullback for Kentucky this fall.

4. Tennessee’s Brian Williams came back from his suspension “a guy more humble,” according to teammate Bobby Maze. Williams had 14 rebounds for the Vols yesterday.

5. There are more details coming out regarding the arrest of South Carolina backup quarterback Aramis Hillary.

6. It was a stunning collapse as Carolina blew an 18-point lead to Alabama yesterday.

7. Bradis Raley-Ross summed up the game succinctly, “It sucks to end it this way.”

8. Devan Downey doesn’t want his college career to be over.

9. It sounds like Downey would like for Darrin Horn to change his mind about not playing in the CIT or CBI.

10. This writer says the opening round of the SEC tournament was painful to watch.

11. The legacy of Kentucky’s stellar freshmen will be written almost entirely in the NCAA tournament. Seems unfair, but it’s probably true.

12. Did you know that SEC fans are eating too many fatty foods at the tournament? And I thought the Bridgestone Arena would be serving tofu.

Tourney Game Four – Vanderbilt Vs Georgia

John — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:03:06 +0000

1. Georgia was the only lower-seeded team to advance in yesterday’s first round.

2. The Bulldogs’ win over Arkansas was their first of the season outside of Georgia’s state lines.

3. Mark Fox was proud of his team’s performance.

4. The Dawgs’ defensive effort was key in the victory.

5. One writer is wondering if UGA can once again catch lightning in a bottle and make a miracle run through the SEC’s bracket.

6. First, the Bulldogs will need to focus on beating Vanderbilt.

7. “Vanderbilt is a great team. We understand we’re going to have to come with every punch because they’re going to play us hard,” said Trey Thompkins… who turned in the best Day One performance of the tourney.

8. While the ‘Dores weren’t hoping for a matchup with Georgia, they do believe they’ll still be alive come Saturday morning.

9. The two teams split their regular season battles with each squad winning at home. But Vandy needed a big finish and overtime to subdue UGA.

NCAA Tourney Projections For The SEC

John — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:52:54 +0000

Wanted to update you on a few NCAA tournament projections from some of the media big boys today. Here’s what’s out there:

The Sporting News — 5 teams in

Kentucky: #1 seed

Tennessee: #5 seed

Vanderbilt: #5 seed

Florida: #10 seed

Ole Miss: #11 seed

ESPN — 5 teams in

Joe Lunardi still says that only three SEC teams are “locks” to make the tournament. After yesterday’s action, Florida and Ole Miss are “in” from his bubble watch area. Mississippi State is not.

In his opinion, those three SEC schools are competing with Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, San Diego State, Illinois, Washington, Arizona State, Memphis, Rhode Island, Seton Hall, Dayton and Minnesota for at-large bids.

Bracketography.com — 5 teams in

Kentucky: #1 seed in East (Syracuse) Region vs play-in game winner

Vanderbilt: #4 seed in South (Houston) Region vs #13 Akron

Tennessee: #5 seed in West (Salt Lake City) Region vs #12 Siena

Florida: #10 seed in East (Syracuse) Region vs #7 Notre Dame

Ole Miss: #12 seed in Midwest (St. Louis) Region vs #5 Maryland

CBS Sports — 5 teams in

Kentucky: #1 seed in East (Syracuse) Region vs play-in game winner

Tennessee: #5 seed in Midwest (St. Louis) Region vs #12 Utah State

Vanderbilt: #5 seed in South (Houston) Region vs #12 California

Florida: #10 seed in West (Salt Lake City) Region vs #7 Clemson

Ole Miss: #11 seed in East (Syracuse) Region vs #6 Xavier

Keep in mind that some of these links will be updated throughout the day… so in a few hours, my comments may no longer hold true.

Also, some of the above links may require free or paid registration.

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SEC Working On Changes To League Football Schedule

John — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:42:17 +0000

If you’re an SEC fan and you’ve already bought tickets (and/or hotels, flights, etc) to see your favorite team play a conference football game this season… you might want to pay attention to this:

The SEC still hasn’t officially released the league’s in-conference schedule (even though most schools have listed their tentative slates) because it is working to give Alabama some relief from a schedule quirk.

In the initial layout, the Tide was scheduled to face six teams coming off byes during their eight-game league schedule. That is a bit excessive. From time to time teams have faced multiple teams coming off bye weeks, but I can’t remember a school having six such games.

“This is something that’s important to the entire league,” said SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom. “Because nobody wants to be in that same position a year or two from now. So we’re looking at a way to balance it out this year and for years to come. The different is that it might be a little tweak this year with more widespread changes coming in future years.”

Alabama is currently scheduled to face South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn after those teams’ open dates.

I know that this will set off screams of favoritism and cheating, but it’s a senseable move by the conference. The trick will be to see how many games are moved to accommodate Alabama. Because that will be used as a guideline — by fans at least — when eyeing future schedules.

MrSEC.com’s Official Tourney Picks

John — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:51:59 +0000

If there’s anything sillier than trying to predict the outcome of a basketball game it’s trying to predict the outcome of a basketball game at tournament time. And doing so publicly only makes the move even sillier.

