2008 SEC Tournament – One for the Books

Play had to be delayed with 2:11 left in overtime of the Alabama-Mississippi State quarterfinal game in the SEC Tournament on Friday when a tornado struck the Georgia Dome.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the Atlanta area at 9:26 p.m. ET after radar indicated a storm capable of producing a tornado located about six miles west of Atlanta.

The tornado passed over Northside Drive, causing the Georgia Dome to shake and sway as the twister passed. Insulation from the Dome’s roof fell on the floor as both teams quickly evacuated the court.

Large sections of the Georgia Dome’s exteriors were on the ground outside of Gate E facing the Georgia World Congress Center. Several holes were visible near the Dome’s roof on the interior. Outside, full-grown trees lay on the ground uprooted.

Several fans said metal bolts and washers fell from the ceiling and said a pipe ripped a hole in the roof.

Mississippi State was leading Alabama 64-61 at the time.

After a more than 45-minute delay, the game was resumed and State held on for a 69-67 victory.

Georgia pulled off the story of the conference tournaments, winning the SEC. The Bulldogs came into the tournament with a losing record, but won three games in two days. Georgia also overcame a severe storm, which hit the Atlanta area Friday evening, ripping a hole in the Georgia Dome and postponing its quarterfinal game vs. Kentucky.

As for the rest of the conference, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Arkansas are virtual locks. Kentucky is the most intriguing team, going 12-4 in the SEC, but finishing with just a 18-12 overall record. Ole Miss was just the opposite, going 7-9 in conference play, but 21-10 overall. Both didn’t make the Big Dance. The two-time defending national champion Florida, which fell to Alabama in the first round, will try to redeem themselves in the NIT. Ole Miss received an invitation to the NIT as well.

The most surprising statement of the year: Georgia in the NCAA Tournament

MSU vs Alabama

Overlooked for most of the season, Mississippi State entered the Southeastern Conference tournament unranked.  In the end, the Bulldogs were the only team standing.
Mario Austin scored 15 points and Michal Ignerski and Derrick Zimmerman added 13 apiece as Mississippi State held off eighth-ranked Alabama, 61-58, to claim just the second SEC tournament title in school history. Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury was asked why he thought his club was not ranked.

The Bulldogs (26-7) also tied a school record for wins, set in 1995-96, when they won their other SEC crown and reached the Final Four.

Mississippi State will take an eight-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament. The key to the Bulldogs’ late surge has been defense as they are allowing an average of only 57 points per game during the winning streak.

Mississippi State took two of three from Alabama this season, but beat the Crimson Tide for only the second time in eight SEC Tournament meetings. Its previous tournament
win came in 1933, when the Bulldogs posted a 30-25 win, which happened to be Sunday’s halftime score.

Mississippi State squandered a 10-point first half advantage as Alabama (26-7) rallied to take a 52-50 lead on Terrance Meade’s two foul shots with 4:42remaining.

But after Ignerski hit 1-of-2 from the line, Timmy Bowers and Zimmerman drilled consecutive 3-pointers, giving the Bulldogs a 57-52 lead with 2:42 remaining.

After Zimmerman’s layup gave Mississippi State a 59-54 lead, Alabama suffered a blow when Dudley hit his head on the ground was driving to the basket with 1:26 left. The
game was briefly delayed as medical personnel attended to Dudley, who was able to walk off the court unassisted and later returned.

Meade, who scored 17 points, came off the bench to hit both free throws and Grizzard made two more, bringing Alabama within 59-58 with 49 seconds left.

The Crimson Tide had a golden chance after Zimmerman missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 24 seconds left. But Alabama ran a disorganized possession and was unable to get off  good shot as freshman Maurice Williams launched a 5-footer that caromed off the front of the rim.

Mississippi State built a 30-20 lead on Austin’s two free throws with 4:28 left in the first half. But Grizzard scored the final five points of the half, bringing Alabama within
30-25 at the intermission.

The Crimson Tide tied the contest, 38-38, on Williams’ 3-pointer with 15:23 remaining. Neither team led by more than five thereafter.

