Kentucky Wildcats
The East Beasts
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are going to take a look and preview the SEC East for the upcoming 2022 season.
#1 Georgia: The Bulldogs finally beat Alabama in the National Championship to win their first national championship since 1980.
They only return 10 starters but they are expected to reload. The defense was historically good but they lost players like linemen Jordan Davis and Travon Walker, linebacker Nakobe Dean and safety Lewis Cine.
Stetson Bennett returns under center and they return three starting offensive linemen. They have two very talented tight ends, Brock Bowers and Arik Gilbert.
#2 Tennessee: Head coach Josh Heupel is entering his second season in Knoxville and he has the program going in the right direction. The Volunteers averaged 39.3 points a game. They also led the SEC in plays of 40-plus yards (23) after only having three in 2020.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker is entering his senior year after having a breakout year in 2021. He passed for 2,945 yards, 31 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also rushed for 620 yards and 5 scores.
They also return four starting O-linemen. The defense allowed over 200 rushing yards and 33.6 points a game in SEC play last season.
#3 Kentucky: It’s a toss-up between the Wildcats and Tennessee for the No. 2 spot. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen helped them average 32.3 ppg last year. Coen left to take a job on the LA Rams staff. Mark Stoops hired Rich Scangarello from the 49ers to replace him.
QB Will Levis is back and they have a good running back stable led by Chris Rodriguez Jr.
Kentucky ranked fourth in the SEC in scoring defense, 21.7 ppg allowed. They have holes to fill up front and in the secondary. The linebacker unit is talented.
#4 Florida: The Gators are led by first year head coach Billy Napier. They finished 6-7 in 2021 and they should improve this season. Quarterback Anthony Richardson played in eight games last year and averaged 8.1 yards per play, ran for 401 yards and 9 total scores.
Florida should have a solid running back core that includes Louisiana transfer Montrell Johnson and former top recruit Demarkcus Bowman. The Gators finished 10th in the SEC against the run and only had 20 sacks in conference play.
#5 South Carolina: The Gamecocks could be one of the most exciting teams to watch. They have several transfer players including quarterback Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma) and receivers Corey Rucker (Arkansas State) and Antwane Wells (James Madison) to add to a receiving corps already featuring Josh Vann (15.8 yards per catch) and Dakereon Joyner.
They return all five starting O-linemen but that’s still an area of concern. They only averaged 3.8 yards per carry in 2021. The defense allowed 175 rushing yards a game.
#6 Missouri: The Tigers have a bad defense and inconsistent quarterback play. The defense allowed 6.7 yards per play, 36 points a game and more than 200 rushing yards a contest in SEC action last fall.
Offensively, the Tigers averaged only 22.6 points and 5.2 yards per play in SEC games last season.
Ends Isaiah McGuire and Trajan Jeffcoat lead the way up front, while cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine and safety Martez Manuel are two building blocks for new coordinator Blake Baker.
#7 Vanderbilt: Are we surprised to see the Commodores here?
Mike Wright and Ken Seals are competing for the QB 1 job.
Vanderbilt ranked 13th in the SEC against the run, last in pass efficiency defense, and surrendered an unpleasant combination of 6.8 yards per play and 35.6 points per game.
SEC Hardwood
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re about two weeks into the college basketball season. The SEC is known for football but there are several programs ranked in the top 25 in basketball.
It looks like Kentucky will have some competition after a down 2020-21 season. Let’s examine the ranked teams to see who the real contenders are.
#10 Alabama: The Crimson Tide (4 – 0) have been doing well on the hardwood lately. They advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last season and lost to UCLA in overtime.
They also won the SEC Tournament. Alabama finished last season ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Those were the school’s highest season-ending rankings since 1956.
Junior guard Jaden Shackelford leads the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game. Junior Jahvon Quinerly averages 15.5 PPG and senior Keon Ellis averages 14.5 PPG.
Alabama heads to the ESPN Events Invitational this week in Orlando, where it will meet Iona on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT in a rematch of its NCAA tournament opener in March. They will play either Belmont or Drake on Friday, with a chance to meet Kansas on Sunday in the finale. The Jayhawks are No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 3 in the coaches poll this week.
