SEC tourney matters — to Kentucky fans
Not much intrigue for league, but that won’t stop fan interest
Ed Reinke / AP fileKentucky's Kelenna Azubuike (24) celebrates with teammate Randolph Morris, right, and Chuck Hayes against South Carolina. The Wildcats should run away with the SEC Tournament this weekend, writes NBCSports.com's Ray Glier.
Q: What do you think of UCLA's chances in the Pac-10 tournament and NCAA tournament? That freshman class has really matured, and the big man Fey is finally beginning to make a more consistent contribution.
— Len T., Los Angeles, Calif.
A: It seems as if Ben Howland has brought a Big East mentality to Westwood. He doesn’t coach offense like he coaches defense. The emotion the man puts into defense can spin his team into a fury, just like it did at Pitt.
UCLA is not a fun team to play against right now because of its man-to-man defense orchestrated from the sideline by Howland. The Bruins have 18 wins going into the Pac-10 Tournament and they think they can win the tournament.
It’s pretty easy to see what happened to turn around the season. The defense got better and three freshman starters grew up.
The freshman point guard, Jordan Farmar, who made nine turnovers in his first conference game at Oregon State, ended up as the best rookie in the Pac-10.
Arron Afflalo, another freshman guard, had three points at Oregon State in his conference debut, but averaged 11 for the season.
Another freshman, 6-foot-5 Josh Shipp, went for 20 against Oregon in the final regular-season game.
Something else should buoy the Bruins. Dijon Thompson, UCLA’s leading scorer, made just 30 percent of his shots in the last three games. UCLA won all three because of defense and contributions from others.
Also, the players seem to respond to Howland. Center Michael Fey had two points against Oregon State — and some bench time for his lack of production — then came back for 15 against Oregon.
Q: Does Texas A&M have a chance at the tournament this year? Considering the remarkable rebound from a year ago and the current hot streak they are on right now, having spanked three quality Big 12 teams in a row (Tech, Iowa State and Colorado), are they getting the respect they deserve?
— Benjamin Kerr, College Station, Texas
A: A&M has to get into the title game of the Big 12 Tournament to have a chance for the tournament. That’s the bottom line.
You see a 19-8 record. I see a program that scheduled 10 wins to start the season. Give me a break.
Take away those 10 wins and you have a 9-8 team against decent competition. I agree, the program has improved, but gee whiz, that is some stinker of a schedule. And those cupcakes were at home!
Oakland looks a little better now that it has made the tournament, but you still have to grapple with that 35-point loss to Texas.
The current A&M staff might feel victimized by the schedule, which was probably done before it rode into town, but the committee has to evaluate by what’s there and what’s there is an RPI of 65, which isn’t good enough for a team with two wins over non-Division I teams.
Q: I am a diehard Gonzaga fan and have been since a college visit I took in high school years ago. Do you think Gonzaga will have a chance to go deep in the tourney? Will they ever have a program that will bring the big one home?
— Ryan, Frankfort, Ky.
A: The Zags always have a chance to go deep in the tourney. It just depends on their draw and how hot they get.
This is certainly a good team, one that has size to pound teams on the boards.
There is also a star in Adam Morrison. If the big forward does not have some big games on the national stage in the NCAA Tournament, a lot of people will be surprised. Morrison, not Ronny Turiaf, seems to be the player drawing all the pro attention.
Gonzaga, to its credit, has tried to do something about playing in a conference that is not deep in competition. It played Georgia Tech; it played Oklahoma State. The Zags had a chance to see athletic teams that play pressure defense out front.
Now, it’s up to them to use what they have learned in the regular season about beating hard pressure. When a team dominates its conference like Gonzaga, pay attention in the post season; it usually means they have something for the power conference teams.
They can go deep in the tourney, but I don’t know if they have the guards for the Final Four.
Q: Now that Creighton grabbed the Missouri Valley Conference bid, does that mean the MVC will get three bids? I think Northern Iowa and Wichita State are worthy along with Southern Illinois.
— Darren James,
Omaha, Neb.
A: Creighton won the tournament and is in. Southern Illinois is in.
But in a year where the Missouri Valley Conference was deep with teams it might get just two bids. It doesn’t seem fair; the conference has really improved and kicked up the competition a notch.
But Northern Iowa’s early exit in the MVC Tourney hurt. Second place Wichita State lost six of its last eight.
The Shockers had a chance to snap out of their late-season funk on Bracket Buster Saturday in late February. I watched from courtside against Miami (Ohio) and Wichita did not look good.
It’s going to be a long weekend for the Shockers. They finished second in a good league, but tailed off badly. The RPI (46) is still good enough to get them a long look.
Northern Iowa was 7-3 over its last 10 and has an RPI of 36, but it finished tied for third in the league behind second place Wichita State.
It would be a shock to see NIU dancing over Shockers, but it could happen because the MVC was a strong league this season.
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