The loss may have cost Alabama a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It also prevented Gottfried, a member of the Crimson Tide’s 1987 SEC championship team, from
winning league titles as a player and coach.

Recap: Tennessee vs South Carolina

Chris Lofton drilled a three-pointer with 11.4 seconds to play to lift fourth-ranked Tennessee to an 89-87 victory over South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

The lead see-sawed back and forth in the final minute and South Carolina grabbed an 87-86 edge on a tough layup by Dominique Archie with 20.8 seconds remaining. Lofton, though, had the answer with a shot from about 24 feet to put Tennessee back in front.

South Carolina still had time, but Devan Downey misfired on a three-pointer from the right wing and the loose ball went out of bounds off Tennessee with one second remaining. The Gamecocks tried to inbound the ball inside and could not get a shot as time expired.

Georgia vs Ole Miss

Dave Bliss banked in a shot with 0.4 seconds left in overtime, giving the last-place Bulldogs a thrilling 97-95 victory over Ole Miss in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday night.
The Rebels (21-10) finished the regular season on a three-game winning streak, including a 76-62 victory over Georgia last weekend that put the team squarely on the bubble for its first NCAA bid since 2002. They got to face the Bulldogs again six days later, but this time Georgia (14-16) prevailed.

Ole Miss sent the game to overtime when David Huertas was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws, and the Rebels looked to have forced another extra period when Chris Warren sank three after a virtually identical foul with 5.5 seconds left in OT.

But Georgia inbounded the ball to Corey Butler, who had fouled Warren. The walk-on guard drove nearly the length of the court before dumping the ball off to Bliss for an open 10-footer. He banked it in softly off the glass, sending the Bulldogs on to face Kentucky in the quarterfinals Friday night.

Georgia appeared to be in control when Gaines hit two free throws for a 63-50 lead with 12:58 remaining in regulation. Led by Huertas, the Rebels bounced back to outscore the Bulldogs 18-2 over the next 4½ minutes for a 68-65 lead. The sophomore guard from Puerto Rico accounted for 12 of the points on four 3-pointers, the last of which hit the rim, bounced off the backboard, hit the rim again and dropped through- the ultimate shooter’s roll.

Georgia withstood the Ole Miss run and appeared to have the game back in hand when Billy Humphrey hit a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left to make it 81-76.
Huertas hit another 3, and he got the ball back after Gaines missed a free throw with 15.5 seconds to go. With his team trailing 84-81, Huertas went up for a shot behind the arc and drew the foul from Humphrey, then swished three straight free throws to force overtime.

Recap: Vanderbilt vs Auburn

A.J. Ogilvy poured in a career-high 27 points and grabbed five rebounds to help 18th-ranked Vanderbilt to a 93-82 victory over Auburn in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Shan Foster added 26 points while Alex Gordon donated 14 and Ross Neltner ended with 10 for the Commodores (26-6), who will play Arkansas in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

“I thought our team did a good job of moving the ball and being patient with it and getting it inside,” said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. “I thought our guys really bought into the game plan and executed it very well.”

Rasheem Barrett had 20 points while Frank Tolbert added 17 for the Tigers (14-16), who closed out their season with five consecutive losses. Lucas Hargrove donated 16 points and eight boards in defeat.

The kids battled hard, but their two big guys really hurt us in this game,” said Auburn coach Jeff Lebo. “Offensively it wasn’t an issue for us, it was just having a hard time stopping them on the other end.”

Trailing by 11 points to start the second half, Auburn later cut its deficit to six on a layup from Quantez Robertson about 3 1/2 minutes in.

Vanderbilt, while holding a five-point edge after Hargrove drained a three at the other end with 11:35 to play, scored 10 unanswered points and held a 71-56 lead on a pair of free throws from Gordon with 8:20 remaining.

Auburn was able to get back to within 10 points on a Barrett slam with a bit over three minutes to play, but the team couldn’t pull any closer as Vanderbilt held on for the win.

Ogily scored the first six points of the game and Foster’s three-pointer later helped the Commodores take a 17-6 lead a little less than five minutes in.

