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It's SEC Tournament Time In Tampa

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 10, 2009

TAMPA - There is more to be decided during this week's SEC men's basketball tournament than which team claims the conference title and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Only Western Division champion LSU and possibly Eastern Division co-champion Tennessee can feel reasonably assured of having played their way into an at-large invitation to March Madness.

The SEC has placed at least five teams in the NCAA tournament field for 12 consecutive seasons, but in this down year, league hopefuls like South Carolina, Florida and Auburn are considered bubble teams that still need to prove their worth.

Each of those schools probably need at least one, and possibly two, wins in the tournament to strengthen their resume enough to impress the selection committee.

SCHEDULE

Thursday: 1 p.m., No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Mississippi; 3:15 p.m., No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 3 Mississippi State; 7:30 p.m., No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 Alabama; 9:45 p.m., No. 6 Arkansas vs. No. 3 Florida.

Friday: 1 p.m., No. 1 LSU vs Mississippi/Kentucky; 3:15, No. 2 South Carolina vs. Georgia/Mississippi State; 7:30, No. 1 Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt/Alabama; 9:45 p.m., No. 2 Auburn vs. Florida/Arkansas.

Saturday: Semifinals are at 1 and 3:15 p.m.

Sunday: Final is at 1 p.m.

TICKET INFO

Ticket books good for all sessions are $300 and available at www.secsports.com.

A limited number of single-session tickets are available beginning today. Single-session tickets are $50 each (plus any applicable fees) and are available for all six sessions of the tournament. The tickets, which went unsold by individual schools, can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. at the St. Pete Times Forum Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet by calling 1-800-745-3000, or by logging onto www.secsports.com.

As the only SEC team ranked among the nation's top 25, LSU (25-6, 13-3) is the logical favorite, but after falling Saturday at Auburn, the Tigers will lug a two-game losing streak into the postseason.

Tennessee, the preseason favorite, owns lackluster 19-10, 10-5 records, but has been vetted by one of the most difficult schedules in the country. Good size and plenty of athletes make Volunteers a strong threat.

Auburn (21-10, 10-6) is the league's hottest team with seven wins in eight games. The Tigers are the only SEC team to beat both West Division champion LSU and East Division champion Tennessee.

Florida (22-9, 9-7) has a punch's chance, although in this case it might be considered a shooter's chance. The Gators have a bevy of outside scorers who can get hot. When they do, Florida can be a threat. But if the shots aren't falling, the Gators look bad.

FUN FACTS

• The first-round interest level received a nice boost by the pairings determined by regular-season finishes. Host Florida and tradition-rich Kentucky will draw the most spectator interest. The Wildcats open the tournament with Thursday's first game at 1 p.m., while the Gators end the session with a 9:45 tip.

• Teams from the SEC's 12 schools will arrive independently, some coming in late Tuesday and others throughout Wednesday.

• The Dr Pepper SEC FanFare will be open to the pubic Thursday-Sunday. It will be on the west-side plaza of the St. Pete Times Forum.

• Each of the eight teams playing Thursday's first-round games will practice in the arena Wednesday, but the drills are not open to the public.

• Barring an unlikely run-through SEC Tournament title, perennial power Kentucky - 19-12, 8-8 and loser of four in a row and eight of its last 11 - almost certainly will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. That year the Wildcats were banned by the NCAA because of scandal. UK's absence would snap the nation's third-longest streak of consecutive appearances in the NCAA.

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