SEC Sports Fans

Scores

Tuesday, January 10

Florida 70, Georgia 48

Vanderbilt 67, South Carolina 57

Wednesday, January 11

Kentucky 68, Auburn 53

Ole Miss 71, Arkansas 63

Alabama 69, LSU 53

Thursday, January 12

Mississippi State 62, Tennessee 58

Saturday, January 14

Kentucky 65, Tennessee 62

Florida 79, South Carolina 65

Arkansas 69, LSU 60

Vanderbilt 77, Georgia 66

Mississippi State 56, Alabama 52

Auburn 69, Ole Miss 68 (2OT)

It’s only January, but the Southeastern Conference season is already becoming quite contentious, to the point that games are already feeling like bubble battles, elimination contests on the road to the NCAA Tournament.

There was a lot on the line this past week in the SEC. Teams who have regularly lived on the edge, sweating bullets on Selection Sunday, met with much at stake. Alabama and Mississippi State failed to make the NCAAs last season and are scratching and clawing to find a place in Bracketville. the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs obviously want to win the SEC West, but as last season showed, winning a division in the SEC means nothing in terms of NCAA inclusion. These divisional foes need to gain quality wins so that their national resumes will be able to stand up to scrutiny in eight weeks. There was a lot on the line when the two schools locked horns at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi. As it turned out, Mississippi State had just enough muscle and grit to get the job done.

MSU won one grinder on Thursday, beating Tennessee in a slow-tempo slog. The pace of Saturday’s game against Alabama was even slower, but in the end, Mississippi State was still able to generate enough defensive stops and clutch buckets to prevail. MSU led, 53-52, with five seconds left, and the Bulldogs – with the ball – were able to seal the deal on an inbounds play which began under their own basket. Bulldog coach Rick Stansbury drew up a very successful play out of a timeout. MSU’s Brian Bryant caught a baseball pass and scored on a layup with three seconds to go. He was fouled on the play, and when he nailed the foul shot, the Bulldogs had an insurmountable four-point advantage. Now, it’s indisputably clear that Mississippi State has a better resume than Bama in the fight for an at-large NCAA berth. If one team moved to the right side of the bubble and another team moved in the wrong direction, the SEC West offered a clear picture of the evolving landscape on Saturday.

In the SEC East, the three teams who were all expected to make the NCAAs are shoring up their weak spots and solidifying their seasons. Kentucky overcame an eight-point second-half deficit to win at Tennessee, holding off the determined Vols in an emotional scrap in Knoxville. Kentucky finally won a road game and eased fears about its ability to compete away from Rupp Arena. Florida, which was reeling after a loss at Tennessee two weekends ago, got back on the beam by whipping both Georgia and South Carolina. The Gators still have to prove that they can win on the road against good teams, but winning at South Carolina sure beats an ambush loss. Vanderbilt was in huge trouble regarding an NCAA berth on Christmas Day, but the Commodores have been superb since then, winning at Marquette in late December and then beginning the SEC season in style. Wins against South Carolina and Georgia have changed the mood in VU’s locker room, offering the Commodores the hope that they can still punch a Dance ticket this year.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