# 10 Kentucky: The Wildcats (3 – 1) lost the third game of the season to No. 5 Duke, 79 -71. Last season they finished 9 – 16, their worst season since 1988-89.
Since head coach John Calipari took over in 2009, he’s built the team with the top one-and-done players every season. Surprisingly, out of the top four scorers on the team only one is a freshman.
Freshman TyTy Washington Jr. and junior forwards Oscar Tshiebwe, Keion Brooks all lead the team with 13 PPG.
The next four games are against Albany, North Florida, Central Michigan and Southern. Those should all be blow out wins. The schedule gets tougher after that with games against Notre Dame and Ohio State.
#13 Arkansas: The Razorbacks (3 – 0) are looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. In 2020-21 they were 25 -7 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
Senior guard JD Notae leads the team with 21.7 PPG. Fellow senior Chris Lykes averages 15.7 PPG.
They have eight games before conference play begins December 29th and only two of those games are against Power 5 teams. They should be undefeated during this stretch.
#15 Tennessee: The Vols (3 – 1) just played some elite teams over the weekend in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament. They were blown out by No. 5 Villanova 71 – 53 on Friday. They rebounded Saturday and beat No. 18 North Carolina, 89 -72. They have some marquee games against Colorado, Texas Tech, No. 9 Memphis and No. 17 Arizona before SEC play starts.
#19 Auburn: The Tigers (3 – 0) have been doing well the last few seasons since Bruce Pearl took over as head coach in 2014. They advanced to the Final Four in 2019 and would have been in the 2020 NCAA Tournament if it was not cancelled due to the pandemic. Last year they were 13 – 14.
They play UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas for their next game. No. 24 Michigan State, No. 6 Baylor and Syracuse are potential opponents in the next round.
#23 Florida: The Gators (3 – 0) play Cal in the Fort Myers Tip-Off this week. They will face No. 21 Seton Hall or Ohio State in the next round.
The best team they have played so far is Florida State and they won 71 – 55.
The Crystal Ball Of The SEC
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Labor Day weekend is upon us and that means the greatest game of all, College Football kicks off.
I love many sports, but college football is just special. In this part of the world, you have SEC football; which is the best brand in college athletics.
Others try and duplicate it, but they simply come up short.
Oklahoma and Texas are moving over probably next season instead of 2025. Some critics say conference expansion is bad using excuses like geography, and any other reason they can find.
We live in a generation of participation trophies as it relates to sports, and quite frankly the SEC has an ‘iron sharpens iron’ kind of mentality and that keeps them ahead of the rest in the college football world.
Here are my 2021 SEC Predictions:
Most Overrated Team: Texas A&M: The 2021 hype train has the Aggies picked by some to knock of Alabama to win the West.
I don’t think defensively A&M is there yet, and will Jimbo Fisher open up the offense to the Alabama and LSU levels of the past two seasons?
I don’t think the Aggies have those types of weapons and will come up short in the West. What happens if they lose at home to Alabama? Well, they are and I think they end up losing to Ole Miss and possibly LSU.
Most Underrated Team: Ole Miss: Ole Miss may end up having the best offense in the conference. So, when you line up against this team you better be prepared to score a lot of points.
Everyone harps on the Ole Miss defense, but I ask the question they can’t be worse than they were last year, right? I expect improvement out of the unit in 2021. This team could sneak up into the double-digit win category.
SEC West:
Alabama: Until someone knocks them off, they are the pick here.
Nick Saban is the best head coach in the history of the conference and he has the national championships to prove it in the playoff era of college football.
Ole Miss: This team is dangerous. Sleep on them if you want to.
Texas A&M: I’m just not buying the hype. This team is too conservative on offense, and do they have enough defense to be championship elite? The answer is no.
LSU: Coach O it is starting to slip away. Fix it in 2021 or your seat is going to get very hot.
Auburn: New coaching staff that wants to go from a spread offense to more of a pro type offense. Going to take some time Aubbies.
