#SECBasketballFever

The Games of the Half Week

Tennessee (58) - Florida (67) - February 11, 2014

Rocky Top Talk focuses on what could have been

Tennessee was thoroughly embarrassed by Florida two weeks ago in Gainesville, in every facet of the game.  When now #3 Florida jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes tonight, it looked very familiar.

But Tennessee battled back, forging a halftime lead of their own thanks to lights out shooting in the first 20 minutes.  Florida immediately regained the lead to open the second half, and Tennessee frustratingly, painfully never got it back.

Alligator Army is pretty excited to get their first win at UT since 2011

Florida could have let this one, the latest tough one in Knoxville against a Tennessee team that plays nothing but tough ones against Florida at home, slip, could have let up at any of many junctures, could have given away this win by giving up. After Tennessee blitzed Florida with a 30-14 run to take a six-point lead early, after Patric Young drew his third foul and had to sit early in the second half, after a field goal drought that stretched on and on in the game's final 10 minutes, after a missed shot up six with just under two minutes left: There were chances

02/11/14 Florida vs Tennessee Men's Basketball Highlights (via SECDigitalNetwork)

Alabama (67) - Mississippi (64) - February 11, 2014

Roll Bama Roll delights in a victory over Ole Miss that saw Releford do Releford things

On a cold, dreary night, with a slow arriving (still waiting on them) crowd, Alabama's Trevor Releford showed why he is an all SEC guard. Releford scored a game high 26 points, including a game winning three pointer with 0.6 seconds left in the game. The Tide won 67-64, continuing their streak of winning when they hold the opposition under 65 points

Red Cup Rebellion did not put up a post game article, but you can read their live thread here, so much satire!

Trevor Releford Game-Winning Three vs. Ole Miss #SCtop10 (via ESPN)

Auburn (56) - Kentucky (64) - February 12, 2014

College & Magnolia put up a mildly attended game thread which you can read if you like

A Sea of Blue reflects on a close road win at Auburn and views it as a growing experience for their freshmen

It's amazing how different a game looks 8 hours after the fact, when you've had time to cool your jets a bit and rationality returns. That's one reason I have taken to doing the real analysis some time after the game has ended. It helps me clear the emotional cruft from my mind.

First of all, let's give the Auburn Tigers a hand for the way they played. They knew a couple of things coming in — one, that they were not talented enough to play Kentucky's game, and two, they had to find a way to make the game a fistfight, because those kinds of games cause freshmen to quail. So they crafted a game plan of low possessions and low scoring. High scoring games generally favor the more talented team. They still lost, but they were in the game all the way, and their effort was impressive.

02/12/14 Kentucky vs Auburn Men's Basketball Highlights (via SECDigitalNetwork)

South Carolina () - Vanderbilt () - February 12, 2014

Postponed due to weather!  You would think Frank Martin's rage could melt all snow and ice, but alas, no.  Belegcam will have your game info on this, on Sunday.

Mississippi State (55) - Georgia (75) - February 12, 2014

For Whom the Cow Bell Tolls does not care for your basketball and they will be long dead before they acknowledge its existence.

Dawg Sports cared about as much about recapping this game as FWtCBTs felt like acknowledging it, check out their game thread here, which was well attended.

Video Highlights exist on Georgia's website, but not on Youtube, so check em out here.

Texas A&M (83) - LSU (73) - February 12, 2014

Good Bull Hunting did not reflect on the win, nor did they really talk about it, but you can see their 6 comment thread here

And the Valley Shook declares their season dead after a listless road loss to the Aggies

Dead.

The word was apropos for so many different reasons Wednesday night on the rolling plains of Southeast Texas.

Maybe you could have seen it in the stark brown grass that lined the highways leading into College Station. Perhaps the unseasonably cool weather and biting winds outside the arena would remind you of a desolate wasteland.

Surely the sentiment was apt for the paltry atmosphere in Reed Arena provided by the indoor gathering. Calling it a crowd might be stretching it. Seriously, people were yawning in the arena. There was certainly no life in LSU's 3-point shooting, which was a ghastly 6-of-24.