Scores

Monday, January 2

Virginia 57, LSU 52

Tennessee 76, Chattanooga 63

Auburn 67, Bethune-Cookman 41

Vanderbilt 69, Miami Ohio 62

Tuesday, January 3

Kentucky 73, Arkansas-Little Rock 51

South Carolina 79, South Carolina State 51

Alabama 73, Georgia Tech 48

Florida 79, UAB 61

Arkansas 83, Savannah State 66

Ole Miss 50, SMU 48

Wednesday, January 4

Florida State 85, Auburn 56

Memphis 69, Tennessee 51

Saturday, January 7

Kentucky 79, South Carolina 64

Tennessee 67, Florida 56

LSU 81, Ole Miss 55

Vanderbilt 65, Auburn 35

Arkansas 98, Mississippi State 88

Alabama 74, Georgia 59

This was a mixed week for the Southeastern Conference. In non-conference competition and in conference play, the league absorbed a relatively equal number of successes and failures. In non-conference play, Florida whipped UAB and Alabama throttled Georgia Tech. However, Tennessee got drilled by Memphis and Auburn got waxed by Florida State. Vanderbilt held off Miami of Ohio, looking sluggish but managing to avoid another bad loss after falling to Indiana State in the middle of December. Ole Miss scraped by Southern Methodist, which would have been a horrible loss for the Rebels, who have already dropped several decisions this season to teams they frankly should have beaten. LSU put up a brave fight against Virginia last Monday but couldn’t close the sale at home in Baton Rouge. The Tigers upset Marquette before Christmas but couldn’t produce a New Year’s knockout against the resilient Cavaliers of the ACC.

In conference play, the SEC demonstrated that it owns an appreciable degree of depth; of course, the flip side of that reality is that the SEC’s upper-tier teams were exposed as being overrated and under-tested to this point in the season. Florida was a preseason Final Four pick, but the Gators now stand at a crossroads after getting thumped by Tennessee in Knoxville. Florida played a game which started just after 11 a.m. on the Tennessee campus, and the Gators were accordingly groggy. Only Tennessee was up for this contest, as first-year coach Cuonzo Martin registered what was and is by far his biggest triumph to date. Tennessee displayed far more energy and made the lazy Gators settle for bad shots in their halfcourt offense. Florida coach Billy Donovan needs to light a fire under some fannies in Gainesville. Most specifically, he needs to get inspired and intelligent play from erratic point guard Erving Walker, who continues to demonstrate that he lacks a high basketball IQ. Walker needs to become a more prudent player and a more effective facilitator in order for Florida’s halfcourt offense to flourish. He certainly wasn’t ready for the challenge against Tennessee, and as a result, the Gators are already behind the eight ball in their attempt to keep pace with Kentucky for the SEC East crown.

In the SEC West, a similar story unfolded, as Mississippi State – a team that went wild in December and scored several impressive non-conference wins – came crashing down to earth in a 10-point loss at Arkansas. The Bulldogs have been one of the more unpredictable yet disappointing teams in the SEC over the past several seasons, owning more than enough talent for a deep NCAA Tournament run yet getting bounced from the Big Dance on the first weekend in the years they managed to make the tournament. Mississippi State possesses considerable inside-outside balance; the Bulldogs are a hard team to guard, and an 88-point showing won’t make anyone change that particular opinion of MSU. However, the Bulldogs’ commitment at the defensive end of the floor has often been questioned, and that lack of intensity was on display in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as the Razorbacks almost hung 100 points on the MSU crew. Mississippi State has already received a wake-up call. We’ll see if the Bulldogs pick up the alarm as the season progresses.

Everything else from week one of SEC play unfolded as expected. Alabama hammered Georgia in a rematch of last year’s contentious SEC Tournament quarterfinal. Kentucky and Vanderbilt cruised against inferior opposition, and a hungry LSU squad dispatched lowly Ole Miss, further adding to the Rebels’ sense of misery.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

Scores

Tuesday, December 27

Georgia 92, Winthrop 86 (OT)

Wednesday, December 28

Kentucky 86, Lamar 64

Baylor 54, Mississippi State 52

South Carolina 57, Wofford 45

Arkansas 80, Charlotte 67

Thursday, December 29

Rutgers 85, Florida 83 (2OT)

Vanderbilt 74, Marquette 57

LSU 69, Grambling State 37

Tennessee 86, Citadel 55

Alabama 72, Jacksonville 55

Friday, December 30

Auburn 78, Georgia Southern 75

Georgia 58, Delaware State 51

Dayton 62, Ole Miss 50

Arkansas 77, Texas Southern 49

Saturday, December 31

Kentucky 69, Louisville 62

Florida 90, Yale 70

Mississippi State 66, Utah State 64

South Carolina 72, USC Upstate 66

This was a mixed week for the Southeastern Conference. One team that had been enjoying a big year was ambushed on the road, while another team that had been suffering through a horrible season might have found the spark that will rekindle the fires of excellence.

