This was not exactly a very interesting year in the SEC.\u00a0 It was Kentucky and a bunch of underachievers.\u00a0 Case in point is Tennessee grabbing the 2-seed.\u00a0 But, the tournament could be interesting, especially after Calipari sort of alluded to the fact that they might not be trying to win this tournament – quote, “We are not trying to win this tournament.”<\/p>\n
Well, even though Coach Cal isn’t going to try, Kentucky is the most popular single championship pick in any conference.<\/p>\n
Championship Picks Biggest Upsets Previous CTC Champions #8 LSU vs. #9 Arkansas This game is pretty split in the CTC, as 9 people have the Razorbacks here (Alexi, Dave, Gersh, Gross, J, Lohse, Mac, Rikey, RSmith).\u00a0 Everyone has Kentucky beating the winner of this game next round.<\/p>\n #5 Alabama vs. #12 South Carolina RDoc is the only one that took USC in this huge upset.\u00a0 7 people have Bama winning again tomorrow (Alexi, Dave, Gross, J, KA, Lynch, Teddy).\u00a0 KA has them going to the finals.<\/p>\n #7 Ole Miss vs. #10 Auburn Bry and Waters are the only two that have Auburn in this upset pick.\u00a0 And, a lot of the rest of the field has a lot of confidence in the Rebels, as 6 people have them winning again tomorrow (Dave, Doogan, J, KA, Mac, Primm).<\/p>\n #6 Mississippi St. vs. #11 Georgia This is probably the most important CTC game of the day in the SEC, as 8 people have a pretty big upset here (Bry, Doogan, J, Mac, Primm, RDoc, RSmith, Waters), and 3 people have Mississippi State winning again tomorrow (Gersh, Gross, Lynch), with Gersh and Gross having them going to the finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This was not exactly a very interesting year in the SEC.\u00a0 It was Kentucky and a bunch of underachievers.\u00a0 Case in point is Tennessee grabbing the 2-seed.\u00a0 But, the tournament could be interesting, especially after Calipari sort of alluded to … Continue reading
\n<\/em>17 for #1 Kentucky
\n0 for #2 Tennessee
\n3 for #3 Vanderbilt (KA, Mac, RDoc)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>R1 – #12 South Carolina (RDoc)
\nQF – #7 Ole Miss (Dave, Doogan, J, KA, Mac, Primm)
\nSF – #6 Mississippi St. (Gersh, Gross, Rikey)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>2011 – Rikey*
\n2010 – Alexi
\n2009 – Alexi
\n2008 – Waters<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>It wasn’t a terrible year down on the Bayou – at least it wasn’t as bad as it was expected to be.\u00a0 But, either way, the Trent Johnson Era is not exactly a smashing success.\u00a0 As for the Mike Anderson Era at Arkansas, well, it wasn’t much of anything away from home.\u00a0 Both teams struggled this year and are probably just playing for the right to get smashed by UK next round.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>I love Anthony Grant.\u00a0 He is a no-nonsense guy who is building a program, not just trying to win games.\u00a0 And, he sent a message this year and may not have cost his team a tournament bid.\u00a0 He did, however, probably cost them a first-round bye.\u00a0 So, they have to play a bad USC team today before a date with Florida tomorrow.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>After the absolutely miserable season Auburn had last year, a 10th place finish in the SEC is a pretty big step up.\u00a0 On the other side, Ole Miss is a popular “bubble” team these days.\u00a0 But, honestly, I don’t see the meat on the resume.\u00a0 Either way, they almost certainly need a couple of wins here in New Orleans to even be in the discussion.\u00a0 It starts today with Auburn and then they’d get Tennessee tomorrow.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>How bad is it going to get for Miss State?\u00a0 I’m starting to ease off my constant defense of Rick Stansbury as a coach because, at some point, you have to hold him responsible for the people he brings into the program.\u00a0 They are so immensely talented, but they are so immature – particularly, Renardo Sidney.\u00a0 They should be in the tournament, but a loss here to UGA and all bets are off.\u00a0 The Dawgs can get it done, too, they beat them handily earlier this season.\u00a0 The winner of this game will get #3 Vandy.<\/p>\n