Monday, March 04, 2002
SEC: Top seed is Alabama, but Mississippi St. is hot
By Jennifer Scroggins
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A preview of the Southeastern Conference tournament, which begins Thursday in Atlanta:
TEAM TO BEAT:
Alabama. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue — “Crimson Tide, SEC basketball champion” — but it's true. And even with a loss Sunday, 12 league victories are fairly compelling, especially in a conference whose RPI ranks No.1. The athletic Crimson Tide have come a long way since nearly choking against an absolutely dreadful Temple club at the Jimmy V Classic in December. The Crimson Tide lack a quality nonconference win, but they defeated all three of the East's top teams: Georgia, Florida and Kentucky, with two of those wins on the road.
None of those wins was by more than five points, but two came on the road. Impressive.
DARK HORSE:
Mississippi State, the No.2 seed in the West. It's easy to balk at the Bulldogs' 23-7 record, when six of the losses came in SEC play. But remember: Only Alabama had fewer than six league defeats. And State has won five straight games heading into tournament time, when momentum matters. Perhaps the biggest problem for the Bulldogs is their likely second-
round foe: Florida.
21-7 with 3 straights wins as of Wednesday. .... This team has been impossible to pin down. Are the Bulldogs really as good as their victories over UK and??? suggest? Or are they the team that lost by about 100 points to Cincinnati?
MOST TO PROVE:
Kentucky. Only this season's nutty version of the Wildcats could win 20 games using Tayshaun Prince and little else but smoke and mirrors. But lo and behold, just like that, here are the Wildcats again, No.2 in the East with a first-round bye and a potential opening game against Ole Miss, which UK beat 87-64 in January. The problem for UK is that just as easily as it could win the tournament, it also could let Jason Harrison hit eight 3-pointers to send the Cats packing. Do the Wildcats have any heart? We'll know in a week.
TOUGHEST DRAW:
Florida. The Gators entered the weekend ranked eighth in the country, ahead of No.11 Kentucky and No.16 Georgia, yet they're the ones who will be playing a first-round game Thursday. True, Florida opens against Auburn, the West's No.6. But in the SEC, playing four games in four days is not exactly a recipe for success.
WEAKEST DRAW:
Georgia. If Jim Harrick can't get the Dawgs out of the second round, he'll have some explaining to do.
PLAYER ON THE SPOT:
Tayshaun Prince. All eyes have been on him all season: Should he have turned pro? Is he underachieving? An SEC run, followed by a strong NCAA showing, would make it all worthwhile.
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SEC: Top seed is Alabama, but Mississippi St. is hot
