SB Nation - David Huertas

Thursday News and Notes

Gamecock Man — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:17:20 -0000

Football

Phil Steele on Strength of Schedule. Get ready: Steele has us playing the fourth toughest schedule in the nation--good for toughest in the SEC--based on his previous year W/L percentage statistical analysis. It never gets easier, does it? Now, I'm not one to get too riled up over these rankings, as you never really know how tough your schedule is until about mid-way through the season, after it becomes apparent who's for real and who's not. UGA, for instance, was supposed to have one of the toughest schedules in the nation last year, but many of their opponents--Arizone State, Tennessee, Auburn, us to a certain degree--ended up tanking, thereby devaluing their schedule. Plus, as Get the Picture tells us, there's reason to doubt Steele's particular rankings. However, it certainly seems fair to say that we have a tough schedule, considering that we're playing the usual SEC East slate, inter-divisional games against good Ole Miss and Alabama teams and an Arkansas team that should be improved, and the game with Clemson along with a game at what could be an improved NC State.

Basketball

Charleston Tourney Update. We appear to be set for this event. The lineup isn't particularly impressive. It includes Penn State, Miami, South Florida, College of Charleston, Tulane, La Salle and UNC Wilmington. PSU, Miami, and C of C are good programs, but most of the others are fairly forgetable. Still, I think this is a good opportunity for us to play some at least relatively decent competition during the non-con slate as well as hopefully to get some valuable national exposure.

Baseball

Gamecocks Drop to Clemson. The Tigers really handled us in this one, beating us 12-2. Sigh. Next up: Gators in Gainesville.

Other NCAA News

Malcolm White Transfers from Ole Miss to LSU. Many commentators were recently pegging the Rebels as a dark horse team in the SEC next year. Now, though, they have suffered abrupt departures from two of last year's major contributors, White and David Huertas. It may be another uphill climb for Andy Kennedy's team.

Diamond Dawgs Lose to Jacksonville State. JSU calls themselves the Gamecocks, as you may have known. Too bad it wasn't us, huh? At any rate, this was yet another weird mid-week loss for the Dawgs, who have dominated the better half of the SEC but seem incapable of beating the lowly.

Smart Football Talks Hal Mumme. Here's a good story about one of the game's major innovators over the past twenty years. By the way, if you don't read Smart Football regularly, you're missing out. This is definitely one of the most intelligent, informed football blogs on the web, featuring everything from history lessons to descriptions of tactical strategy.

Tuesday News and Notes

Gamecock Man — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:13:54 -0000

Basketball

Darrin Horn on Xavier Rumors. Horn claims he was in Cincinnati last week on personal business, not to speak to Xavier. Convenient, huh? I'll have to say that I like part of his statement, thouh:

And quite honestly, (I) was a little surprised by being a part of that speculation when it started simply because I just left a job like that to come be where I want to be, which is at a state school in the SEC, working for a terrific administration.

You know, it's worth keeping our fingers crossed about this until someone else actually takes the job, but it's also worth pointing out that Horn is basically talking down Xavier here; he's saying that they're definitely a mid-major when compared to USC. That's not the kind of neutral statement one usually hears from someone who's considering taking a job.

Other NCAA News

Injury Bug Hitting Florida. It's spring, so most of this probably won't matter when the season rolls around, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

David Huertas Returning to Puerto Rico to Pursue Pro Career. For those of you that don't know him, Huertas was a star in Ole Miss's back court this past year. His loss will hurt the Rebels, whom many were penning in as a breakout team next year.

Clemson Soccer Coach Faces Assault Charges. They have soccer at Clemson? I'm surprised they haven't already tried to deport this poor coach along with french fries and Sean Penn.

Kentucky 71, Ole Miss 58: Postmortem

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:15:01 -0000

I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to write about a victory again, instead of a defeat. This four-game losing streak that just ended today has been among the most difficult times I have experienced as a Wildcat fan, and definitely the least fun stretch of blogging I have ever had to do.

Despite a determined effort from the Ole Miss Rebels today, a wounded David Huertas was just too tough an obstacle for the Rebels to overcome. Terrico White was terrific in defeat, and even though Huertas managed 15 points, he was only 4-14 from the field. Nice effort by the Rebels. They will be much tougher next year when they get their injured starters back.

For Kentucky, this was a game of stretches. For some stretches in the game, the Wildcats struggled like crazy to score. In others, they seemed to score effortlessly. But today, the Wildcats ran offense that looked like ... well, like offense, and defended very well in the second half. Despite a white-hot first half shooting, the Wildcats wore the Rebels down and eventually, their shooting returned to form.

It really is amazing to me the difference between the way the Wildcats attacked the zone defense today and they way they failed to attack it last weekend in Gainesville. For the first time in a long time, switching defenses did not seem to bother Kentucky. When the Rebels went zone, the 'Cats got the ball into the middle, forced rotation and Darius Miller was usually the guy that drove the ball into the paint and scored. When the Rebs were in man to man, Meeks made startling cuts and dribble dives to the basket, or repeatedly pounded the ball in to Patterson and Stevenson. The result was effective offense -- dare I say, "good" offense? Maybe.

But what really won this game for Kentucky to day was the outstanding board work by the 'Cats. 13 offensive and 22 defensive rebounds for a 7-rebound margin against the Rebels. Not a great margin, but when you look at the OR% of 37%, that is very solid, especially compared to Ole Miss' 15% effort on the offensive glass. Combined with one of our lowest turnover games in a long while (10), the 'Cats got up 12 more shots than the Rebels.