First, the shocking loss: Florida, which had been rolling through its schedule with the confidence and self-assuredness you’d expect from an Elite Eight team with most of its starters back, got knocked off at Rutgers in double overtime. The Gators appeared on the verge of finishing off their Big East foe, but Rutgers hit a lot of long-distance shots under pressure to keep pace with Florida through 50 minutes of wildly entertaining action at “The Rac” in Piscataway, New Jersey. One of Florida’s weak points in this game was the play of Brad Beal. The new addition to Florida’s lineup – who has helped make the Gators so formidable this season – committed multiple turnovers and also failed to grab a number of crunch-time rebounds. Beal was not ball-strong near the basket, and that will have to change if Florida is going to fulfill its potential. It’s not as though Florida coach Billy Donovan failed to push the right buttons; it’s simply that his team got outfought and outworked at the end of regulation and the game’s two overtime periods.

On the other hand, Vanderbilt just might have saved its season this past week. The Commodores were reeling after losing to Indiana State a week before Christmas. With another bad loss on the resume against Cleveland State and no high-quality wins to speak of, the VU crew needed to win at nationally-ranked Marquette to give the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee something attractive to look at. Vanderbilt simply had to bag a big non-conference win to give its resume a measure of balance and heft. Plainly put, coach Kevin Stallings’s team delivered just that in an unexpectedly easy conquest of the Golden Eagles. Vanderbilt bolted to a 36-8 lead, if you can possibly believe it, and was never in danger of allowing its lead to shrink to single digits the rest of the way. Marquette did get its massive deficit down to the mid-teens past the midpoint of the second half, but MU never found the final finishing kick to make its rally particularly noteworthy. Vanderbilt’s defense and its determined level of play near the rim marked a considerable departure from tissue-soft performances earlier in the season. Now Vanderbilt’s NCAA hopes are much more realistic.

The Florida and Vanderbilt stories were big enough to make Kentucky’s win over Louisville seem uneventful by comparison. Kentucky did not shoot well or execute well against the Cardinals, despite the fact that UK owns a lot more NBA talent than Louisville. However, a massive 24-point, 19-rebound game from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was enough to catapult Big Blue to an immensely satisfying triumph over its backyard rival in Bluegrass Country.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

Scores

Monday, December 19

LSU 67, Marquette 59

Florida 82, Mississippi Valley State 54

Auburn 76, Florida A&M 69

Vanderbilt 99, Longwood 71

Tuesday, December 20

Kentucky 82, Samford 50

Georgia 72, Mercer 58

Tennessee 72, UNC-Asheville 68

Arkansas 71, Eastern Kentucky 57

Wednesday, December 21

South Carolina 62, Southeast Louisiana 43

Vanderbilt 89, Lafayette 58

Middle Tennessee 68, Ole Miss 56

Alabama 69, Oklahoma State 52

Thursday, December 22

Kentucky 87, Loyola (MD) 63

Mississippi State 82, Northwestern State 67

Florida 82, Florida State 64

Arkansas 77, Louisiana Tech 63

Auburn 65, Hawaii 62

LSU 67, North Texas 58

Friday, December 23

Long Beach State 64, Auburn 43

Georgia 64, Furman 50

Tennessee 66, East Tennessee State 63

Sunday, December 25

UTEP 83, Auburn 76

This was a very solid week for Southeastern Conference basketball. As the non-conference portion of the regular season winds to a close, the SEC captured a lot of those “battleground” kinds of games which can elevate or diminish conference rankings. The SEC’s win in non-conference combat could provide a slight measure of leverage for league teams when Selection Sunday arrives.

LSU started the week off right by upsetting Marquette in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are trying to make their way up the ladder in the SEC after reaching the 2009 NCAA Tournament and beating a school called Butler in the first round. LSU’s past decade on the hardwood has hardly been bereft of achievements; the Tigers’ 2009 NCAA win (followed by a strong effort in a losing cause against eventual champion North Carolina) was nothing compared to the team’s 2006 Final Four run, made possible by an upset of Duke in the Sweet 16 round followed by a steely takedown of Texas in the Elite Eight. LSU’s win over Marquette could be just the thing to spur a renaissance in basketball at a school whose football and baseball programs are second to none.

