SEC Talk

That’s probably going to be the million dollar question after the NCAA tournament is over. Billy Donovan has this carrot dangling over him to be the next Kentucky Wildcats coach. Donovan loves Florida very much and he is being paid well and Kentucky is more of a job where he will be credited with wht he does. At Florida it’s always going to be about the football team and basketball is second best. Everyone in the world knows Kentucky Basketball is king at Kentucky and that won’t ever change.

Personally I think the lure of a new challenge and the thoughts of Kentucky being a basketball school will be enough to lure Billy Donovan away. if Donovan wasn’t interested he would say that up front and make it known he was staying at Florida by passing on the Kentucky job. he hasn’t so far so i think he will leave for Kentucky.

The LSU Tigers and the Tennessee Vols both are playing in the Women’s College Basketball Final Four and they could meet for the championship. Both teams are talented and how ironic it would be to have an All-SEC Final. It’s a very distinct possibilty, but we will have to wait and see. If we do have that than you have to probably say the SEC has the best Women’s College basketball.

Maybe one guy who has seen the best and the worst of college basketball is florida Gator star Joakim Noah. Noah was the darling of last years NCAA tournament run. Fast forward to a year later and many fans and teams consider him a villian. What has changed in a year? Not alot really. People will have opinions nd that will never change.

Winning breeds jealousy and sometimes people misunderstand guys for things they see without knowing what is meant by it. I guess in the long run it doesn’t matter as long as Joakim Noah is at peace with himself.

West Virginia hit a three pointer at the buzzer to give them a 63-62 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs and send the Mountaineers into the NIT fFinals. The Bulldogs built a big lead and had numerous chances to put away the Mountaineers and never did. West Virginia came back and put the dagger through the Bulldogs fans. When you have a chance to put a team away you have to. That’s what good teams do.

The Bulldogs had a impressive run though through the NIT and have nothing to be ashamed about. This was a learning experience and will make them a better team in the long run.

Pat Summitt and Candace Parker knows how tough it is to get to the Final Four. Parker who was on the team in 2005 as a Redshirt freshman remembers it to well and wanted to take Tennessee their again. Well after last night mission accomplished. All-SEC and SEC Player Of The Year Candace Parker scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and 5 blocks as Tennessee rolled over Ole Miss by a score of 98-62. It was never in doubt as Tennessee jumped out early and never really were threatened.

Summitt gets back to a place she knows all to well the Final Four. Summitt and the Vols have a very good chance of winning another title and that would once again make Tennessee Women’s Basketball on top of the Summitt once again.

After losing their coach Pokey Chatman to resigning the LSU Tigers have been on a roll and last night was no exception. LSU rolled over Connecticut with a 73-50 victory. Sylvia Fowles flexed her muscle as she poured in 23 points and 15 rebounds, but it was her intimidating defensive prescence that was the most impressive.

Many thought the LSU Lady Tigers would just fold after losing their coach , but these ladies have seem to get better as the Tournament has progressed. Next up for the Lady Tigers is a Final Four game against a very tough Rutgers team who also is on a roll.

Stan Heath looked safe as the Arkansas Basketball coach, but apparently that wasn’t the case as he got fired today by Arkansas atheletic director Frank Broyles. Heath was 21-14 and lost to USC in the NCAA Tournament. In my opinion firing him was a mistake. Yes, he may not got the success he wanted or Arkansas wanted, but he was headed in the right direction.

The players played well for him down the stretch including the SEC tournament and playing USC was a tough draw. Hopefully Arkansas can find a good coach, but their aren’t alot of them out there who will leave a good program just to come to Arkansas

The Florida Gators just do it anyway they want anymore. It doesn’t matter to them what people think they just keep winning. The Gators put away a tough Oregon club by a score of 85-77 to make another trip to the Final Four and a chance to defend their National Championship. The Gators used balanced scoring and crashing the boards on a much smaller Oregon team to win this battle.

Florida though didn’t put away Oregon as quickly as they could have and their were some tense moments at the end, but the Gators came through. Like them or hate them you have to give the gators credit for doing what they said they would do make it back to the Final Four. This Gator is together and playing well. It will be very interesting to see how they play against UCLA the team they beat for the National Championship last year.

