SEC NCAA Tournament Recap: And Then There Was One
The SEC started the NCAA Tournament with six teams in the field. After four days, only one remains in the Sweet 16. Overall, the SEC has had a very poor showing after an incredible season as a conference. Come Thursday night, the SEC might be out of March Madness completely. Here’s the rundown after four days of rough results in the big dance.
Arkansas
Arkansas hung on to be the only SEC team to punch a ticket to the Sweet 16.
#13 Vermont was a potential upset candidate against the Razorbacks, but Arkansas ground it out for the 75-71 win. The Catamounts had their chances, but the Hogs protected the ball with just five turnovers and being aggressive on offense to earn themselves a 20-25 night at the free-throw line.
After UConn lost in their opening game, Arkansas then had to prepare for #12 New Mexico State. If they ground out their first win, the Razorbacks brought their game with the Aggies to a standstill. Arkansas shot just 27.5% from the field and 18.8% from three but found a way to get the job done by holding Teddy Allen to 12 points on 5-16 shooting. The Aggies comeback bid came up short because of another efficient night at the line as Arkansas shot 22-25 from the stripe in a 53-48 Razorback win.
With their second Sweet 16 in as many seasons, Eric Musselman and his team will now head out to San Diego for a date with #1 Gonzaga on Thursday.
Auburn
Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Auburn hadn’t looked close to the team we’d seen for a majority of the season. Through two games in the NCAA Tournament, we got to see their Jekyll & Hyde nature in full effect.
During their first game, they found some of their magic again in an 80-61 win over #15 Jacksonville State. While the Gamecocks competed early and found themselves with a six-point lead, Auburn would end the first half on a 28-10 run. The game wouldn’t be close the rest of the way as Jabari Smith was a difference-maker with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds. The potential #1 pick in the NBA Draft did it all from 4-7 shooting from three to a poster dunk to wrap up the win.
During their second game, though, the Tigers completely unraveled. #10 Miami pulled the 79-61 upset with a statement victory. Auburn’s offense was a disaster which led to lapses in their defensive intensity that the Hurricanes more than capitalized on. While their guard play wasn’t great with 31.4% shooting and 10 turnovers, the production from Auburn’s All-American frontcourt was somehow even worse with 3-22 shooting between Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
Auburn had an incredible season at 28-6 but, much like Kentucky, they may have peaked too soon this season. Even so, Bruce Pearl has built quite the program down on The Plains and should bring a majority of the roster back next season.
Tennessee
It was a tale of two NCAA Tournament games for the Volunteers in Indianapolis. On Thursday, the talk about Tennessee being underseeded appeared more than valid during their 88-56 beatdown of #14 Longwood. While the defense was impressive, the offense put on a clinic against the Lancers. They shot 60% from the field as a team and 58.3% from three with 14 threes as the performance made them more than look the part of a #1 seed.
On Saturday, it was the exact opposite. In a close matchup with #11 Michigan, Tennessee had a six-point lead with a little over eight minutes to go. That was before the Wolverines finished the game on a 22-8 run. Defense and three-point shooting, which is what got Tennessee to that point, failed them in the end. Michigan scored 44 points in the second half with Eli Brooks scoring 23 and the frontcourt of Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate combining for 40 points and 17 boards on 55.8% shooting. Meanwhile, the Vols shot just 2-18 from distance in the loss.
Rick Barnes has now lost during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in his last 10 trips. The loss ended the SEC Tournament Champions season at 27-8, which is the second-best record for UT under Barnes.
Alabama
With a 78-64 upset loss to #11 seed Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish ended one of the more confusing seasons in recent college basketball memory for the Crimson Tide. Ranked as high as #6 in the AP Poll this season after wins over Gonzaga & Houston, Alabama’s final 23 games would be a rollercoaster.
Their season-ending loss got off to a bad start with a knee injury to Jahvon Quinerly that knocked him out of the game three minutes in. After that, it all went downhill for Alabama. Notre Dame got whatever they wanted on the offensive end, which included a career-high 29 points on 10-13 shooting for Cormac Ryan. Offensively, the Tide couldn’t get it going either after the loss of Quinerly. Jaden Shackelford really struggled with 13 points on 4-17 shooting and 2-10 from three.
All in all, Alabama’s season got off the rails quickly with a 10-13 finish. A season after winning the SEC regular-season and conference tournament, the Crimson Tide wrapped up a puzzling year at 19-14.
LSU
The Tigers got handed a raw deal before the NCAA Tournament even started with the firing of Will Wade. From there, Kevin Nickelberry had but days to pull the program back together enough for their First Round matchup. While it was close, LSU was sent home with a 59-54 loss to #11 Iowa State.
The Tigers’ offense was once again their Achilles heel. They had a worthy defensive showing as they held the Cyclones to 59 points and Izaiah Brockington to 6-16 shooting. Even with Tyrese Hunter scoring 23, the game was there for LSU. When you muster just 54 points as a team, though, your chances aren’t great to pull out a win in the NCAA Tournament. 37% from the field and 21.1% from three won’t help, but missing seven free throws in a tight one like this was a killer.
After starting 15-1, you’d think finishing the season 7-11 was disappointing enough. Instead, LSU now has to figure out where their program goes from here. Since the firing of Wade, two top-20 commits for the Tigers have already decommitted from LSU. They’ll need to pick up the pieces around them as soon as possible, which includes finding and choosing a new head coach.
Kentucky
LOL. Nope. Feel free to read the other recap if you so choose.
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