The next key victory for the SEC came on Wednesday, when Alabama beat Oklahoma State by 17 points on a neutral floor in Birmingham. Alabama’s defense was smothering and swarming against Oklahoma State, enabling the Crimson Tide to develop a more positive vibe after enduring some discouraging non-conference losses earlier in December. Alabama came up short against Georgetown and couldn’t hit the side of a barn against Kansas State on Dec. 17. Posting this win will give coach Anthony Grant a positive teaching tool as he continues to develop his team’s raw but evident athletic ability.

Finally, Florida – a team that looks like a Final Four contender – affirmed its quality by thumping rival Florida State. The Gators have made very few missteps this year due to their flinty toughness, supplemented by an assortment of skilled shotmakers and overall balance at all five positions on the floor. Coach Billy Donovan knows how to make the most of prime talent, evinced by his back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. After Florida came within one made basket of reaching the Final Four last season, it seems clear that the Gators have what it takes to make another big charge in 2012.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

Florida 84, Texas A&M 64

Most people would say that they are unsure what to think of
the Texas A&M Aggies, but after their 84-64 loss to the Florida Gators on
Saturday, there’s a whole lot of work to do if the Aggies are trying to make to
the big dance again this year.

This was a game that appeared to start backwards, meaning
that even though the Gators are known for their fast and furious offense, it
was the defense that looked sharp and aggressive. This left the Aggies confused
and out of sorts. They could not overcome the half court trap and the pressure
defense setup the Gators were using. The Aggies were so out of whack and slow
to get going that they didn’t even score their first field goal until Khris
Middleton made a lay-up at the 12:01 mark of the first half. A&M showed
further signs of its frustrations when Keith Davis committed an ugly and
uncalled-for foul at the 8:21 mark which put Erving Walker at the line for two
shots. After that, Florida’s Bradley Beal started to make a steady stream of
shots, extending his team’s lead even more.

With the Gators’ offense going full blast, the Aggies just
looked more tried and sloppy without being able to develop any offensive
consistency at all. The first half came to a close with the score being 50-25
and Texas A&M just looking glad to get to the locker room. The Aggies had
one last chance to try to pull their heads together.

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Unfortunately it didn’t seem to work at all. As the second
half started the game seemed to almost pick up exactly where it left off with
Texas A&M looking tried and confused and the Gators’ offense on cruise
control while maintaining a tight defense that totally locked down the Aggies’
scoring options, Middleton in particular.

As a result of the great play from the Gators’ guards, this
game was never competitive down the stretch. Florida was led by Kenny Boynton
and his 22 points ( 6 of 12 from 3 point range), plus the excellent support
which came from Walker and Beal, each with 16 points. Walker also had six
assists to round out his night.

So, even though Texas A&M is supposed to be a good
defensive team, its inability to deal with Florida’s half court trap made the
difference. The Aggies could not get their heads into a positive place at the
start of the game; they just never got their team going in the right direction.
One should not forget that Florida’s Billy Donovan is a great coach and
A&M’s Bill Kennedy is a new and still untested coach. All of these factors
added up to a learning day for the Texas A&M Aggies and a well played game
for the Florida Gators.