So that’s just what we’ll do in this post. If everyone else in the conference (seemingly) can boldly throw out crazed prognostications, so can we.

After all, just how many people correctly picked Mississippi State and Georgia as the league’s last two tourney champs?

That said, our picks:

Game One — Alabama over South Carolina. The Cocks are dangerous and should be looking for revenge, but Bama has been playing better of late and dominated on the glass in their last get-together… even without JaMychal Green who will play today.

Game Two — Tennessee over LSU. The Tigers are playing more zone than they were when they hung with the Vols back in February. But Tennessee is at full-strength this time around. And this game isn’t in Baton Rouge, either.

Game Three — Florida over Auburn. AU could be playing for Jeff Lebo’s job. That hasn’t helped them much this year. The Gators are playing for an NCAA bid. That hasn’t helped them much in the last couple of weeks. Today it will.

Game Four — Georgia over Arkansas. The Razorbacks have shown that if all their tumblers start to click they can win in the SEC — remember they led the West Division for a while. But those tumblers seem to have been glued into place the last few weeks. I’ll take Georgia in a slight upset.

Game Five — Kentucky over Alabama. The Cats might not have the SEC tourney as their main goal, but they won’t slip up in their first game.

Game Six — Tennessee over Ole Miss. Ole Miss is playing well and they took UT to overtime in Knoxville. Also, Tennessee’s terrible postseason history points toward yet another flame-out. But the East has SOOOO dominated the West this year that I’ll take the league’s clear-cut third-best team over it’s sixth-best one. I’m 50-50 on this one.

Game Seven — Florida over Mississippi State. Like the last game, I’m completely torn on this one. Florida was not as clearly ahead of the West as the top three teams in the East. Still they did knock off the Bulldogs in their first meeting. I’ll take the Gators. But not by much.

Game Eight — Georgia over Vanderbilt. I had Vandy penciled in to win the whole darn tourney… until I heard yesterday’s comments from VU’s players. They freely admitted that they’d prefer to play Arkansas in this round. I can’t picture a team as consistent as Vanderbilt going down in the first game, but as they said, they don’t match up well with the Dawgs. And the Dawgs appear to be in their heads a little bit. Also, I can’t keep going with the chalk. So I’ll take Georgia. (Which means in my view Vandy either loses their first game, or goes all the way.)

Game Nine — Kentucky over Tennessee. Kentucky was the class of the league by far this year. They’ll have a homecourt advantage all week, even against Tennessee. The Vols knocked off the Cats in Knoxville, but this one isn’t on UT’s campus. I’ll take UK.

Game Ten — Georgia over Florida. This side of the bracket is my “reach” side anyway. The Gators have been a streaky team all year, so after a two-game win streak, I see another loss coming. Georgia is a dangerous team. Probably not as dangerous as I’m making them out to be. But I’ll take ‘em through to Sunday nonetheless.

Game Eleven — Kentucky over Georgia. The Wildcats might not be focused. We have no idea how such a young team will play together in a tournament environment. And if they have to face Vandy in the title game, I’ll go with the Commodores. But since I’ve pushed UGA into the title game, I’ll take the Cats as tourney champs… even if John Calipari doesn’t care much about the SEC tourney. Heck, it’s awfully hard to pick against a team that went 14-2 in the regular season with both losses being close games on the road. Kentucky wins it all.

SEC East Headlines – 3/11/10

John — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:23:52 +0000

1. Here’s more on Tim Tebow’s below average Wonderlic score.

2. Linebacker Ryan Stamper — Florida’s leading tackler last year – is quietly preparing for draft day.

3. According to this scribe, Kentucky fans have already taken over the Music City.

4. This Florida writer believes that if things go according to seeding, the SEC could actually get six teams in the NCAA tourney. Whaaaa?

5. He then goes on to pick Tennessee to cut down the nets in Nashville.

6. Kentucky’s basketball resurgence didn’t left the rest of the SEC as had been expected.

7. Darius Miller and Darnell Dodson could play key roles for the Cats at tourney time.

8. The chairman of the NCAA tournament selection committee is downplaying the importance of conference tournaments. (Just as the committee always downplays RPI, record down the stretch, etc, etc.)

9. John Calipari doesn’t sound like he worries too much about conference tournaments, either.

10. Coach Cal isn’t the only coach in the conference who’ll sign one-and-done players.

11. Some former Wildcat football players helped themselves at UK’s Pro Day workouts yesterday.

12. The SEC tournament (and Kentucky fans) are a boom for Nashville.

13. Here’s a thumbnail preview of the tourney.

14. This writer sets the odds on Tennessee’s tourney chances.

15. It sounds like Vanderbilt’s players are pulling for Arkansas… which could mean that Georgia would be in their heads should the Dogs knock off the Hogs.

Media Survey Says… Pearl’s The Best

John — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:42:30 +0000

With many members of the SEC media brigade gathered in Nashville for the conference tournament, The Tennessean saw an opportunity. So the newspaper surveyed 12 members of the media and asked them a series of questions about the league, its players and its coaches.

