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Several SEC Teams Eager To Boost NCAA Chances

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A number of SEC schools badly need strong showings this weekend to help their chances at NCAA Tournament bids.

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By MICK ELLIOTT

melliott@tampatrib.com

Published: March 8, 2009

Updated: 03/09/2009 12:26 am

TAMPA - The bracket for this week's SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in Tampa came into focus Sunday afternoon when the league's regular season concluded.

First-round competition begins Thursday with four games, including the 9:45 p.m. finale in which East Division No. 3 seed Florida meets Arkansas, the West's No. 6. Kentucky-Ole Miss gets the day started at 1 p.m.., followed by Mississippi State vs. Georgia and Alabama vs. Vanderbilt before the UF-Arkansas game.

The tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but for a number of teams the week provides a needed opportunity to improve chances for at-large invitations to March Madness.

The past 12 seasons, the SEC has put at least five teams into the NCAA's 65-team field. This season, only Western Division champ LSU, the lone nationally ranked conference team, can feel any level of security. Even Tennessee, the Eastern Division top seed, cannot feel certain after Sunday's 70-67 loss to Alabama left the Vols at 19-11 overall, 10-6 in the SEC.

South Carolina, Auburn and Florida are considered bubble teams, meaning they likely need a couple of wins in the tourney to improve their chances for an at-large bid.

An intriguing matchup between Auburn (21-10,10-6) and Florida (22-9, 9-7) could develop in the second round. With an opening-day win over Arkansas - a team they defeated in Gainesville 80-65 in the regular season - the Gators would meet Auburn, which has a first-day bye. The winner of that matchup not only would advance into the semifinals, it likely also would earn the NCAA selection committee's favor.

"You cannot pick out one team in the SEC and say, 'OK, this is the team that's going to win,'" Gators junior Dan Werner said. "I think everyone has a shot. Look at last year."

That was when Georgia went into the tournament 13-16 but put together a stunning four-game run for a surprising conference title and the automatic NCAA bid.

Kentucky, the long-time pride of SEC basketball, would like to find similar magic.

Unless the Wildcats (19-12, 8-8) win the SEC and its automatic bid, they are likely to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. It would end the nation's third-longest streak of consecutive appearances.

"I'm not on the selection committee," UK coach Billy Gillispie said. "All we can do is try to win games. That's what we've been trying to do and we have not done that well lately. We'll try to win one game when we play on Thursday and if we are lucky enough to advance we'll try to win one game the next day."

FSU MEN WIN, USF WOMEN LOSE

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534.

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