Arkansas: I love how the Hogs are building this roster, but you are in the best division of the best conference in college football.
Mississippi State: Not a terrible team, but you have six bowl teams ahead of you.
SEC East:
Georgia: This is an elite football program that gets the underachiever label by folks who don’t hold everyone to the same standard they judge UGA by.
Could it be they know UGA is about to knock the National Title door down in the near future and what that may mean? Cue the 1980 jokes haters.
Florida: Gators will be good, but a different kind of good. One that starts with better defensive play. Florida lost 6,600 yards and 79 TDs to the NFL draft from last year.
Missouri: A much improved Tiger squad could challenge for 2nd in the East.
Kentucky: Nope, I’m not buying what you are selling Cats. Your offense is like watching paint dry.
Tennessee: Vols are building back the roster. It is going to take a couple of years.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks are starting a Graduate Assistant at QB. Ouch!
Vanderbilt: We love the Dores during baseball season, but they are an instant win during the fall.
SEC Title game will be Alabama against Georgia.
Disney Or Six Flags?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Since John Calipari arrived in Lexington almost twelve years ago, Kentucky has dominated the SEC.
Over that period of time, in conference play, the Wildcats have won six regular season and conference tournament titles, while finishing in either first or second place in every season but one.
Kentucky has essentially been operating at the level of Disney and the rest of the SEC has been Six Flags.
Still, even when you’ve been as dominant as the Wildcats have been there is usually a season mixed in there somewhere, when other teams are able to get their shots in- last year’s UNC season comes to mind.
Could this be the year the tables are turned?
The one team that automatically comes to mind that’s in the best position is Tennessee.
The Vols are probably the league’s most completely team, with a nice mix of experience, talent, and coaching.
They have played the second toughest schedule of anyone in the SEC (Kentucky’s has been the most difficult, by far) and they have been the most impressive doing it.
The only thing I worry about, and I realize I’m contradicting myself a bit here, is I just don’t trust Rick Barnes.
Yes, I think he’s a good coach, his teams just tend to fall short when they’re the leaders. In a weird way I would actually feel better about their chances if Kentucky were playing at a higher level.
Teams like Arkansas, Missouri, Auburn, and LSU could certainly let wind up at the top of conference if Tennessee were to falter, but there are still too many questions about each for me to feel comfortable separating any one of those from the pack.
I think some of the other teams (Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M) will certainly have a shot at some upset wins, I just don’t think they’ll be able to compete for a shot at the top spot.
Florida is the one wild card in this whole thing. After witnessing Keyontae Johnson collapse on the court and then the aftermath of that event, you can’t predict how they’re going to react.
And just to be clear, these are a bunch of teenage kids who saw a teammate and friend collapse in front of them, so however they respond on the court is really inconsequential.
Of course, this topic is only relevant because Kentucky is off to their worst start in over a hundred years. An optimistic fan will argue the team has played the most difficult schedule in the country and their young players will mature and grow over the course of the season.
Everyone else will counter with the fact Kentucky still lost those games and those young players have more than likely never faced this kind adversity that is currently staring them in the face.
We should have a good idea who may be on the right path after the first few games, since Kentucky begins their conference schedule against some of the league’s weaker teams.
Even though we knew this season was going to be different for all the obvious reasons, I think most still felt like Kentucky was the team to beat and most everyone else was playing for second place.
With Kentucky’s early struggles it feels as if a number of teams have an opportunity to feel what it’s like to be the top dog.
Don’t get me wrong, going to Six Flags can be great, but it’s Disney that most everyone is after.
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Recapping last weekend college football action around the sunshine state, we have the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, to steal a line from the classic 1966 spaghetti western.
The Good:
UCF traveled to Boca Raton on Saturday and true freshman quarterback Dillon Gabriel led the Knights to a 48-14 victory over FAU.
UCF’s rushing attack of McCrae (93 yards), Thompson (91 yards and a touchdown), Anderson (75 yards) and Killins (37) amassed more than 300 yards rushing for the second week in a row.