In the spirit of Richard Dawson, survey says…

Best Coach — Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

Best Player — John Wall, Kentucky

Most Underrated Player — Trey Thompkins, Georgia

After Kentucky, Which Team Will Go Furthest In The NCAAs — Vanderbilt

Best Site For An SEC Tournament – Atlanta and Nashville tied

Best Fans — Kentucky (did they really need to even ask?)

Worst Fans — Auburn (did they really need to even ask?)

Best Homecourt Advantage — Kentucky

Arena That Should Be Demolished — Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (which HAS seen its last game action)

Coach You’d Want To Have Dinner With — Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

Coach You’d Least Like To Have Dinner With — John Calipari, Kentucky

Kentucky Or The Field — Kentucky

Next Coach To Get Fired — Jeff Lebo, Auburn

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Don’t Forget Our SEC Tourney Breakdowns

John — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:24:27 +0000

Just a reminder that we’ve already posted our first-round breakdowns for today’s SEC tournament action.

You can get the statistical skinny on all eight teams in action today by clicking the links below:

Game One — Alabama vs South Carolina

Game Two — Tennessee vs LSU

Game Three — Florida vs Auburn

Game Four — Arkansas vs Georgia

SI’s Tourney Projection Has 5 SEC Teams In

John — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:19:57 +0000

With the SEC tournament set to tip off in just about four hours, the league currently has five teams projected into the NCAA field at SportsIllustrated.com.

Andy Glockner updated his brackets early this morning… and here’s how the SEC’s teams stand:

Kentucky — #1 seed in the East (Syracuse) Region vs #16 seed Quinnipiac (though he most likely meant Robert Morris, which topped the Q last night)

Tennessee – #4 seed in the West (Salt Lake City) Region vs #13 seed Murray State

Vanderbilt — #5 seed in the Midwest (Oklahoma City) Region vs #12 seed San Diego State (Vandy beat Tennessee twice head-to-head, finished ahead of them in the standings and still gets a lower seed?)

Florida — #11 seed in the West (Salt Lake City) Region vs #6 seed Michigan State (who the Gators beat earlier this season)

Ole Miss — #13 seed in the South (Houston) Region vs #4 seed Baylor (The Bears lost to Alabama early in the season)

Please Don’t Cry About Awards

John — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:20:36 +0000

Ever notice how the fans of a school always feel that their coach is the most deserving of Coach of the Year honors? Or that fans of a school feel that their players are most deserving of postseason laurels?

Well, not every player and coach can take home a gold trophy when the season’s complete. And personally, I’ve never really understood why folks care so much about MVPs and All-Conference teams.

Still, in the last two weeks I’ve heard tell of at least five — yes FIVE — SEC East Division coaches that “deserved” to win Coach of the Year honors in the league.

Last week, Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggested that UGA’s Mark Fox be honored.

A friend of mine covering the Florida-Tennessee basketball game two weeks ago told me that someone on press row told him that Billy Donovan should be the SEC’s COTY.

Vanderbilt and Tennessee fans have already emailed me to say: a) Why is everyone complaining that Kevin Stallings won the award? and b) Why didn’t Bruce Pearl win it? You can do the math as to which fans said what.

Now, folks in Lexington are upset that John Calipari didn’t get the award. DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall said they didn’t even know who Stallings is.

As I’ve previously stated on this site, I believe that any of those last three coaches mentioned could have easily laid claim to the COTY prize. And I don’t disagree with CBS’ Gary Parrish who suggested the other league coaches didn’t vote for Pearl or Calipari because they simply don’t like them.

But just to throw a little water on all the “how could our coach not win it” nonsense, let’s look at some of the reasons those five SEC East Division coaches might not have won:

John Calipari

Pros: Recruited a stellar cast of freshmen and then led UK to a 29-2 regular season record. He did a fabulous job of keeping a team of young egos together.

Cons: Easily had the best talent in the league. He should have had a great year. His own players were aiming for an undefeated season. The All-SEC team reads like a UK roster. The award goes to Coach of the Year, not Recruiter of the Year.

Bruce Pearl

Pros: Pearl had to abandon his usual style of play due to a major off-court issue (four players arrested on New Year’s Day) and numerous injuries. He used a variety of line-ups to somehow lead UT to an 11-5 conference record and upset wins over Kentucky and Kansas.

Cons: Who recruited the four players who were arrested on New Year’s Day? Oh, yeah. So you could say Pearl had to clean up a mess that was partially his own creation.

Billy Donovan

Pros: Well, to be honest, I have no idea how anyone could push Billy D for COTY this season. I guess he got as much out of a thin backcourt as could have been expected. Maybe?

Cons: The Gators lost their final three games when all they likely needed was one win to wrap up an NCAA bid. And UF’s guard depth was hurt when Nick Calathes — who Donovan couldn’t get along with — left for a Greek professional league early.

Mark Fox

Pros: Georgia was a tougher team — at home at least — than most folks expected. UGA upset Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Florida in Athens. Fox gave Bulldog fans reason to be optimistic about the future.

Cons: Georgia finished the season 13-16, 5-11 in the SEC. End of argument.

Kevin Stallings

Pros: Vanderbilt overachieved. Picked for third in the East, the Commodores hung close to league champion Kentucky for much of the season. The surprisingly consistent ‘Dores finished 12-4 in league play and were unexpectedly physical in doing so.