The Tigers bounced back and cut their deficit to four points, 21-17, on Quan Prowell’s three-pointer with 12:52 left in the first half.

Vanderbilt later reeled off nine consecutive points, however, with Ogilvy netting the last four. That made it 35-22, and the team eventually took a 47-36 advantage into the locker room.

Today’s SEC Tournament

Thursday, March 13, 2008

(E5) S. Carolina (13-17) vs. (W4) LSU (13-17)Hoop scoop: Though LSU has won four of its last five games, including a 62-55 win at South Carolina, and Carolina has lost five of its last six, these teams are a good match. The meeting on Feb. 27 was closer than the score indicated, with Carolina missing two open 3-pointer in the final two minutes, then being forced to foul. Though South Carolina has the quickest point guard in the SEC — sophomore Devan Downey is third in the league in scoring, second in assists and first in steals — the Gamecocks don’t have long body types like the Tigers. Anthony Randolph and Chris Johnson have extended wingspans, and so does 6-6 point guard Garrett Temple. LSU’s Marcus Thornton, who’s averaging 33.7 points in his last three games, is second in the SEC in scoring at 19.7. South Carolina needs to keep the game up-tempo. If it gets into a half-court dance, LSU should win. The Tigers have advanced past the first game of the tourney seven of the last eight years.

(W6) Auburn (14-15) vs. (E3) Vanderbilt (25-6)

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).

Bracket Breakdown Sneak Peak

Championship Week starts today.  It’s that time of year, when teams from the lower and middle conferences begin a Cinderella run through their conference tournaments.  Sub -.500 teams upset the top seeds on their way to an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament, while the regular-season champs try to pull off the championship sweep.  In my opinion, March Madness has officially begun.

Breakdown of the ACC & SEC

ACC (6): North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Miami (Fl.), Maryland, Virginia Tech

SEC (4): Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Arkansas

Last Four In: Southern Illinois, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Maryland

Last Four Out: New Mexico, Saint Joseph’s, Syracuse, Kentucky

Next Four Out: Mississippi, Florida, Ohio State, Dayton

Keys to Games this Week

Wake Forest at Virginia Tech (Tuesday): The past couple of weeks, Wake Forest was the ACC team du jour; this week, it’s Tech and its 8-6 conf. record.
Arkansas at Mississippi (Tuesday): Look who’s back in the at-large mix? Despite a 5-9 SEC record, the Rebels could make a move with a win here.
Mississippi State at Vanderbilt (Wednesday): Two of the best teams in the SEC will go at it. Jamont Gordon and Shan Foster are both all-conference players.
Tennessee at Florida (Wednesday): Can the Gators salvage their fading at-large hopes with a win over the Vols? Tennessee is still fighting for a No. 1 seed.

Vanderbilt beats top ranked Tennessee

Shan Foster scored 32 points as Vanderbilt University beat No. 1-ranked Tennessee 72-69, one day after the Volunteers moved atop the AP college basketball poll for the first time in school history.

Jermaine Beal added 17 points last night for 18th-ranked Vanderbilt, which has won seven straight games and improved its home record at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tennessee, this season to 18-0.

The Commodores are 24-4 overall, including a 9-4 record in the Southeastern Conference.

Vanderbilt has now won four straight games against opponents that were ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Commodores most recently beat top-ranked Florida 83-70 on Feb. 17, 2007.

Tennessee, which is about 200 miles from Vanderbilt’s campus, had a nine-game winning streak snapped to fall to 25-3 overall and 11-2 in the conference. Chris Lofton scored 25 points to lead the Volunteers, who moved atop the national polls following a 66- 62 win over previously unbeaten Memphis.

Tennessee dealt Memphis its first loss

Smith scored 16 points and Wayne Chism added 13 as the second-ranked Volunteers knocked off the top-ranked Tigers, 66-62, in a thrilling non-conference contest on Saturday.

J.P. Prince chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Volunteers, who also ended the Tigers’ 47-game home winning streak.

Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that featured three ties and six lead changes.

Tennessee (25-2), which will likely move up to No. 1 in the polls for the first time in school history, led for the majority of the second half before Memphis briefly surged in front.

The Tigers (26-1) used a 10-2 burst to take a 61-58 lead on a layup from Chris Douglas-Roberts with 2:28 remaining.

After Smith made it a one-point game, Memphis missed three shots on its next possession, giving the Volunteers a chance for the lead.

Smith, who made the game-winning layup on January 9 to hand Mississippi its first loss of the season, made a tough turnaround shot in the lane with 26 seconds left to play, giving the Volunteers a 62-61 lead.

The Tigers could not answer Smith’s shot as Antonio Anderson then missed a runner in the lane and Prince converted both free throws to extend Tennessee’s lead to three with eight seconds remaining.

Memphis was never given a chance to tie the game as Tennessee fouled freshman Derrick Rose, who made the first free throw before missing the second. Chris Lofton iced the game with a pair of foul shots with two seconds remaining to seal the victory.

The Volunteers outrebounded the Tigers, 50-34, including 17 on the offensive end. Tennessee also outscored Memphis, 36-16, in the paint.

Tennessee made its first four shots from the field to take an 11-9 lead less than three minutes into the game before Memphis started to gain the upper hand.

The first six made baskets for the Tigers came from the arc and, after Shawn Taggart’s 3-pointer, Memphis held a 20-14 advantage with 13:33 left in the first half.

As the defenses settled in, the Tigers took their largest lead at 31-24 on a jumper from Rose with just over five minutes left before halftime.

But the Volunteers cut the deficit to one at the break, and took a 45-39 lead with 14:43 remaining after Prince scored six straight points.

Tennessee’s leading scorer Lofton scored his first basket with 13:12 remaining and Chism later followed with a 3-pointer that gave the Volunteers a 50-43 bulge with 11:48 left to play.

Lofton scored just seven points for the game on 2-of-11 from the floor.

Rose finished with 23 points and five assists and Douglas-Roberts added 14 for Memphis, which made only 8-of-17 free throws for the game.

The Tigers had started the game making 6-of-8 shots from the arc but finished just 8-of-27 on 3-point attempts, missing their last 12 outside shots.

Final Score:
Tennessee 66 Memphis 62

Keep it Up

South Carolina, 12-13 and 4-7 in the SEC, hosts Western Division leader Mississippi State, 17-8 and 8-3 in the SEC, on Sat., Feb. 22 at 4 pm. South Carolina, winners of the last two match-ups, won in Starkville last year by a tally of 66-63 on Jan. 27, 2007. First-team All-SEC guard Tre Kelley’s scored 23 points and Brandon Wallace tacked together a double-double (16 boards, 10 points).

USC is 3-0 vs. the SEC Western Division this season after defeating Alabama 67-65 behind Devan Downey’s 29 points on Sat., Feb. 16. MSU is on top of the SEC Western Division at 8-3 and are 2-1 vs. the SEC Eastern Division this season. They are playing their second of four out of four on the road in Columbia Saturday.

USC vs. MSU

Mississippi State leads the series record 10-8. The two only began play with each other in 1992 – the year USC joined the league. A few things about the rivalry:

Last Meeting: Feb. 24, 2007 (76-63 in Starkville, USC wins)

Last 5 Meetings: 3-2, USC

Last 10 Meetings: 5-5

Keep it up Leading the SEC in steals, with 3.3 overall, and more importantly in scoring, with 21.2 ppg in league games and 19.7 ppg in all games, Devan Downey, a Cousy finalist, enters the MSU game second in the country in steals after tying his career-best with seven steals vs. the Tide. He is also second in the SEC in assists and minutes played as well.

Downey is averaging a team-leading 19.7 ppg and 36.9 mpg starting all 25 games. Not just leading the team in scoring, Downey has tallied 18 4+ assist games this season.

He scored game-high 29 points (career-best 6 3 pointers), tying career-best with 7 steals in win over Alabama. His three-pointer + one made free throw with :14 on the block sealed the 67-65 win.

The South Carolina-Mississippi State game can be seen on Raycom Sports, Saturday, 4 pm