The Florida gators are the last hope for the SEC since all the others have bowed out already. The Gators will play the Oregon Ducks this afternoon. Oregon is a very good team by the proof they are still in the tournament. Oregon has some very good shooters, so florida’s defense will have to be on there toes. Florida has the experience which so give them a big advantage in this game. They know what to expect they have been here before. I look for Florida to win, but in a very close game. Oregon is alot better team than what people are giving them credit for.

The Florida Gators seem to like slow starts and friday night was no different. Butler jumped out early as it looked like Florida was going through a walk through. Florida got it going in the second half and pulled out a 65-57 win over Butler. Many people thought Florida would just blow out Butler, but the Bulldogs fought hard and wouldn’t quit. Many people thought Butler didn’t deserve to be there but they proved they did.

Al Horford Had 16 points and seven rebounds, but it was his block towards the end of the game that really turned it for the Gators. Many people know about Noah, but don’t count Horford out as a defensive stopper either. The Gators need to start quick when the game begins or one day it will cost them. Yes, they are talented and can come back, but you can only do it so often before it catches up with you.

Vanderbilt started out very quickly and Georgetown were on there heels for most of the game, but for Commodore fans it didn’t end up that way. Jeff Green of Georgetown hit a jumber with just 2.5 seconds left to give Georgetown a 66-65 win an a triop to the Elite 8.

Dan cage and Derrick Byars led Vanderbilt in scoring with 17 points each. Vanderbilt’s biggest problem was the same thing that Tennessee ran into you have to play a second half. Vanderbilt shot lights out in the first half and they seem to let up on the gas in the second half a little bit and it cost them. Besides Florida most SEC teams haven’t been in this position for a long time. It’s a learning experience and I’m sure Tennessee and Vanderbilt have learned alot from there losses.

The Tennessee Vols for one half look like a National Champion and the Buckeyes looke like a team that didn’t belong. In the second half it was a whole different story as Ohio State came roaring back to give the Buckeyes a thrilling 85-84 comeback win over Tennessee.

In the first half Tennessee played outstanding defense and in the second half they seem to forgot how they got the big lead. There defense was a big turning point in the first half , but for some reason they didn’t put the defensive pressure on the Buckeyes like they did in the first half. Maybe they thought they had it won already. In the second half they looked like a team that had it on autopilot and thus they will be home watching the finals.

Chris Lofton scored 24 points and played well, but i the end it should have been him taking shots or making the passes. It didn’t always end up that way and that hurt. Hopefully Tennessee has learned from this loss and has learned you must play 40 mintues not 20.

According to various sources Tubby Smith will be leaving to take over as head basketball coach at Minnesota. Smith leaving now was a good move on his part as this coming year would have been real tough for him at Kentucky. This also could force Randolph Morris hand as well. I think Morris will now enter the NBA draft. Is he ready for it, probably not but with Tubby Smith gone he will be to.

Smith tried to replace a legend in Rick Pitino and that never ever works out. Smith was a good man who tried his best, but could never live up to Pitino. That was his downfall, as Kentucky fans expect NCAA Championshipsor at least Final Fours every year. Good Luck Tubby I for one will miss you.

This is a very interesting game in the Sweet 16. Florida looks on paper to be easily a double digit favorite and everyone has them rolling over Butler pretty easily. The key to this game will be the big men for the Gators. They must stay out of trouble or this game could be alot closer than people realize.
Butler is a very good team and could surprise but i just don’t see that.

Florida should roll if they play that way they are capable of. If not it could be one game to watch.

There is a reason that Candance Parker was named SEC Player Of The Year and the Pitt Panthers found that out last night. Parker did everything last night as she had 30 points 12 rebounds and played great defense to lead the Tennessee to a 68-54 win over Pittsburgh on there homecourt.

Parker is the key to the Vols success, if she can stay out of foul trouble and play like she did last night the Vols will be very hard to stop. Without Parker the Vols aren’t going to go to far.