Cons: I can’t think of any. Really. There are no glaring holes. Nothing that could really be spun as a reason not to give Stallings the prize.

I know, I know, I’ve just ticked off four different fanbases. And Vandy fans will probably be mad because I wasn’t glowing enough in my praise of Stallings.

But again, I think any of those top three guys could have won the award. Plus, I don’t really understand folks’ fascination with these types of honors anyway.

And I’d be willing to bet that if Kentucky wins the national title, Calipari probably won’t be thinking about the SEC’s Coach of the Year award when he’s up on a ladder cutting down a net.

SEC East Headlines – 3/10/10

John — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:04:37 +0000

1. One Pouncey twin remains in Gainesville.

2. Safety Dorian Munroe has appealed for a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA.

3. Florida’s improved schedule has helped them stay alive for an NCAA tourney bid.

4. Billy Donovan said that Ray Shipman deserved more playing time in Lexington on Sunday.

5. The Gators have fallen behind by double-digits in each of their last three games… all losses.

6. Albert Jackson believes teammate Trey Thompkins will be back at Georgia next season.

7. Caleb King and Waushaun Ealey both want to top the 1,000-yard mark this season.

8. Could the Florida game be the most important contest on Georgia’s slate?

9. UGA’s inside linebackers will be more important than ever in a 3-4 defense.

10. Gary Parrish of CBS Sports believes John Calipari and Bruce Pearl didn’t get Coach of the Year honors because other coaches don’t like them.

11. In a pretty snotty comment, DeMarcus Cousins said he didn’t even know who Kevin Stallings was. (He’s the guy that DID get Coach of the Year honors.)

12. Kentucky’s strength of schedule isn’t what folks thought it would be (thanks to UConn and North Carolina tanking).

13. Calipari says seeding means more to him than the SEC tourney.

14. South Carolina is on the bubble… the NIT bubble.

15. Derek Dooley says he’s looking for good character in his recruits. (That’s a far cry from Ed Orgeron’s “We’re not looking for angels” comment last season, no?)

16. Senior walk-on basketballer Quinn Cannington has been a part (sort of) of 99 wins at Tennessee.

17. With injuries and suspensions behind them, the Vols now have more depth and adaptability.

18. Vanderbilt’s Stallings says his Coach of the Year award probably has a lot to do with where his team was projected.

Tourney Tickets A Hot Commodity In Nashville

John — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:26:41 +0000

There aren’t a lot of SEC tournament tickets left (thanks, Kentucky fans) for folks heading to Nashville tomorrow. And those that do remain are pretty pricey.

Try $4,500 for a center court seat to all 11 games. A single-game, upper-deck seat is currently going for about $125.

If you make it to the Bridgestone Arena and find that tickets are just too expensive, well, at least there’s Robert’s right across the street.

More People Want Changes To SEC Tourney Seeding

John — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:19:11 +0000

Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News is the latest Southern writer to jump on the “it’s time to re-seed the SEC tournament” bandwagon.

Earlier this week we told you why and we showed you how we would re-seed the league’s bracket from 1 through 12 rather than by divisions.

Today, Mr. Solomon tackles the issue.

He spoke with ESPN announcer Jimmy Dykes and SEC Executive Associate Commissioner Mark Womack about the league’s tourney layout.

Dykes: “You want to reward and protect your top four teams. It makes a lot of sense to give your top four teams a bye, just like the Big 12 does. It’s at least worth a conversation.”

Womack: “You could do it that way. I think when you have something unusual that happens it probably brings it to the table for discussion a little more than when it’s balanced a little bit more. There’s certainly interest in winning a division championship and competing for seeds within that division.”

Personally, I don’t believe a division-winner at 9-7 in league play deserves much of a reward. If I were the SEC, I’d be trying to ensure that my top four teams looked good for the NCAA selection committee.

I’d also want to create a competitively balanced bracket that would appeal to my television partners. Rewarding or penalizing teams because of geography is ludicrous.

Here are the teams that were helped and hurt the most by the league’s East-West seeding plan:

Kentucky — After a dominant regular-season performance, UK might have to face the league’s third-best team (Tennessee) in the semifinal round.

Vanderbilt — Thanks to Tennessee’s inclusion on the other side of the bracket, Vandy would face the league’s fourth-best team in the semifinals… a team that would normally face the best team in the league. Traditionally, #2 meets #3 in most tourney semifinals.

Tennessee — The Vols finished with the league’s third-best record but will have to play a first-round game against LSU and would then have to play a rested Ole Miss team in Round Two if they beat the Tigers. (Ole Miss finished two games behind Tennessee in conference record.) The Vols are also on Kentucky’s side of the bracket.

Florida — The Gators will have to play a first-round game against Auburn and (if they win) take on a rested Mississippi State club in the second round. Florida and MSU both finished 9-7 in the regular season, but UF beat the Bulldogs head-to-head. On the plus side, the Gators are not locked into Kentucky’s side of the bracket… where they would have been placed if the league had seeded the tourney 1 through 12.

MSU — The Bulldogs get a bye into the second round.

