Hoop scoop: Auburn lost at Vandy, 78-71, on Feb. 2, but if there is any team that has the Commodores’ number in the SEC Tournament, it’s Auburn. The Tigers are 6-1 in the league tourney against Vandy, losing two years ago when the tourney was in Nashville, and beating Vandy in the six previous meetings. Auburn coach Jeff Lebo is hopeful that Vandy, 19-0 at home this season, plays up to its shaky road status. The Commodores are 4-6 on the road this season, including 2-6 in the SEC. Both teams have players capable of scoring a lot of points in a hurry. Vandy’s Shan Foster, the SEC’s leading scorer and player of the year, has scored 25 points or more six times, including 42 against Mississippi State and 32 against Tennessee, the respective Western and Eastern division champs. Auburn has a couple of guys capable of heating up quickly. Guard Frank Tolbert scored a career-high 32 points against Vandy this year, hitting 5-of-8 3-pointers. Also, forward Quan Prowell is averaging 19 points and seven rebounds in his last nine games, including 31 points vs. Mississippi State.
(E4) Florida (21-10) vs. (W5) Alabama (16-15)
Hoop scoop: Florida, the two-time defending national champion, likely needs to win tonight to sustain any hope of returning to the NCAA Tournament. Hindered by a soft non-conference schedule and an 8-8 record in league play, the Gators need quality wins this week. But history is working in their favor: Florida is the three-time defending SEC Tournament champion. … Florida has won 18 straight postseason games over the past two years, the longest streak by any school since UCLA won 28 straight during its run of seven straight national titles in the Wooden era. … Florida has won 11 of its last 13 meetings with Alabama, which includes a 90-83 victory in Tuscaloosa earlier this season. … Freshman guard Nick Calathes, who leads the Gators in scoring at 15.9 points per game, leads the SEC in assists with 6.1 per game. He needs two assists to break Ronnie Montgomery’s school season record of 189, set in 1987-88. Calathes was named Co-SEC Freshman of the Year alongside Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson. … Junior forward Richard Hendrix, a first-team All-SEC selection, averages 17.7 points and 10.1 rebounds for the Tide. … Alabama has out-rebounded its opponent in each of its last six games. … Coach Mark Gottfried is three wins from 200 at Alabama, but with questions surrounding his job security, he may not get an opportunity to reach the milestone.
(W3) Ole Miss (21-9) vs. (E6) Georgia (13-16)
Hoop scoop: The Rebels are trying to make their way to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001-02, and they need to play well this week to secure an at-large berth. They hope to get things rolling tonight against the Bulldogs, whom they defeated in Athens last Saturday, 76-62. Freshman point guard Chris Warren and senior center Dwayne Curtis scored 15 points apiece in the victory, and the Rebels held Georgia to 30.7-percent shooting. … The winner of tonight’s game will face Kentucky, the East’s No. 2 seed, in Friday’s quarterfinals. … The Rebels’ victory at Georgia over the weekend was their lone SEC road win of the season. The Rebels were 6-2 at Tad Smith Coliseum in league play, 1-7 on the road. … The Rebels are led by Warren (15.7 ppg, 4.5 apg) and Curtis, who was named to the coaches’ All-SEC second team after averaging 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds during the regular season. … Warren needs to make nine more 3-pointers to break Clarence Sanders’ school season record of 96, set last season. … During the current three-game winning streak, Rebels sophomore guard David Huertas has averaged 15.7 points. He has averaged 6.4 rebounds over his last five games… Senior guard Sundiata Gaines has done it all for Georgia, leading the team in scoring (14.5), rebounding (6.3) and assists (4.3).