David Savage
DFN Sports Staff Writer

Scores

Tuesday, December 13

Mississippi State 75, Florida Atlantic 68

South Carolina 66, Presbyterian 58

Wednesday, December 14

Ole Miss 66, Louisiana-Lafayette 54

Charleston 71, Tennessee 65

Auburn 52, South Florida 40

Thursday, December 15

LSU 66, UC Irvine 59

Saturday, December 17

Kentucky 87, Chattanooga 62

Mississippi State 80, Detroit 75

Ohio State 74, South Carolina 66

Southern Mississippi 86, Ole Miss 82

Florida 84, Texas A&M 64

Kansas State 71, Alabama 58

Indiana State 61, Vanderbilt 55

Arkansas 62, Southeast Louisiana 55

Auburn 84, North Florida 71

Georgia 63, USC 59

This was, on balance, a slightly disappointing week for the SEC. There are a few good stories developing in the conference, but they’re outweighed by the negative trends unfolding on the hardwood. The good news for SEC brass is that Mississippi State is holding steady. The Bulldogs have a well-established reputation for being flaky and unreliable, but so far this season, they’ve remained focused and dedicated. Coach Rick Stansbury is getting the most out of his players, who are withstanding the pressure of high expectations. Mississippi State dug out two hard-earned wins over the past seven days, fighting past Florida Atlantic – one of the very best teams in the Sun Belt Conference – and Detroit, a pesky Horizon League foe, to forge a 10-game winning streak. These are not RPI top 25 wins, but they’re decent wins, and they’re coming on the road as well as at home. Mississippi State is slowly but surely crafting the kind of profile that, if coupled with a solid (not spectacular, just solid) SEC season, will get the Bulldogs into the Big Dance, thereby giving ballast to the SEC as a basketball league.

The other particularly positive story for the Southeastern Conference is Florida. The Gators look good and appear to be getting better as the season goes along. Coach Billy Donovan’s team thumped Texas A&M in a matchup of ranked schools this past Saturday in Miami. Florida’s defense overwhelmed the Aggies from the start, and the Gators showed tremendous energy at both ends of the floor. The laziness that defined the 2008 through 2010 Gator teams is a thing of the past. The program has seemingly worked through a multi-year rut after winning back-to-back national championships. There seemed to be a sense of entitlement on the post-championship teams, who expected to win just because of the name across the front of the jersey. Last year’s Florida squad and this year’s version are both putting in the work, and the results are not surprising.

The bad news in the SEC is that some programs are not pulling their weight. Vanderbilt is the leading (or should we say faltering?) example in this regard. The Commodores were ranked seventh in the preseason polls, but are now looking like an NIT team after getting ambushed at home by Indiana State. Vanderbilt has been playing without big man Festus Ezeli for much of the season, but Ezeli was on hand against Indiana State, and the Dores still lost at home to last season’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion. Vanderbilt has to beat Marquette on Dec. 29 if it wants to shore up its at-large profile for the NCAAs.

Alabama is also taking some backward steps this season. Coach Anthony Grant’s team can certainly defend, but it can’t hit the side of a barn from three-point range. Another poor shooting performance doomed the Tide in a 13-point loss against Kansas State. Alabama has to find some offense in short order if it wants to make the NCAAs.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

Indiana 73, Kentucky 72

March Madness hasn’t been a part of Indiana University
basketball since the 2008 season. After a March-style win in a March-like
atmosphere on the first weekend of December, it seems pretty reasonable to
think that the 2011-2012 season will take the Hoosiers back to where they
belong: in the Big Dance when the brackets are announced on Selection Sunday.

Yes, it’s been three long years in the wilderness for the IU
program, which was hammered by penalties thanks to the recruiting violations
committed by disgraced former coach Kelvin Sampson. Those penalties forced the
Hoosiers to start from scratch and endure three empty seasons under new boss
Tom Crean, who was willing to take the short-term hits in order to lead Indiana
back to prominence in the long run. This, Crean’s fourth season in Bloomington,
needed to become a breakthrough for a number of reasons. First, a big year at
Indiana would have made the three postseason-free seasons worth the pain and
sacrifice. Second, NCAA penalties and their effects no longer apply. Third,
Crean now has only his recruits playing under the IU banner, with the sour
taste of the Sampson era now fully washed away. This was the year for Indiana
basketball to make a move, and with the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats coming to
Assembly Hall this past Saturday, the Hoosiers had a chance to make a
statement.

Oh, did they ever.

Christian Watford’s three-point shot from the left wing
tickled nothing but twine at the final buzzer, giving Indiana an exhilarating
one-point triumph over Big Blue. The game-winning shot by Watford –which was
Indiana’s ninth trey of the afternoon – sent the home crowd into hysterics and
unleashed a massive celebration throughout the IU campus. Yet, beating a rival
in a battle of basketball-crazy programs is not the first and foremost prize
for Crean’s ballclub. The biggest part of this triumph for Indiana is that it
gives the Hoosiers the kind of win that will look great on Selection Sunday. If
there’s any doubt about Indiana’s place in the field of 68 teams, this win over
Kentucky should give the Hoosiers the juice they need to pass other bubble
teams and make the cut in the selection committee war room. College basketball
is a livelier sport when Indiana succeeds, and that’s why this upset resonates
so profoundly from coast to coast.