Ole Miss — The Rebels also get a bye into the second round… despite the fact that the two Magnolia State schools actually finished 5th and 6th in the conference overall.

Auburn — The Tigers should be facing a 7-9 Arkansas squad, but due to the East-West nonsense, Jeff Lebo’s team draws 9-7 Florida in the first round instead.

Georgia — While the 12th best team in the league (LSU) faces 11-5 Tennessee, the 11th best team in the league will play 7-9 Arkansas thanks to the West 3 vs East 6 format. In reality, those two matchups are 12 vs 3 and 11 vs 7. Can you explain that to me?

Time to make some changes, SEC.

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SEC East Headlines – 3/9/10

John — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:35:41 +0000

1. This writer believes fatigue is an issue for Billy Donovan’s team.

2. The Gators will be looking for faster starts in Nashville.

3. Richard Samuels move to linebacker has helped his chances in Athens.

4. Here’s a look at who Georgia’s non-conference football foes will be in the coming years.

5. Georgia could be a dangerous team in this week’s SEC tournament.

6. Hey, Kentucky fans, want to drive a “Coach Cal” Mustang? (Just don’t drink your Coach Cal Maker’s Mark before driving.)

7. Darrin Horn says that if South Carolina doesn’t earn an NCAA or NIT bid, it won’t accept bids to either of the two lesser tournaments.

8. It could have been a much better year in Columbia if some in-state prospects hadn’t been dismissed from the Gamecock program.

9. Juco quarterback Matt Simms is ready for spring practice at Tennessee.

10. A pair of teams on UT’s side of the SEC tourney bracket will be out for revenge against the Vols.

11. Vandy’s loss to South Carolina sent them sliding in the polls and in most NCAA tournament projections.

12. Kevin Stallings knows his teams are in for some long days in the SEC tourney because they drew the latest possible tip times.

Wall And Cousins Take Top SEC Honors

John — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:32:58 +0000

The SEC has announced its post-season awards today and a pair of Kentucky freshmen took home the top honors among players… though there is something odd about the way it all broke down.

Point guard John Wall was the SEC coaches’ choice as the league’s “Player of the Year.”

Okay. I can live with that. While I think DeMarcus Cousins was a tad better (and the stats in our own “Total Package” awards back that up), Wall was a very special player.

But if Wall is the Player of the Year, how did Cousins win the coaches’ “Freshman of the Year” award? If Wall was the best player in the league AND he’s a freshman, then it kind of stands to reason that he would also be the league’s top freshman. Doesn’t it?

Obviously the league’s coaches were just trying to spread the wealth. Joe the Plumber would not approve.

As for “Coach of the Year,” Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings took home that honor. A good case could be made for either John Calipari or Bruce Pearl, but I have no problems with Stallings taking home the award. All three coaches did stellar work this season.

Below are the SEC’s awards and honors as voted on by the coaches:

SEC Player of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky

SEC Coach of the Year: Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt

SEC Freshman of the Year: DeMarcus Cousins

SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Varnado

SEC Sixth Man of the Year: John Jenkins, Vanderbilt

SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year: Ray Shipman, Florida

First Team All-SEC (complete with eight members?)

Jermaine Beal (Vanderbilt), Wayne Chism (Tennessee), DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky), Devan Downey (South Carolina), Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Trey Thompkins (Georgia), Jarvis Varnado (MSU), and John Wall (Kentucky)

Second Team All-SEC (seriously, how are there eight members?)

Dee Bost (MSU), Courtney Fortson (Arkansas), Tasmin Mitchell (LSU), AJ Ogilvy (Vanderbilt), Jeffrey Taylor (Vanderbilt), Mikhail Torrance (Alabama), Erving Walker (Florida), and Chris Warren (Ole Miss)

All-Defensive Team

Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Jarvis Varnado (MSU), Devan Downey (South Carolina), Sam Muldrow (South Carolina), and Jeffrey Taylor (Vanderbilt)

All-Freshman Team

Eric Bledsoe (Kentucky), Kenny Boynton (Florida), Reginald Buckner (Ole Miss), DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky), John Jenkins (Vanderbilt), Tony Mitchell (Alabama), Marshawn Powell (Arkansas), and John Wall (Kentucky)

MrSEC.com’s “Total Package” Team For 2010

John — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:01:48 +0000

With the regular season behind us, it’s now time for everyone and their brother to start handing out awards. Player of the Year. Freshman of the Year. Comeback Player of the Year. Newcomer of the Year. The list goes on and on.

Here at MrSEC.com we wanted to take a different approach. Rather than just giving you our view on the league’s best player(s) in 2009-2010, we wanted to hand out awards featuring some statistical basis.

In an effort to judge which SEC players were the absolute most valuable to their teams during the regular season, we decided to compare players in six different categories.

Now, before we go further, let me just say this — don’t send me emails saying things like “blocks aren’t as important as assists” and so on. This is just a fun little exercise. And if I’d created a formula to weigh each statistic differently, I’d have heard from the math majors in that case, too.

So it what it is. Which is at least more fact-driven than a vote based on some sportswriter’s eyeball test.

