SEC Tournament Predictions

Who will cut down the nets in Atlanta as the SEC Basketball Tournament heads to the Georgia Dome this weekend???

Prediction time, as these picks will not come close to being right!

Game 1- Georgia vs Auburn- The Tigers had UGA on the ropes in Athens before falling in extra time. Expect a low scoring, drag out fight, but the Dawgs will prevail in a close game.

Game 2- Ole Miss vs South Carolina- The other USC is a mess and Ole Miss has decent players, just underachieved in conference play (don't they always). But I like the Rebs to win this game going away

Game 3- Tennessee vs Arkansas- To me, the Vols are a train wreck, they've had no identity the entire year. Arkansas may be in circle the wagons mode as some question whther John Pelphrey's job is on the line. Vols in a close one.

Game 4- Vandy vs LSU- Why play this game, 'Dores in a cakewalk.

Friday
Game 5- Georgia vs Alabama- Both teams are playing for their NCAA Tournament lives, with 'Bama coming of a win in Coleman Colesium. This should be a UGA home game, but with Kentucky playing in the same session, 20,000 Wildcat fans will be there to negate that advantage. Tide pulls out another low scoring, drag out fight.

Game 6- Ole Miss vs Kentucky- Nothing like watching a retirement convention take place at a basketball game, but thats what happen the Cat Fans come too town. But it will be a short lived trip as Ole Miss is exploits the UK bench and gets great play from Chris Warren. Rebs, with some clutch free throw shooting in an upset.

Game 7- Tennessee vs Florida- No way Billy Donovan wants to see Bruce Pearl and the Vols this early, but it should make for a great Friday night of basketball. The Gators have been playing their best ball since 2007 and look for them to coninue doing so. Gators in a close game.

Game 8- Vandy vs Mississippi State- The dysfunctional Dogs take the floor Friday night and don't have the discipline to beat Vandy. 'Dores by double figures

Semi-Final Saturday

Ole Miss vs Alabama- A low scoring, grind it out contest is just what the doctor ordered for the Tide as Ole Miss will not get the benefit of the home cooking they received in Oxford. 'Bama wins a close, low scoring affair.

Florida vs Vanderbilt- Florida has too much size and quickness for the 'Dores, Gators by double figures.

Championship Sunday

Alabama vs Florida- The Gators dismantled the Tide in the last 15 minutes in Gainesville, turning a 39-38 lead into a 78-51 rout. Expect more of the same, but not the 27 point margin of victory. Gators win by 10 and cut down the nets!

Disappointment in Gaiveville....

Alabama's biggest regular season game in 9 years ended with Florida breaking open a 39-38 game with 15 minutes left, and turning it into a 27 point rout. Florida out scored the Tide 39-13 during that torrid stretch, in sealing atleast a tie for the regular season SEC Title.

Alabama could still share a championship by beating Georiga and watching Florida lose to Vandy, but niethr of those are certain to happen. Besides, could anybody rightfully not crown the Gators King of the SEC Hardwood after last night's dismantling?

Anthony Grant's overachieving squad suffered what was undoubtly the largest margin of defeat in an SEC game during the coach's short tenure in Tuscaloosa. Alabama had a deer in the headlights look all night. Despite being tied at 30-30 at the half, it felt like Florida was up 10 or so. One would have thought Alabama could not play any worst in the 2nd half then it did in the first, but it did.

But give credit to Billy Donovan as his team did the same exact turnaround to Georgia one week earlier. The Gators outworked and outplayed the Tide last night.

Now for Alabama, the Tide's bubble probably bursted at the O-Dome, but thats alright too. As stated in this column earlier in the year, this is a flawed team that has no outside shooting (outscored 24-3 beyond the arc last night), essentially a starting 5 and three ofensively challenged players coming off the bench. Despite those limitations, the Tide has overachieved and can finish with an impressive 12-4 record in the SEC play. But it won't be easy as Mark Fox brings in a talented UGA team on Saturday.

Time to see if the Tide can rebound and persevere this week after 3 bad games. Many doubted this bunch before the season, then before SEC play and I'm sure many more are doubting them about coming back and winning this weekend. Should be another sell out in Coleman and its senior day, so we'll see how Grant's bunch responds. I wouldn't bet against them just yet....

Opportunity still knocks....

If you would have been in Coleman Coliseum in December and told me on March 1st Alabama would be playing Florida for the SEC Basketball Championship, I would have did you a favor and drove you to Bryce Mental Hospital for talking such nonsense.

But as the calander turns to March, thats exactly where Alabama finds itself, an opportunity to control its own destiny and win an outright SEC Title despite yesterday's controversial defeat in Oxford (more on that in a minute).

Of course, Alabama and Florida both lost close games on the road yesterday, adding more pressure too Tuesday's contest. Florida lost to Kentucky at Rupp Arena in a hard fought contest. Alabama struggled early against the Ole Miss Admiral Ackbars, but raced to an 11 point lead with 13 1/2 minutes remaining, only to see whistles come out on one end of the floor and watch them be swallowed on the other end. It got so bad late in the game that down 59-58, Trevor Releford was whacked on a drive to the basket only to get a no call that led to the mild mannered Anthony Grant drawing a technical foul.

Alabama only shot 3 free throws the last 13 minutes of the game, 2 front ends of 1 and 1's, that were both missed, and a Jaymichael Green free throw in the final seconds. The problem is that Doug Shows (he worked the UA/AU game wednesday, didn't know SEC refs could work 2 games in a row for the same team, are you listening SEC head of officials Gerald Beaudroux???) took the game over and called every touch foul on the Rebels end of the floor, but yet Mitchell, Green and Releford were getting knocked to floor and not getting one call. 17 of the Rebls final 28 points came at the charity stripe as Ole Miss shot 21 free throws down the stretch to 3 for the Tide. If Alabama was standing around shooting jumpers, I could understand the disparity, but 'Bama was pounding it inside in their hi-low game and could not get a break. Even on the last play, when Alabama was going for a quick 2, Releford was knocked down twice with no call. Alabama is just seconds, points, and a couple fo bad calls away by Mike Stewart/Arkansas, Tim Higgins/Vanderbilt and Doug Shows/Ole Miss from being 14-0 instead of 11-3.

Despite this setback, 'Bama is gunning for an SEC Championship for the first time since 2002. Its the exact same situation as 9 years ago, same opponent in Florida, same coach in Billy Donovan, just a different venue as the Tide goes to the O-Dome in Gainesville instead of Coleman Coliseum. Antoine Pettway's lay up at the buzzer beat the Gators on that February afternoon 65-64 setting off a wild frenzy in Tuscaloosa.

Now the same opportunity presents itself on Tuesday, with Dick Vitale and ESPN U televising the contest. Alabama will be a decided underdog in this game. There is no way they can compete with the mighty Gators and win in another House of Horrors for the last decade, the O'Conner Center. Of course, there was no way they could compete for an SEC Title and NCAA Berth this year either? But here they are with an opportunity to accomplish both feats in one evening. Let's roll the dice and see what happens....and who wants to bet TV Ted Valentine will officiate the game????