The third Big 12/SEC Challenge was the charm.
Staging 10 men's basketball games between Big 12 and Southeastern Conference programs was nothing new, but holding the event on the final Saturday of January was very different. SEC coaches spent time on Monday's teleconference lauding the spectacle that was Saturday afternoon and evening, and their league lost seven times.
"It was a grand slam," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We were all over as far as national attention, and it delivered. Two of the better games of the year were Kentucky-Kansas and Oklahoma-LSU. All eyes were upon us, and it was just a breath of fresh air to step out of conference.
"It felt more like a tournament. There are times I do and don't root for the SEC for one reason or another, but I was rooting for all our teams Saturday."
The marquee matchup was the blueblood pairing of Kentucky and Kansas, which the host Jayhawks won 90-84 in overtime at the Phog Allen Fieldhouse. That showdown did not disappoint, but it wound up sharing the spotlight with Oklahoma's 77-75 win at LSU in which the top-ranked Sooners rallied from a 14-point deficit.
LSU coach Johnny Jones said students were lined up Friday night and Saturday's crowd was the "most active" of the season in Baton Rouge.
"It was a great weekend of basketball that certainly had a lot of attention given to it," Jones said. "We're always looking for positive exposure, and I thought we were able to get that. We had several teams play very competitively, and we had a great college basketball game here.
"We had some setbacks, but I don't think that's anything that will hurt us."
Early returns have the SEC actually benefiting from Saturday's 3-7 record. The league is 10-20 versus the Big 12 in the past three challenges.
Florida opened the event with an 88-71 surprise drubbing of No. 9 West Virginia, which improved the Gators from a No. 9 to a No. 8 seed in the projected NCAA tournament bracket updated Monday by ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi. LSU, despite its loss, moved from a No. 11 to a No. 10 seed.
Even Vanderbilt, which experienced a miserable first half during a 72-58 loss at Texas, remained the fourth team on Lunardi's "first four out."
"I don't think going 3-7 will be used against us at all," said Georgia's Mark Fox, whose Bulldogs lost 83-73 at Baylor. "At the end of the day, every team will be evaluated based upon its individual numbers. This probably helped everyone's strength of schedule and RPI numbers, and hopefully those will be the two things that stand out the most."
Said Pearl: "LSU's loss will be helpful, and Florida demonstrated what we've all seen firsthand. They're a team that is not only going to be in the tournament, but they'll be a really highly seeded team. In spite of the record, I think the conference may have helped itself."
There were mixed reactions among SEC coaches last week about holding this event during the league schedule, but that was before the timing of this past weekend. There were no AFC or NFC championships to dominate the headlines and no Super Bowl, which elevated the exposure for this hoop extravaganza.
Now the goal of SEC basketball coaches is to keep this challenge exactly where it is.
"That's up to the conference to decide, but I would certainly be on board with that," Jones said. "This was a great weekend."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.