To create our rankings, we added up each SEC player’s points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, steals per game and blocks per game. Those stats show us a bit about each person’s offensive and defensive skills. Then we subtracted from that total each player’s turnovers per game.

Below you’ll find the 22 SEC players who tallied positive scores of more than 20.0 “good stats” per game.

When everything was tallied and figured, it should come as no surprise that South Carolina’s one-man band Devan Downey was the league’s best “total package” of the year.

But the race for the top spot was tighter than expected. Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State finished just 1/10th of a point behind Downey for the season. LSU’s Tasmin Mitchell also finished within half-a-point of Downey.

Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins was the highest-rated freshman on the list, ahead of teammate John Wall and Marshawn Powell of Arkansas.

Kentucky had three players on the list (Patrick Patterson also made it)… and you have to wonder if any of those players would have racked up more positive stats had the Wildcats not been so dad-gummed balanced.

Below you’ll see our final rankings for each player. Only players who took part in 20 games or more were included (or else Arkansas’ Courtney Fortson would have made the list, too).

MrSEC.com “Total Package” Team for 2009-2010

Player	PPG	RPG	APG	STLPG	BLKPG	TOPG	Total Score
D. Downey (SC)	22.6	3.1	3.6	2.8	0	-3.6	28.5
J. Varnado (MSU)	13.5	10.6	.9	.6	4.8	-2.0	28.4
T. Mitchell (LSU)	17.0	9.5	1.8	1.3	.5	-2.1	28.0
D. Cousins (UK)	15.6	10.1	.9	.9	1.8	-1.8	27.5
T. Thompkins (UGA)	17.7	8.2	1.7	1.0	1.1	-3.1	26.6
J. Wall (UK)	16.8	4.0	6.2	1.8	0.5	-4.0	25.3
P. Patterson (UK)	14.9	7.5	.9	.7	1.3	-1.1	24.2
M. Powell (Ark)	15.1	6.7	1.4	1.0	1.3	-2.0	23.5
T. Leslie (UGA)	13.9	6.9	2.6	1.2	1.0	-2.6	23.0
M. Torrance (Ala)	15.4	3.9	5.3	.8	.3	-2.7	22.9
J. Green (Ala)	14.3	7.0	1.1	.9	1.7	-2.7	22.3
AJ Ogilvy (VU)	13.9	6.2	.8	1.1	1.5	-1.8	21.7
C. Warren (UM)	17.2	1.8	3.4	1.1	.2	-2.1	21.6
L. Hargrove (Aub)	12.9	6.9	2.7	1.3	.4	-2.7	21.5
W. Chism (UT)	12.4	6.8	1.1	1.2	1.5	-1.7	21.3
D. Reed (Aub)	16.1	2.5	4.3	1.4	.2	-3.2	21.3
T. Waller (Aub)	15.9	3.8	1.1	1.4	.2	-1.1	21.3
D. Bost (MSU)	12.9	4.5	5.4	1.2	.2	-3.3	20.9
C. Parsons (UF)	11.9	6.8	2.5	1.1	.1	-1.9	20.5
S. Warren (LSU)	11.6	7.2	.4	1.1	1.4	-1.5	20.2
T. White (UM)	14.4	4.4	1.5	.9	.2	-1.3	20.1
J. Taylor (VU)	13.9	5.1	1.8	1.2	.4	-2.4	20.0

MrSEC.com “Total Package” Player of the Year:
Devan Downey, G, South Carolina

MrSEC.com First Team “Total Package” Squad:
Devan Downey, G, South Carolina
Jarvis Varnado, F, Mississippi State
Tasmin Mitchell, F, LSU
DeMarcus Cousins, F, Kentucky
John Wall, G, Kentucky

MrSEC.com “Total Package” Freshman of the Year:
DeMarcus Cousins, F, Kentucky

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25 Reasons To Love SEC Basketball

John — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:24:03 +0000

With the SEC tournament tipping off in Nashville this week, that city’s newspaper has put together a list of 25 things “We Love About SEC Basketball.”

To view The Tennessean’s slideshow, just click right there.

But I’ll warn you, #1 on the paper’s list is Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym. So clearly, this list is written with the hometown fans in mind… ’cause I know of no one outside of Nashville who loves Vandy’s funky bandbox.

Don’t Miss Our SEC Tourney 1st Round Breakdowns

John — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:14:55 +0000

For those you who have an aversion to the tedious act of scrolling, I thought I’d remind you that we posted yesterday our breakdowns of all the SEC tournament’s first round games.

Just click on the pretty red letters to find everything from teams’ records to their scoring breakdowns to their tourney resumes to their remaining tourney hopes.

We also give you our take on who’ll win in Round One, too.

Enjoy…

Game One — Alabama vs South Carolina

Game Two — Tennessee vs LSU

Game Three — Florida vs Auburn

Game Four — Arkansas vs Georgia

Lunardi Has Four SEC Teams In The Tourney

John — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:04:39 +0000

Joe Lunardi posted his latest Bracketology report on ESPN.com yesterday and he still sees four SEC squads currently in the field of 65. Two more schools are just on the outside, too. (That link may require you to register with ESPN.com.)

