In the Dance
1. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Coach Bruce Pearl says Florida, Tennessee’s opponent tonight, would make the NCAA tournament field right now. Florida’s Billy Donovan isn’t so sure, but a win over the nation’s No. 1 team in the RPI would certainly boost the Gators’ resume. “But I’m not a guy who’s going to make a case for our team,” Donovan said. “We’ve put ourselves in the position for someone to decide our fate.”
2. VANDERBILT COMMODORES
The Commodores continue to get whipped by Arkansas, losing their fourth straight in the series last week and dropping to 1-7 against the Razorbacks since 2002. Kevin Stallings is 0-5 at Walton Arena as the visiting coach. “They’ve got a lot of talent,” Stallings said. “I think if you lined up their talent and lined up our talent, I’m not so sure most coaches wouldn’t take their talent.”
3. MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS
Mississippi State’s players celebrated their win over Florida in the final seconds, pumping fists and giving high-fives. “It’s kids talking,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “If they really want to play against the defending national champions, let’s get (Al) Horford, (Joakim) Noah, (Corey) Brewer and all those guys back here and let’s line back up again and see what happens.”
On the bubble
4. KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Here’s one positive to Patrick Patterson’s season-ending ankle injury for Kentucky fans: He won’t declare for the NBA draft as some suspected. “I know I’m not ready,” Patterson said. “No possible way I’m trying to go. I’m here to stay at Kentucky as long as I can. Freshman year, I’m here. Sophomore year, I’m here.”
5. ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
The Razorbacks entered Tuesday night’s game 14-1 at home and 2-6 on the road this season, prompting some annoyance from coach John Pelphrey. “We’ve got to have a little more resolve, a little more character,” he said. “We don’t need Mommy cutting the corners off our bread all the time, OK? We don’t need our chicken nuggets cut up so we can eat them in small pieces. Be men and go play that way.”
6. FLORIDA GATORS
The Gators showed their solidarity by shaving lines — the original plan was an “F” — into the left sides of their head last Friday. The next day, the Gators lost at home to Mississippi State. “With everything we’re playing for, the things we want to do this year, to have a loss like that this late in the season just hurts,” freshman Chandler Parsons said.
7. OLE MISS REBELS
Six out of the top 20 crowds in Tad Smith Coliseum history arrived in the last three months, but following six losses in seven SEC games, the Rebels played in front of a sparse crowd last Saturday. The student section was one-third full. “I don’t concern myself with that,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “I’m going to show up every game, and if you want to come and support this team, that is completely up to you.”
Wait till next year
8. SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
In an attempt to discourage his players from breaking any laws, South Carolina coach Dave Odom has a member of his staff post stories of athletes getting arrested on a board in the basketball facility. “Every day, there’s fresh reports up there,” Odom said. “It’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen. I’ll mention, ‘You guys check that board today?’”
9. LSU TIGERS
Make that three straight wins for the Tigers, who haven’t lost since a Feb. 20 trip to Arkansas when star Marcus Thornton was hurt. He scored 36 in the win over Georgia, helping interim coach Butch Pierre improve to 4-3 since replacing John Brady. Next up is Alabama at home. “That should be good, too,” Thornton said. “We should be able to get another one at home.”
10. AUBURN TIGERS
Jeff Lebo’s team tumbled from third to sixth in the cluttered bottom of the Western Division, changing its current SEC tournament first-round matchup from hapless Georgia to No. 16 Vanderbilt. The Tigers play Georgia tonight. “Georgia is so very, very physical,” Lebo said. “They’ve given us problems in the past because of their physical nature at every position.”
11. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
Family members kept encouraging Demetrius Jemison, saying he would post big numbers before the season was over. Despite starting for the Tide alongside Richard Hendrix, Jemison scored two points or fewer in eight SEC games. Last week, he erupted for 19 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Arkansas and scored 17 points against Ole Miss. “Everything they told me about finally came true,” he said.
12. GEORGIA BULLDOGS
After the loss to LSU, Georgia coach Dennis Felton showed reporters a scouting tape from his laptop computer that clearly captured LSU guard Alex Farrer punching Georgia guard Sundiata Gaines in the face during a scramble for a loose ball. Gaines then hit Farrer in the face with a forearm. Only Gaines was ejected. “There’s no way their kid should play in the next game,” Felton said.