Gabriel finished the night 7 of 19 passing for 245 yard and 2 touchdowns. UCF’s defense put pressure on Florida Atlantic quarterback Chris Robinson all night long. UCF tallied 5 sacks with 16 tackles for loss.
Up next for the Knights is Stanford.
Stanford quarterback K.J. Castello is expected to start after missing last week’s loss to USC due to a concussion.
UCF opens as a seven-point favorite over the Cardinals. This is a classic battle of two contrasting styles. UCF wants to play fast, whereas Stanford prefers to play in a phone booth.
UCF’s defense will be challenged against Stanford’s huge offensive line.
Game time is 3:30 at The Bounce House. Stanford melts in the fourth quarter. My take: UCF 34 Stanford 21
Florida Gators took care of business against one of their cupcakes on Saturday by shutting out UT Martin 45-0. Feleipe Franks completed 25-27 for 270 yards, 0 interceptions and 2 touchdowns. The Gators took care of business on both sides of the ball against a less talented UT Martin.
Up next for the Gators is a trip to Lexington, Kentucky to open SEC play against the Wildcats.
Both teams are 2-0 but Kentucky is forced to play without starting quarterback Terry Wilson due to injury. Wilson torched the Gators last season as Kentucky ended a 31-game losing streak vs. Florida.
Sawyer Smith will get the nod for the Wildcats on Saturday night. Kavosiey Smoke leads the Wildcat’s rushing attack 18 carries for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Florida will enter this contest with two major players out due to injury Kadarius Toney (shoulder) and C.J. Henderson (ankle).
The Gators look for revenge in the commonwealth after Kentucky broke the streak. Gators defense too much for Smith and company. My take: Florida 31 Kentucky 16
The Bad:
The Miami Hurricanes have lost their first two games since 1978.
North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Hurricanes 28-25. The Tar Heels were led for the second week in a row by Freshman quarterback Sam Howell. Howell’s touchdown pass to Dazz Newsome with 1:01 left in the game put the Tar Heels up 28-25.
Miami had one last chance but Bubba Baxa shanked the field goal attempt wide left to seal the North Carolina victory.
Jarren Williams 30 for 39 for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns and Deejay Dallas 14 carries for 107 yards paced the Hurricanes.
Miami will rebound this week with a blowout win against an overmatched Bethune Cookman Wildcats. My take: Miami 54 Bethune Cookman 13
The Ugly:
Florida State won the game against UL Monroe but collapsed in the 2nd half again.
Leading 24-7 at half, Florida State forgot for the second week that there are four quarters to play.
UL Monroe scored on their first four drive of the second half. UL Monroe outscored the Seminoles 31-14 in the second half, and forced overtime.
Cam Akers carried the Seminoles the entire game with 36 carries for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns while also catching 5 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Akers scored on a third and goal to give the Seminoles lead 45-38.
UL Monroe QB Caleb Evans walked in moments later to bring UL Monroe an extra point from a second overtime.
The Seminoles got lucky when the extra point sailed wide right.
Florida State travels Virginia to open ACC conference play against the Cavaliers. Coach Taggart and company avoid a second straight disaster.
FSU right now is a dumpster fire and the Cavaliers take advantage of the chaos. My take: Virginia 31 FSU 23.
The SEC East Crystal Ball
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are now under three months and counting until the start of College Football Season.
As far as I’m concerned, no other sport compares to College Football and the best conference from top to bottom is the SEC.
Clemson from the ACC won the Natty in 2018, but the ACC is nothing near the caliber of the SEC in football. If that previous statement bothers you then get some sensitivity training. We will take a look at the SEC East.
Here are my SEC East Predictions for 2019:
Georgia 11-1: Kirby Smart is the best recruiter in the business. Georgia has the best 85-man roster in the country.
Jake Fromm could be a sleeper contender for the Heisman. The offense could be scary good with the best offensive line coach and players in the country.
Will this team lay an egg against someone they are not supposed to? History says yes.
I’m dreading the Auburn trip on 11/16. This team will play for the SEC title and will contend for the College Football Playoff. If the Dawgs win the SEC, they are in. This could finally be the year. The pass rush must improve in 2019.
