SEC basketball rankings for March 4

1. LSU TIGERS

How about Trent Johnson for national coach of the year? He inherited a somewhat dysfunctional team — particularly concerning academics — that went 13-18 a year ago. The Tigers are a week away from finishing 15-1 in the SEC. Bill Self certainly deserves recognition for the job he did rebuilding Kansas. Other great coaching jobs this season: Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel, Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, Utah State’s Stew Morrill and Duggar Baucom at VMI.

2. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

Bruce Pearl might need to pay some of Florida’s basketball coaching salary, because he absolutely owns Billy Donovan. Pearl is 7-1 against Donovan, and the lone loss came when Chris Lofton sat out with an injury. Pearl is the Urban Meyer to Donovan’s Phillip Fulmer. “The first two years (under Pearl) we had a couple games against them, some came-down-to-the-wire games,” Donovan said. “Last year they were clearly the best team in the league. I think they’ve been a matchup problem the last couple years really for everybody.”

3. SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

A win over Tennessee will not clinch the SEC East for Darrin Horn and the Gamecocks. They would still need to beat Georgia or have Tennessee lose to Alabama. The head-to-head tiebreaker between Tennessee and South Carolina would be even, but the Vols have a better division record and would win the tiebreaker. But if Kentucky wins out, there would be a three-way tie and South Carolina would win the tiebreaker and the East.

4. FLORIDA GATORS

The winningest player in Florida basketball history? Walter Hodge, of course. Hodge is 113-33 as a member of the Gators, one win ahead of Lee Humphrey and Chris Richard. “He can sit there and say, ‘I’m leaving here and there’s nobody that’s ever played here that’s been a part of more wins,’” Donovan said. “I would think for Walter, knowing him, that may be the most valuable accomplishment he’s ever had in his life.”

5. KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Billy Gillispie is now 37-23 as Kentucky’s coach, about 23 more losses than acceptable for Kentucky fans. “Two years is a pretty short time frame for anybody to start gauging whether we are capable of getting to a Final Four under a coaching staff,” UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart said. “Billy is working extremely hard to try to put Kentucky basketball back where the fans want it to be. I know nobody wants to hear it, but it’s going to take time to get our roster filled out like we need it to be.”

6. AUBURN TIGERS

I’ve heard this so many times this year from Auburn opponents: “Auburn played with more passion, played with more toughness and played with more togetherness,” Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said after losing to the Tigers last week. “Whatever you’ve got to do to win on the road, I thought Auburn had it. We didn’t have it.” Jeff Lebo deserves the credit.

7. OLE MISS REBELS

I think we’re about to watch Ole Miss crumble. It was a valiant run for the Rebels, who endured numerous injuries and a major coaching distraction this year. But losing 90-69 at home to Alabama — a team with 18 straight road losses — is not a good sign. Players turned down interview requests after the game, partly because so many were in the training room. “You only have so many games in your life, and I was hoping our guys would understand that and respond a little bit better than we did,” coach Andy Kennedy said.

8. MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

What’s worse than hearing the continual clanging of cowbells? Well, if you’re a Mississippi State player, it’s booing from the crowd at The Hump. The fans voiced their displeasure during Mississippi State’s loss to Auburn last week. Then they all left with six minutes remaining. “It’s real frustrating, hearing boos, leaving early,” center Jarvis Varnado said. “That’s real frustrating to a player.”

9. VANDERBILT COMMODORES

Kevin Stallings picked up LSU’s SEC-only stat sheet this week and saw a trend he’s never seen before. “In the league, every one of their numbers is better than their opponents with the exception that they have three more turnovers than their opponents,” Stallings said. “Everything is better. They are really dominating people both offensively and defensively. They are dominating other than just the final score.”

10. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Here’s a nice story: Alabama reserve guard Anthony Brock scored a career-high 17 points at Ole Miss after attending his grandmother’s funeral in Little Rock, Ark. She died last Thursday. He rejoined the team Saturday morning and dedicated the game to his grandmother. “I know it’s a day he won’t soon forget,” Alabama coach Philip Pearson said.

11. ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Coach John Pelphrey wore black cowboy boots with his gray suit during Sunday’s home game against Georgia, a tribute to former coach Nolan Richardson, who sat courtside and was honored at halftime along with the 1994 Arkansas national championship team. “Coach Richardson is a lot more athletic than I am, because I about went down three times,” Pelphrey said of coaching in the boots.

12. GEORGIA BULLDOGS

Can the Bulldogs make another miracle run in the SEC tournament? They already clinched the No. 6 seed and will play the No. 3 seed out of the SEC West in the first round, which right now would be reeling Mississippi State at 3:15 p.m. Georgia would probably play Tennessee or South Carolina in the second round. And we all know about Tennessee’s history in this event.