In Mr. Lunardi’s view, here’s how the SEC’s still-alive teams currently rank:

Kentucky — #1 seed in East (Syracuse) Regional versus the winner of the play-in game

Vanderbilt — #4 seed in Midwest (St. Louis) Regional versus #13 seed Kent State

Tennessee — #4 seed in West (Salt Lake City) Regional versus #13 San Diego State

Florida — #11 seed in South (Houston) Regional versus #6 seed Georgetown

Ole Miss is the fourth team outside the field.

Mississippi State is the seventh team outside the field.

Mr. Lunardi keeps a close eye on the resumes of all the at-large hopefuls, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt. But I’ll still say that in an average year — when West Coast basketball was not so bad — Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State’s resumes would not be tourney-worthy at this point.

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Sporting News, Kiper, Scouts Inc Talk NFL Draft

John — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:08:52 +0000

The Sporting News has posted its latest NFL mock draft and SEC fans will be happy with it. Seven former SEC stars are projected as being first round picks this April.

They are:

5th pick — Eric Berry, S, Tennessee to the Chiefs

7th pick — Joe Haden, CB, Florida to the Browns

15th pick — Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida to the Giants

18th pick — Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama to the Steelers

26th pick — Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida to the Cardinals

29th pick — Dan Williams, NT, Tennessee to the Jets

31st pick — Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia to the Colts

Meanwhile, the folks over at Scouts, Inc. have their top 32 players ranked in order of overall grade. They, too, have seven SEC players rated as first round talent (the company’s grade for each player is at right):

3. Eric Berry, S, Tennessee — 98

6. Joe Haden, CB, Florida — 96

13. Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama — 95

19. Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida — 94

20. Dan Williams, NT, Tennessee — 93

26. Maurkice Pouncey, C/G, Florida — 92

29. Kareem Jackson, CB, Alabama — 91

And finally, Mel Kiper ranks five SEC players on his most recent 25-man “Big Board.” Here they are:

3. Eric Berry, S, Tennessee

11. Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama

12. Joe Haden, CB, Florida

16. Dan Williams, NT, Tennessee

18. Maurkice Pouncey, C/G, Florida

Feeling Down? Watch This.

John — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:01:13 +0000

I hate Mondays. Even Monday evenings.

So in that spirit, I link you to this. It has nothing to do with sports, but it made me laugh. (Might take a second to warm up.)

Expect Lots Of Blue In Nashville

John — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:45:11 +0000

If you’ve ever been to an SEC tournament, you know what color you’ll be seeing the most of in Nashville this week: blue. As in Big Blue.

Whether it’s Rick Pitino leading the Cats to a title, Tubby Smith dealing trying to weather ridiculous expectations, or Billy Gillispie driving Kentucky fans mad, the SEC tournament always turns into the UK Invitational.

Atlanta, Tampa, New Orleans, Memphis… doesn’t matter. Cat fans own the SEC’s annual party. And with the tourney being played in nearby Nashville this year, you can expect to see as much or more blue than ever.

In fact, there’s a good chance that John Calipari’s club could have a “home crowd” advantage in the tourney semifinals against Tennessee and in the final against Vanderbilt (if the bracket holds form) despite the fact that they’ll be playing in those schools’ home state.

That would be frustrating for Vol and Commodore fans. But it would also be par for the SEC tournament course. This year — like every other year — expect blue to be the dominant color inside the Bridgestone Arena.

SEC East Headlines – 3/8/10

John — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:34:52 +0000

1. Florida showed heart in rallying from an 18-point deficit on the road yesterday… but they still couldn’t top Kentucky in a 74-66 loss.

2. The respectable loss might help Florida in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee.

3. This writer says Florida will reach the SEC tourney semifinals before losing to — wait for it — Arkansas. (Arkansas has lost five games in a row to end the regular season, by the way.)

4. Kris Durham is back from a shoulder injury and will be Georgia’s only senior receiver this fall.

5. UPDATE — This writer says that if Zach Mettenberger were just a sociology major, no one would care about his weekend arrest. (True, but your average sociology major isn’t on full scholarship, either.)

6. John Wall came up big late as Kentucky held off Florida.

7. The Wildcats had a perfect record at Rupp Arena.

8. At tournament time, what’s more important: talent or experience?

9. Patrick Patterson says the Cats’ opponents have been trying to talk, push and shove their way into UK’s players’ heads.

10. Senior walk-on Mark Krebs got to start for UK yesterday… in front of his mother who is battling breast cancer. Good story.

11. The Sporting News has named Wall its national Freshman of the Year.

12. Darrin Horn blasted his team last week. They responded with an upset win at Vanderbilt.

13. Facing LSU in the SEC tournament won’t help Tennessee’s RPI.

14. Vandy will have to win some games in the SEC tourney to cancel out that bad home loss to Carolina.

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How The SEC Tourney Bracket Should Look

John — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:31:06 +0000

(This post has been updated to correct a rather ridiculous typo on the author’s part… changes noted below.)

I am a fan of the SEC championship game in football. East versus West. One game, two division champions, winner takes all. That makes sense.

Too bad the SEC tournament is also set up in an East versus West fashion. Because in a basketball tourney, it makes no sense.