And where it's most fitting? Well, that must be saved for LSU's NCAA Tournamenthopes, which aren't even on life support now. Hell, this team might not make the NITafter getting smacked around by a thoroughly uninspiring Texas A&M squad.

Highlights: Texas A&M 83, LSU 73 (via Texas A&M Athletics)

SEC Standings as of this Moment!

Bracketology!

Bill C's Rock M Tology still has us in, just by the skin of our teeth as a 12 seed in Dayton.  It really seems like if we're getting in, we're going to Ohio to do it.  He also has 3 other teams making it, Florida as a 1 seed, Kentucky as a 4 seed and Tennessee as an 11 seed.  So, let's win some games jam ourselves back into this thing.

Joe Lunardi is now dropping two brackets per week.  We currently sit on the first four out line right now.  As of his Monday post, we were a 12.  So even though Mizzou did not play we still bounced off, just showing how fickle this bracket bubble is right now.  All that said, he has Florida as a 1, Kentucky as a rising 3 and Tennessee as an 11. Which leads me to believe if we beat them (and arky) we just flip flop with them.

Chris Dobbertean of SB Nation has his latest bracket up (Feb. 11) and our Tigers inhabit the land of "First Four Out." In the field for the SEC are Florida as a 1, and Kentucky as a 4.  As he notes, the SEC is a giant morass of middle of the pack teams currently beating each other on their home floor.  In the mix are still Mizzou, Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU.

Jerry Palm's bracket is up and he still has Mizzou in the last four in Dayton as an 11 playing Oregon.  Also in for the SEC are Florida as a 1, Kentucky as a 4, and Tennessee as an 11 sans play in game.

Bubble Watch

It's here and as promised, it's linked!

First off we've got ESPN's Eamonn Brennan where he has Mizzou on the bubble along with Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas and Ole Miss all having work to do.  I imagine next week's will look similar with some potential movement for Mizzou as we play two other bubble watch residents.

SEC Basketball Minutiae

A Team Speed Kills profile on Jabari Brown, in which they make the joke we made last year, "What can Brown do for you?

With the 2013-14 season winding down, a former McDonald's All-American is distancing himself from the rest of his competition. Is Jabari Brown the SEC Player of the Year?

Game of the Half Week, a look at the Volunteers of Tennessee who Mizzou gets on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in a game that will help one team and hurt another

• This game was really one of runs.  Florida came out fast, UT pushed back and the first half ended in a 2 point game. The second half, Florida came out fast and then UT pushed back, but eventually UT seemed to wear themselves down with a ton of work getting turnovers and blocks but not scoring off the back end.  I mean, they missed a lot of gimmies.
• Jordan Mcrae if left open for threes, will shoot on us, and probably make a bunch. He's the spark that gets this team going, at least that's what was apparent against Florida.
• UT has good size, mirroring Mizzou pretty well, and like Mizzou they will leave the three point line open to fold down more towards the basket.  In fact watching them play is a lot like watching our Tigers.
• While they do have good size, they are susceptible to getting beaten to the basket by a quick drive, which good be good news for Clarkson.
• They like to press, not the Arky full court frazzle you like Mike Anderson does, but more like what Ole Miss ran this past Saturday.  The press hasn't really bothered Mizzou's guards this season to date, but something to be aware of.
• UT tends to have the same problems rebounding our bigs do at times, not securing the ball and allowing a team second chance opportunities.
• On defense they have quick hands, so our guards need to secure the ball and not do that thing where they dribble into 19 people on defense (looking at you Jordan Clarkson).
• Jarnell Stokes is a big and long, a very Bilas type player.  He can score on the inside and is quick to the hoop.  Also, he loves yoga.

To conclude the game, I would say UT looks A LOT like Mizzou, this is a toss up game, and I would imagine the one on the back end in Knoxville where the home team should have the advantage.  I don't know how Saturday will go, but a win is a must if we want in the big dance.

Thanks as always for reading, and leave us comments or notes in the comments if you've got any!