Missouri 9-3: Kelly Bryant will be at QB in 2019. Barry Odom is doing a fine job in Columbia. Could the Tigers be 8-0 coming to Athens on November 9th? Florida comes calling on November 16th for second place in the East. Give me the Tigers over the Gators.
Florida 8-4: Two words, Feleipe Franks. Will Franks lead the Gators to back to back 10-win seasons?
Dan Mullen has trolled UGA in the off-season, but the schedule is tough. The Gators open against Miami and have Auburn, LSU, and Georgia in the heart of the SEC schedule.
Florida is putting all of its’ eggs in the Georgia basket, but they better be careful.
They have a solid defense, but again Feleipe Franks. If this team contends in the East it will be because of improved QB play. Can Mullen recruit with Kirby? Time will tell.
Tennessee 7-5: If the Vols win in Gainesville on 9/21 then excitement goes through the roof in Rocky Top.
Jeremy Pruitt is a fantastic coach and he is starting to put some pieces together in Knoxville.
Will Tennessee ever beat Alabama again in football? Pruitt needs two more top 15 recruiting classes to get Tennessee back to being Tennessee again. Be patient Vol fans you are on the way back.
South Carolina 6-6: The Gamecocks have a brutal schedule. Alabama and Texas A&M from the west and Clemson to close out.
I think Will Muschamp is a pretty good football coach, but with Georgia being a national power, and Florida and Tennessee on the way back it is going to be hard for Carolina to get any traction in the division.
South Carolina is putting together a good 2020 recruiting class. This team will upset someone in 2019, and ruin their season.
Kentucky 5-7: The Cats will come back down to earth in 2019. Benny Snell is gone.
The Cats host Florida early in the season after breaking a long losing streak that stretched over 30 to the Gators in 2018. Basketball is king in Kentucky. Cats go back to being a bottom feeder in football.
Vanderbilt 3-9: Vandy hosts UGA in the opener and LSU in week 3. This is going to be a long season for Vandy football.
Vandy fans might better tune into the College World Series starting this weekend as that may be the high-water mark for the athletic program for the rest of 2019.
Biggest division game: UGA vs UF in Jacksonville
Division upset of the Year: South Carolina over Texas A&M. The Aggies get caught overlooking Carolina at home the week before playing Georgia in Athens.
Bowl Teams: Georgia, Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
Vicious Jaguar
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Joshua (Josh) Allen is now a Jacksonville Jaguar.
The 2018 SEC Defensive Player of The year will now set up shop in the River City and wreak havoc on AFC South quarterbacks for the next decade.
Allen played his college football at the University of Kentucky and led Kentucky to its first 10-win season since 1977.
Here are Allen’s 2018 career highlights and awards to date:
2018 SEC Defensive Player of the Year
Unanimous 2018 First Team All American
Chuck Bednarik Award 2018
Lott Trophy 2018
Nagurski Trophy 2018
First Team All SEC 2018
Allen is proof that recruiting rankings and stars don’t mean anything, as one highly thought of recruiting service had Allen rated as a two-star prospect coming out of high school in New Jersey.
Jacksonville didn’t think he would there at 7. They thought he would go at 3 or 4 or 5. I absolutely love this pick. Their identity is that defense. The Jags needed an edge rusher, and Allen fell to them and they took him.
Thank you to the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants for making this happen.
Allen was a star in the best football conference in the land, where he registered 17 sacks, 51 total pressures, and 28 hurries in 2018.
He finished his career with 31.5 sacks at UK and is the all-time sack leader there. Allen declared for the NFL draft after his junior season.
Allen is listed at 6’5 and 260 pounds, and is very quick. He is equipped to be one of those special speed edge rushers that keep opposing offensive coordinators up at night.
When it comes to pass coverage, he can drop into coverage with ease and is fluid in the hips, and moves like a safety. That will be a huge plus for a Jaguar defense that took a step back in 2018. Even with the addition of Nick Foles at QB this organization’s identity is defense. Now, with the addition of Allen, the Jaguar pass rush may get back to the standard it set during the 2017 season.