There are three big reasons why Indiana won this game.
First, Watford’s shot was the ninth triple Indiana made in 15 attempts. The
ability to shoot the ball from distance is a typical ingredient in a college
basketball upset, and this clash was no exception.

Second, Kentucky’s two foremost stars just didn’t rise to
the moment. Terrence Jones, a future lottery pick in the eyes of many, had more
turnovers (six) than points (four), while his Kentucky teammates didn’t do much
better. Power forward Antonio Davis, who preserved Kentucky’s win over North
Carolina a week earlier with a blocked shot at the end of regulation, came up
small against Indiana. Limited by foul trouble, Davis scored just six points in
only 24 minutes of action. Indiana used this to great effect.

The third reason why Indiana won was that Kentucky didn’t
foul at the end of the game. UK coach John Calipari watched in the 2008
national championship game as Kansas’s Mario Chalmers hit a game-tying three at
the end of regulation, all because Memphis’s Derrick Rose didn’t give a foul.
In this game, Kentucky – leading 72-70 – had two fouls to give in the final 5.5
seconds, yet failed to foul Indiana even once. The lack of wisdom gave Indiana
a clean look, and the rest is history.

December never felt so much like March, a month the Indiana
Hoosiers are eagerly anticipating once again.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

Scores

Wednesday, December 7

Florida 78, Arizona 72

Dayton 74, Alabama 62

Vanderbilt 87, Davidson 83

Georgia Tech 68, Georgia 56

Friday, December 9

Florida 90, Rider 69

Saturday, December 10

Indiana 73, Kentucky 72

Mississippi State 106, Troy 68

Austin Peay 74, Tennessee 70

Ole Miss 80, Mississippi Valley State 56

LSU 64, Boise State 45

Oklahoma 78, Arkansas 63

Sunday, December 11

Alabama 62, Detroit 54

This was a decidedly shaky week for the SEC, and not for the
reason you might think. Sure, Kentucky lost at Indiana, but coach John
Calipari’s Wildcats are going to be fine. This is a young Kentucky team which
played its first true road game of the season. Young players such as Antonio
Davis, who was plagued by foul trouble the whole game against Indiana, learned
important lessons about how to play defense when saddled with fouls. Davis
should become a much better player as a result of this contest. Everyone on the
Wildcats’ roster got a needed wake-up call, a reminder that their talent can’t
carry them alone. Big Blue needs to be smart and vigilant at both ends of the
floor. Calipari now has the teaching tools he needs to make his team better.

No, the real concern for the SEC is that some of its other
programs aren’t rising to the top. Tennessee suffered an abysmal home-court
loss to a not-very-good Austin Peay ballclub. The Governors went into Knoxville
and humiliated coach Cuonzo Martin’s Vols, adding to the sense of decay in Big
Orange land. Alabama got thumped by Dayton earlier this week, reminding coach
Anthony Grant how far his Crimson Tide have to go before they can be considered
a big deal in the college basketball community. Arkansas lost by 15 points to
Oklahoma, showing first-year coach Mike Anderson that his rebuilding job is
going to require a lot of work. Anderson wanted to return to the scene where
his mentor, Nolan Richardson, won the 1994 national championship and then made
the 1995 NCAA title game against UCLA. To get to that point, Anderson will have
to start from scratch. Georgia seems to be going back to square one as well
after suffering a 12-point home-court loss to Georgia Tech.

If there’s one bright ray of hope in the SEC other than
Kentucky, it’s Florida. The Gators fought off a spirited challenge by Arizona
to maintain their status as a legitimate title contender. Florida doesn’t have
a fully healthy lineup, so if the Gators can get all their pieces together at
the same time, they can be very formidable as the season progresses.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer