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

Florida vs Arkansas

Feb. 2, 2008
Florida at Arkansas
Fayetteville, Ark.
Tip 3 p.m. ET
Raycom Sports

The Series

The Florida-Arkansas series has been evenly matched with the Gators holding a slim 10-9 all-time advantage. However, Florida has won six out of the last seven meetings while holding an 8-2 mark against the Hogs in the last 10 contests. The Gators are 10-4 all-time against Arkansas under head coach Billy Donovan.

The game matches up long-time friends and former colleagues, Billy Donovan and John Pelphrey. Donovan was a graduate assistant and then assistant coach for Pelphrey’s final three years as a player at Kentucky (1990-92). Pelphrey was then an assistant for Donovan at Marshall for two years and then for Donovan’s first six years at UF. The two were a part of 159 wins together as coaches (35 at Marshall and 124 at Florida)

It is the second time the two have faced each other as head coaches, with Florida defeating South Alabama, 76-50 in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Jacksonville Florida is 40-11 against the SEC West this decade (2-1 this season)

The Gators have won 13 of their last 15 games and are off to a 5-1 start in league play. It is only the ffith start of 18-3 or better in school history.

About Arkansas

Led by former UF assistant John Pelphrey, the Arkansas Razorbacks are off to a 5-5 start and a 4-2 start in league play, highlighted by an impressive 20-point in over SEC West-leading Mississippi State on Wednesday. Sonny Weems leads the Razorbacks in scoring at 14.4 points per game and had 22 points (including five three-pointers) against Mississippi State. Patrick Beverly is averaging 2.2 points per game and has knocked down a team-high 36 three-pointers. Arkansas is out-rebounding its opponents by 6.4 boards per game and forcing 6.7 turnovers per game. The Razorbacks are 10-1 at home this year.

Gators learning to finish opponents off

They may be among the youngest teams in the country, but the Gators are learning how to finish out close games quickly. Tied at 71-71 in their first SEC road game at Alabama, the Gators went on an 11-0 run to take control of the game and outscored the Tide 19-12 over the final seven minutes. Against Auburn, the Gators led 61-56 with 4:29 remaining and held Auburn scoreless the rest of the way, finishing on an 11-0 run. With the game on the line in overtime against Kentucky and tied at 68-68 with 1:33 left, the Gators closed the game in a 13-2 run. Trailing 67-65 at South Carolina, the Gators scored eight of the game’s final 12 points.

Series results

The Florida-Arkansas series has been evenly matched with the Gators holding a slim 10-9 all-time advantage. However, Florida has won
six out of the last seven meetings while holding an 8-2 mark against the Hogs in the last 10 contests. The Gators are 10-4 all-time against
Arkansas under head coach Billy Donovan.

Florida gets the “W”

Marreese Speights registered a double-double with 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as the Florida Gators came back to defeat South Carolina, 73-71, in SEC action at the Carolina Center.

Also scoring in double figures for the Gators (17-3, 4-1 SEC), winners of two straight and six of the last seven, was Nick Calathes with 21 points on the night.

The Gamecocks (9-9, 1-3) were paced by Devan Downey who tallied a game-high 24 points, followed by Zam Fredrick with 19 points and five assists. Dominique Archie contributed a double-double as well with 14 points and a team-best 11 boards in the squad’s fourth loss in five games.

South Carolina shot not only 56 percent from the field in the first half but also 6-of-10 beyond the arc, yet led by just two points at the break, 38-36.

In the second half it was the Gators who knocked down 5-of-8 behind the three- point line as USC made good on a mere 1-of-5 at the free-throw line in the two- point decision.

In a game that saw six ties and eight lead changes, the Gamecocks led by as many as nine points in the second half, but just 5-of-11 at the charity stripe for the home team simply wasn’t good enough to get the job done.

Ole Miss holds off Florida at home

Mississippi’s offensive attack was just enough to hold off Florida.

Dwayne Curtis had 20 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Trevor Gaskins scored 15 of his 19 in the second half as No. 15 Mississippi held on for its second straight Southeastern Conference victory, 89-87, over Florida on Wednesday.

Curtis and Gaskins combined to shoot 14-of-18 from the field but it was the freshman that came up big, scoring in double figures for the first time in eight games.

Eniel Polynice chipped in 14 points for the Rebels, who topped the 80-point mark for the 11th time this season. The points were the most the Gators, who came into the game allowing 61.5 points per game, have given up this season.

The Rebels (15-1, 2-1 SEC West) led throughout the second half, including by as many as 16 before the Gators rallied.

Florida (15-3, 2-1 East) still trailed by 11 with under four minutes to play but went on a 16-7 run – capped by a 3-pointer by freshman Chandler Parsons – to cut the deficit to 84-82 with 35 seconds to play.

But Curtis made a pair of free throws for Mississippi and the Rebels caused a turnover on Florida’s next possession. Polynice then converted two shots from the stripe to give Mississippi a six-point lead with 16 seconds remaining.

For the game, the Rebels shot 54 percent from the field but just 16-of-27 from the foul line. Despite the struggles from the stripe, Mississippi snapped a six-game losing streak against the Gators.

After trailing by seven points early on, Mississippi stormed back with a 19-1 run to take a 23-12 bulge with 11:13 left in the first half. Florida missed eight consecutive shots and Mississippi was 8-of-11 from the field during that stretch.

The Rebels maintained at least a nine-point lead for the rest of the half and held a 43-34 advantage at the break after the Gators scored the final six points of the first.

The Rebels took their largest lead at 59-43 with 12:42 left after Gaskins capped a 10-3 spurt with eight straight points.

But the Gators came back with an 11-0 run – keyed by eight points from Parsons – to cut the deficit to 59-54 with 10:19 to play.

Mississippi built its lead back up to 11 points but Florida again responded, cutting the deficit to 77-72 with 3:14 remaining.

Dan Werner had 16 points and nine rebounds and freshman Nick Calathes added 16 and seven to lead Florida, which made just six of its last 29 attempts from the arc after starting out 3-of-4 in the first three minutes.

Parsons finished with 15 for the Gators, who shot just 10-of-19 from the free-throw line.

Fear the Gator

Nobody expects Florida to hit the heights the Gators did the last two seasons in winning back-to-back national championships.

But exactly what to expect of the Gators, who replace the top six scorers and top four rebounders from last season, is difficult to determine.

Their non-conference schedule had them playing 14 of their 15 games within the state borders, where they lost only to Florida State, and their only venture north of the state line resulted in a 13-point defeat at Ohio State.

The Gators bounced back from that defeat with one of their more impressive efforts of the season, an 86-69 rout of Temple in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla., and they followed that with an 88-70 victory over High Point in their last pre-SEC tune-up.

The final score might indicate the Gators pretty much had their way against High Point, but after leading the visitors by 16 points at halftime, they were clinging to a five-point advantage just a little more than seven minutes into the second half.

An 8-1 run over the next couple of minutes got Florida’s lead back into double digits, and the Gators eventually led by 23 points before settling for the final 18-point margin.

It was a victory, but not one that inspires a lot of confidence as league play begins with the Gators on the road for three of their first five SEC games.

Florida takes on Auburn this Saturday, January 12, at high noon. Go to RaycomSports.com to find your local affiliate listing.