Allen runs a 4.6 40 Yard dash and looks to be another Pro Bowl caliber player on a talented defense. He is a high character young man that will come in, roll up his sleeves and go to work immediately. He is a Tom Coughlin type of player that eventually will take over leadership in that locker room.
I view this selection as a culture builder in Jacksonville. Allen is a winner and a producer and talks with his shoulder pads.
As I was watching the first round unfold, I could not believe Allen didn’t go to Raiders at 4 or the Giants at 6. And when the Giants went QB at 6 I said wow Josh Allen is going to be a Jaguar.
They say the NFL is an offensive league now, but do you remember the 13-3 Super Bowl contest that just concluded? The Patriots shut down the high-powered Rams offense and held them to 3 points.
Josh Allen was the absolute best pick the Jaguars could have made. The Jaguars got the biggest steal in the first round.
Draft Grade: A+
SEC Best Basketball Conference In The Country
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For years the SEC has been known as a football conference, and with good reason.
The start of the basketball season was just viewed as the beginning of the countdown until spring football games; each passing game meant fans were just one day closer to the start of the gridiron season.
Over the past few years SEC basketball has slowly crept up the rung of high powered basketball conferences. With four teams participating in this year’s Sweet Sixteen, they may have finally arrived.
I’ve joked in the past how outside of John Calipari the rest of the SEC had basically become the “Land of Misfit Coaches”. Names like Rick Barnes, Bruce Pearl, Tom Crean, and Ben Howland; all on their own personal reclamation journeys after being dismissed from more prestigious jobs.
While it’s still too early in Crean’s tenure at Georgia, the other hires have undoubtedly exceeded expectations. Throw in other coaches like Kermit Davis and Mike White, and suddenly the SEC coaching tree is as strong as any in the country.
(Up until a few weeks ago I would’ve included Will Wade on that list with Davis and White. I do think Wade is a good coach, but I’d be shocked if he coaches another game for LSU.)
The conferences strong showing in this year’s tournament, and the increasing possibility of having at least one Final Four team, can only bolster their upward projection.
Barnes’ Volunteers did their best to help run his consecutive tournament appearances without a trip to the Sweet Sixteen to eight, but low and behold they were able to break the streak. Now, they are probably the favorite to come out their region.
North Carolina is still the favorite to come out of the Midwest, but Auburn is as dangerous as any remaining team with their ability to stretch the floor and propensity for hitting the three.
Kentucky will need PJ Washington back in order for them to have any legitimate shot of beating Houston, and either UNC or Auburn. Still, that doesn’t mean the Wildcats will be a pushover.
And as a Duke fan, if the Blue Devils are lucky enough to get past Virginia Tech, I do not want any part of LSU. The Tigers, along with Tennessee, have arguably been the best team in the SEC this season.
My only concern for LSU entering the tournament was how they would handle all the off court distractions. After two good, but not overly impressive wins, I’m not sure they’ve quite answered that question yet. However, they are long, athletic, and talented enough to beat any one of the other remaining teams.
There was a four to five year span where SEC basketball consisted of Kentucky, and that was about it. The remainder of the league basically took turns at mediocrity, with the occasional surprise tournament run.
The SEC is still viewed as a step below conferences like the ACC and Big Ten when it comes to all around talent and depth, but they’ve made up a lot of ground in a short period of time.
The league may be full of coaches on their second or third chances, but they have all but turned the corner on being “reclamation projects”.
Basketball will never be as big as football in SEC country, but with some consistency and a few deep tournament runs, those three to four months may be actually be referred to as “basketball season” and not just “football’s offseason”.
The SEC Tournament
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Most people associate March Madness with the start of the NCAA Tournament, but for most teams the madness begins the week prior, with the conference tournaments.
You’ve got some teams whose only shot at making the big dance is by winning their conference championship. Then you have those lovely “bubble teams” that need to have an impressive showing to help sway the committee to include them. And finally, you have those teams that are safely in, but can improve their seeding with a few conference tournament wins. The SEC Tournament runs the whole gamut this year.
