As an Arkansas assistant coach 10 years ago, Tom Collen witnessed an era of dominance for SEC women’s basketball. The league consistently put more teams in the NCAA tournament than any other conference.
The SEC women’s basketball tournament was simply a showcase for the seven or eight teams preparing for a trip to the NCAAs.
“It was without question the strongest league in the country. There were no other challengers,” said Collen, now the head coach at Arkansas following a stint at Louisville. “Some of the other leagues stepped up, so now we’re in the situation where we’re fighting for respect and trying to gain back the respect we want. We’ve got something to prove.”
This year’s SEC women’s tournament, which starts today at the Sommet Center in Nashville, holds an extra significance unique to the league. Only four teams are currently expecting bids to the NCAA tournament, and even those schools are fighting for a better seed.
LSU went through the league undefeated but is currently projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs. Tennessee, despite a No. 3 national ranking and the nation’s best RPI, still needs a win or two in this week’s tournament to guarantee a No. 1 seed.
“I wouldn’t say Tennessee is completely locked in as a No. 1,” ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme said. “There’s a pretty good certainty that they will be a No. 1, mainly because they’re not going to lay an egg in the tournament. That’s what it would take. I’d say there’s an 80-85 percent chance Tennessee will be a No. 1.”
The problem for SEC schools is a weak lower tier of the league and a No. 4 ranking in conference RPI. Women’s college basketball analyst Carolyn Peck said injuries to players such as Arkansas’ Lauren Ervin and Georgia’s Rebecca Rowsey, along with the suspension of Auburn’s Whitney Boddie, contributed to the struggles of those teams.
The Lady Bulldogs are trying to improve on their current projection of a No. 7 or 8 seed to avoid playing a 1 or 2 seed in the second round. Auburn is a bubble team along with Kentucky.
“I think the SEC is not the dominant of conferences that it’s been in the past,” Peck said. “I think injuries have played a part. Normally, you have six or seven teams looked at as far as being in the NCAA tournament. Those injuries hurt those teams.”
But the conference tournament is helped by so many teams needing wins to improve their standing. Tennessee coach Pat Summitt told her players before the Georgia game that they were playing for a No. 1 seed. But if the Lady Vols lose to either Florida or South Carolina on Friday afternoon, Selection Monday will provide a few more anxious moments.
“I think that we put ourselves in a position right now to secure a No. 1 seed,” Summitt said. “If we lose out in the first game, we put that in jeopardy. If we’re in that championship game, I think we’re still in good shape. That’s yet to be determined. I do think we’ve played a very tough schedule, and hopefully we’ll keep the No. 1 regardless.”