Oh, I’d be good with the SEC’s current seeding plan (East versus West in every game, teams seeded by division, with the top two seeds from each division getting first round byes), if only a few teams earned their way into the tourney. For example, if only eight teams made it in… then I would understand trying to place an even number of teams from each division in the tournament.

But everyone gets a shot in the basketball tournament anyway.

The SEC’s current seeding plan would make sense to me if each team from the West didn’t play each team from the East during the regular season. The tourney would be an opportunity to see matchups that hadn’t already been played.

But all of the teams in the West do play all of the teams in the East.

That’s why I believe it’s long past time the conference created a truly balanced tournament bracket. That could be achieved by seeding the tournament #1 through #12 from the SEC’s best to the SEC’s worst.

In the current set-up, a weak division can throw off the competitive balance of the entire bracket (on paper). Take the down year in the SEC West this season.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State — the fifth and sixth best teams in the league — will receive byes in this week’s tourney. Their placement forces the league’s clear-cut third-best team (Tennessee) into the same side of the bracket with top-seeded Kentucky.

Name me a tournament where #1 plays #3 in the semi-finals. That’s not fair to the #1 seed or the #3 seed.

Thanks to its location on a map, Arkansas will be rewarded with a #3 seed. That means the Razorbacks will get to play the worst team in the East in a first round game with Georgia. And what did they do to earn this honor? They finished 7-9 in SEC play, the seventh best record in the league.

The two worst teams in the conference this season were LSU and Georgia. LSU will face 11-5 Tennessee in the first round. Georgia, as we said, will face 7-9 Arkansas. Georgia’s game is whole heckuva lot easier than LSU’s. Why such a big reward for the second-worst team int the league?

If the league were seeded from 1 through 12 instead, here’s how things would shake out:

1 Kentucky 14-2
2 Vanderbilt 12-4
3 Tennessee 11-5
4 Florida 9-7 (by virtue of head-to-head tiebreakers with MSU and UM)
5 Miss. State 9-7 (by virtue of head-to-head tiebreaker with UM)
6 Ole Miss 9-7
7 Arkansas 7-9
8 S. Carolina 6-10 (by virtue of win vs UK tiebreaker with UA and AU)
9 Alabama 6-10 (by virtue of division record tiebreaker with AU)
10 Auburn 6-10
11 Georgia 5-11
12 LSU 2-14

If you create a balanced bracket based upon those correct seedings, you’d have a more competitive bracket than the actual one waiting to be played out in Nashville. See for yourself:

#9 Alabama would play #8 South Carolina with the winner facing #1 Kentucky

#12 LSU would play #5 MSU with the winner facing #4 Florida

#10 Auburn would play # 7 Arkansas with the winner facing #2 Vanderbilt

#11 Georgia would play #6 Ole Miss with the winner facing #3 Tennessee

(I have changed second-round matchups to more correctly match standard tournament format. I simply flip-flopped which games should have been matched with each team getting a bye. When posting dozens of stories and links per day, I occasionally flub up in my rushed state to write long posts like this one. This was one of those times. The point has not changed… 1-12 is the way to go. Sorry for any confusion! And please email me if you ever think I’ve mistyped something. Many thanks.)

The semi-finals — on paper — would feature the four best teams in the conference: Kentucky vs Florida and Vanderbilt vs Tennessee.

Under the current set-up, the SEC bracket has more to do with an atlas than it does actual wins and losses. And that makes for a less competitive tournament.

Especially in a season when either the East or West division is clearly inferior to its counterpart.

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The SEC Tournament Schedule

John — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:06:43 +0000

The field for this week’s SEC tournament in Nashville is set… though I think there should be some tweaks made.

Below you’ll see the full schedule for this week’s action. All times are Eastern.

THURSDAY

GAME ONE
E5 South Carolina vs W4 Alabama
1pm, SEC Network

GAME TWO
E3 Tennessee vs W6 LSU
3:15pm, SEC Network

GAME THREE
W5 Auburn vs E4 Florida
7:30pm, SEC Network

GAME FOUR
W3 Arkansas vs E6 Georgia
9:45pm, SEC Network

FRIDAY

GAME FIVE
E1 Kentucky vs South Carolina/Alabama winner
1:00pm, SEC Network

GAME SIX
W2 Ole Miss vs Tennessee/LSU winner
3:15pm, SEC Network

GAME SEVEN
W1 Mississippi State vs Auburn/Florida winner
7:30pm, SEC Network

GAME EIGHT
E2 Vanderbilt vs Arkansas/Georgia winner

SATURDAY

GAME NINE
Game Five winner vs Game Six winner
1:00pm, ABC

GAME TEN
Game Seven vs Game Eight winner
3:15pm, ABC

SUNDAY

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Game Nine winner vs Game Ten winner
1:00pm, ABC

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USC upsets Vandy

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:58:49 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — South Carolina coach Darrin Horn drew the play up for his senior in the huddle, and Devan Downey executed. To perfection.
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Stunning loss costs Vanderbilt momentum

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:57:56 +0000

Vanderbilt’s plan was to treat Jermaine Beal to one last home win and roll into the SEC Tournament with a shot at a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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