There are seven SEC teams entering the start of the conference tournament that need to win the whole thing in order to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
Out of those seven teams- South Carolina and the bottom six in the standings- if I had to pick one that could possibly make a run, I’d probably go with South Carolina. Not that I think they will do it, but if I had to choose a Jim Carrey “So you’re saying there’s a chance” team, it would be the Gamecocks.
The bubble teams get a little more interesting. Most bracketologists have Florida in, but I just don’t see it. Outside of their win against LSU, they don’t have another Top 25 win while having a few questionable losses.
They also have a worse conference record, and only more win, than a South Carolina team that beat the Gators in their only matchup, but isn’t even being considered to be a tournament team.
Ole Miss, and I guess to an extent, Auburn, are the other two that seem to be on the fringe. I think both of those have proven enough that even a first game exit shouldn’t prevent them from making the tournament. That said, getting a conference tournament win would solidify things a little more, especially for the team from Oxford.
Out of the “locks” Tennessee and Kentucky are playing for a possible one seed, but LSU is the team that intrigues me. With Will Wade’s indefinite suspension for what equates to a seven year old telling his teacher he isn’t chewing gum only to have the gum fly out of his mouth, how will the Tigers adjust?
They are deserving of a two seed, regardless of how they perform in the SEC tournament, but if they lose their first game would the committee downgrade them to a three seed?
The committee has shown in the past they do take player injuries and player availability into consideration when seeding; it’s not beyond the realm of possibility they could do the same thing if a team’s coach has been suspended due to recruiting violations.
As for that one seed battle between Kentucky and Tennessee, I think it depends on how Duke performs in the ACC tournament.
Gonzaga, Virginia, and UNC are all but guaranteed a one seed; if the Blue Devils were to win the ACC with a healthy Zion, I don’t think you can keep them from a one seed, either. If not, it’ll be between the Volunteers and Wildcats for that final coveted spot.
The casual fan won’t start tuning in until next week, which is a shame. For many teams their NCAA tournament has begun.
The buzzer beaters, the joy, the tears, all those things are already taking place in conference tournaments. March madness is here. Let the fun begin.
College Football Fallout Week 2
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Week two of the college football season is now in the books and some great outcomes and storylines arose from the “Saturday that was”.
I wonder what it will take for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to consider moving in a different direction, away from Paul Johnson.
A loss to non-Power 5 South Florida has Tech fans groaning again about Johnson and that Triple Option. However, the problem isn’t the triple option or even Paul Johnson’s coaching, the problem is recruiting.
Georgia Tech was considerably outmanned against South Florida, which had athletes all over the field and that ultimately reflected on the scoreboard.
Also, currently, South Florida and UCF are the best 2 non-Power 5 teams in the country. Thus, there should not be a lot of outrage amongst the Yellow Jacket faithful about losing to the Bulls. They are currently better.
Speaking of better, I think it is pretty safe to say the Georgia Bulldogs are better than the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Dawgs went to half up by 10 and then Kirby Smart “let the Dawgs off the chain” in the second half and South Carolina had no answers.
In my opinion, Georgia and Alabama are the two best teams in the country, again.
A team that is not among the best 2 in the country is Florida. The Gators had beaten Kentucky 31 straight time and had not lost to the Wildcats since 1986.
That streak is over. Kentucky took advantage of a bad Florida offense and came away with a 27-16 win in Gainesville. Yes, in the swamp.
Long gone are the days where no one won in the Swamp except for Florida.
One thing that truly amazes me is how the University of Florida cannot find a decent QB when they are the flagship school for one of the four most talent rich states in the country.
Especially, when you thing about the great QB’s that have played there in the last 30 years. One thing is for sure, Feleipe Franks has a lot to work on.
One last thing, for people who are not paying attention, LSU is better than you think.
Next week the Bayou Bengals will have a chance to prove this to the country as they will take on the Tigers from the plains in Auburn.
The winner will have the inside shot of dethroning Alabama in the SEC West.
