Vanderbilt coach Kevin StallingsThe Southeastern Conference has picked the right year to be mediocre in the middle.
With two weeks remaining in the SEC men’s basketball race, just three teams have winning league records while four are 6-6. Only Kentucky, Florida and Vanderbilt look certain of NCAA tournament invitations, but that doesn’t mean the SEC will be a three-bid league.
“I would be surprised if that were the case,” Vandy coach Kevin Stallings said Monday. “There are four games [per team] to be played yet, and one of those 6-6 teams could end up at 10-6. I would be shocked if we got into a scenario like that. I don’t see that happening.”
Alabama, Mississippi State, LSU and Tennessee are .500 in conference contests, with the Crimson Tide and MSU’s Bulldogs viewed as being in the best shape for NCAA play due to better standings in the Ratings Percentage Index. Yet Alabama had lost six of nine games before defeating Tennessee this past Saturday, and Mississippi State has dropped three straight entering tonight’s home game against No. 1 Kentucky.
Senior Tide forward JaMychal Green was allowed back on the team Monday, following a three-game suspension, according to coach Anthony Grant, but junior forward Tony Mitchell will remain suspended for the rest of the season.