There are some interesting story lines that play into this weekend's tournament in the SEC. There should be a lot of good, hard-fought games as well. The opening round games tip off today. Florida vs. Alabama Florida has to win this game to have a shot at the Dance. They are capable of winning but from what I've seen of Bama this year, they're no joke either. I think this will be a tough game for the Gators who have everything to lose. LSU vs. SC LSU is a team that has underachieved this year. They have several very talented players and a couple of athletic big guys that should be able to change games. South Carolina, on the other hand, has had a dismal season as well but does not seem to have much upside this year unless the "win one for the gipper" battlecry comes into play for retiring coach, Dave Odom. Georgia vs. Ole Miss Ole Miss has a lot more to lose in this game than does Georgia. It is conceivable that with a decent run in the tourney, Mississippi could get in the Big Dance. Vandy vs. Auburn This game appears to be a serious mismatch as I think Vandy is one of the top 15 or 20 teams in the nation. A deep run by Vandy in the conference tourney could mean a very high seed come selection Sunday. Vandy's Shan Foster now needs to come up big when it matters most.
You have it right with Florida. I'm not sure one win would do it for us, I think we might need to win two.
Chalk one up for the coach on the way out. South Carolina defeats LSU and will have the unenviable task of trying to recover from that 33 point beating Tennessee gave them to close the regular season and muster some sort of a game against the Vols this time around. That should be interesting to watch. Will the old adage that it's hard to beat a team three times in one season hold true?
Florida vs Alabama coming up. I got the Sport Channels option with Dish Network and have been able to watch some Gator Games I wouldn't have been able to see here in North Carolina otherwise.
It is not on the DirecTv sports channels because it is on ESPN PPV on channel 694 on DirecTv. Alabama has come out HHHHHOOOOOOTTTTT! and are on a 14 - 0 run to start the game. Florida looks tight and BD is steaming.
Where was Alabama hiding this kind of play all year? 5 - 11 in the SEC and barely over .500 overall for the year and nothing but this Tournament to play for. In the first 9 minutes, they are up by 22 with a score of 27 - 5 over Florida who is fighting for their NCAA lives.
BD is going to have to give the halftime talk of his career tonight. He and his Gators cannot have a one and done in this tournament. They are starting to wake up a little being as far as 28 points down at one point. They go into the half down by 23. Twenty minutes left to play and the gators need a huge turn around.
Bill, Jai Lucas is a Houston kid, his dad played for the Rockets. How has he done his freshman year at UF? Terry
Florida may have found the answer. Foul the Bama players since they are not shooting free throws well. Bama hit only two out of their last eight. Florida cuts the lead to single digits 57 - 48 with 10:07 left.
I had to leave for work and just now found the score. Looks like Bama held off the Gator charge and moves on to round 2. Georgia takes care of Ole Miss as well. Four games... three upsets. Tomorrow's games: Tennessee vs. South Carolina at noon (central) Vandy vs. Arkansas at 14:15 Alabama vs. Mississippi St at 18:30 Georgia vs. Kentucky at 20:45
To little to late, Gators run of NCAA appearances is over at 9 straight. I believe we will be in competition for the SEC next season and several after that with the talent coming in and these young players coming back. Billy Donovan sent this group a message in his press conference after the game though when he said just because they will be a year older doesn't mean the will be better. Terry, Jai Lucas has been a starter all year long and has done pretty well in my opinion. They have shown his dad in attendance at a lot of our games that were televised. Well I guess we are NIT bound. At one point we were 7-3 in the SEC and looked like we were headed for the NCAA tourney but the loss to LSU seemed to turn our season in the wrong direction. Wait until next year! :roll: :roll: :roll:
Things are a little hairy for Tennessee right now. South Carolina has outplayed Tennessee most of the way. Tennessee leads by 4 with about 5 to go. We'll see if the superior depth and athleticism for Tennessee can come through again.
Lofton hits a huge, huge 3 with about 9 seconds left. SC ball with 1.1 seconds after a miss from three and a loose ball out of bounds. Gamecocks are down by 2.
By the way, I'm really feeling like Tom here but I'm listening to the game on the net and hanging on the edge of my seat. Tyler Smith takes the ball away from SC to preserve the win. Wow, incredible game.
Aquila, I actually bought the BB ESPN package this year. The play of the game was probably not reported on well on radio. It also did not count. :x Chism put up a prayer as the halftime buzzer rang out. He was standing close to the opposite end free throw line. His shot hit the iron, bounced up, bounced off the top of the backboard (out of bounds) and fell into the hoop. On to Arkansas tomorrow.
Tennessee has won a lot of close games in the clutch this season. I'm going to pick them to go all the way in our Skybox contest.