Some observations:

Patrick Patterson continues to struggle with shots he was making earlier this year. I wonder why? But he took a couple of face-up jumpers that were very nice. It was a solid game for Patterson, but we have come to expect better than 7-15 from him. But he was a beast on the boards, garnering 14 boards, 3 of them offensive.
Perry Stevenson had a whale of a game. I suppose we'll see him turn sideways and vanish into thin air tomorrow, but today he was large and in charge, with 13 points on 4-6 shooting with 8 rebounds including 4 offensive.
The things Ramon Harris does cannot be measured. He did a great defensive job on Terrico White, even though White was red hot in the first half. Almost every one of those shots was challenged, but White could not miss. It went the other way in the second half, though. Harris also managed 7 rebounds.
Neither team shot well from three, and only a late Jodie Meeks three saved UK's 3-pointer-in-a-game streak. 1-10 is loathsome shooting from the arc. Ole Miss was at least not horrible at 30%.
I loved the way Meeks played today. He made shot fakes instead of taking wild shots, he knifed to the basket with frightening abruptness and finished or got fouled. Despite only one 3, Meeks got his average. That is a scorer. That's why he'll get paid big bucks to play ball after next year.
What can I say about Darius Miller? The freshman was simply terrific offensively. The only real criticism I can make is that he got bupkis for rebounds. How do you manage that at the 3 spot?
Michael Porter was ... well, Michael Porter. He hustled, he defended to the best extent his limited athleticism would allow, he was tough and determined. But he was also so far off shooting that his seven missed shots barely threatened to touch the rim, let alone go through the hoop. He did make one very nice driving layup, had three assists and only one turnover. I suppose, on balance, that his negatives and positives were close.
Josh Harrelson had a positive impact in only 8 minutes, but a really dumb three limited his playing time.
Kevin Galloway tried, but he really struggled today defensively. His man beat him over and over, but he did make a couple of nice passes and did not turn the ball over.
DeAndre Liggins barely played, and came with one foul of making no mark at all on the game.

One thing I did notice was that UK stayed at home, and only one person went to block the shot. In my view, this was one of the reasons that Kentucky did so well on the glass today. I would also note that Ole Miss did not pressure Porter, which is likely why we did not see a bunch more turnovers. Another possible negative is that the 'Cats did not put away the game until fairly late, so Gillispie was not able to rest the starters a great deal. But for once, his substitutions made some semblance of sense, and both Patterson and Meeks got at least a few minutes of rest.

All in all, this was a solid effort from Kentucky, especially defensively in the second half, holding Ole Miss to only 20 points. Forcing turnovers was a big part of that, something UK has not done particularly well this year.

So now, the 'Cats move on for another shot at LSU, who will be rested and ready. If Kentucky brings the effort they had today, they should be competitive, but Jodie Meeks must be more effective from the perimeter. But for now, we can celebrate a victory for the first time in two weeks, and it feels really good.

SEC Tournament: Kentucky Wildcats vs. Ole Miss

Ken Howlett — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:42:29 -0000

Kentucky (19-12, 8-8) enters today's 1:00 EST first round SEC Tournament match-up with Ole Miss needing a win to not only preserve hope for an NCAA Tournament bid, but also to calm the gathering storm clouds of scrutiny. UK head man Billy Gillispie is enduring more second-guessing than George Custer, and desperately, urgently requires a victory to keep the media, and the collective wrath of Big Blue Nation from dismantling his troubled regime, piece by battered piece.

Four straight losses, and a 3-8 record over the last 11 games, have led many to question Gillispie's ability to lead college basketball's winningest (for now) program. But, winning three or four games in a row in March oftentimes can cure the worst of maladies. The onset of salvation awaits the troubled 'Cats and their beleaguered chief, in the form of the Mississippi Rebels.

Ironically, Ole Miss represents the beginning of the "dark times" for this UK basketball team: Coming off five straight wins to open SEC play, UK stood tall in the saddle, with talk of 13, 14, even 15 league wins (and sugar plums dancing in their heads) ... until that fateful trip to Oxford on January 27, which resulted in an 85-80 lackluster loss for the 'Cats. And thus began UK's downward death spiral of unparalleled proportions.

But, being the ever-optimistic chap that I am, the question has to be asked -- Will Ole Miss represent another, more palatable turning point? Will today's game launch UK into a new, more successful season?

UK is certainly more talented than the overachieving Rebels, but talent hasn't been the pivotal factor in Kentucky's disappointing results. Heart, determination, will, and execution have been absent without leave for this Wildcat squad, and can be pointed to as the primary culprit for this most disappointing of seasons. But, if the 'Cats can somehow summon from the grave the requisite winning formula long since lost ... well, a four win Georgia team did it last year ... it's certainly "Cat-possible."

First up, the Rebels of Ole Miss

Mississippi Personnel -- Conference Stats Only

Terrico White: 6-5, 211 lb freshman guard -- White averages 18.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game (2.3 turnovers per game). He's shooting 44.5% from the field, 35.7% from beyond the arc (46-129), and 63.8% from the free throw line.

He was named SEC Freshman of the Year by the coaches ... In his last six games White is averaging 22.3 points per game ... In his last four games he's taken an average of 10.8 three-pointers per game, and he's making them at a 34.9% clip ... He took 23 shots versus Auburn on February 25, he made only eight (34.8%) ... He had eight rebounds versus Auburn on February 4, and seven rebounds versus Arkansas on March 4 ... White committed eight turnovers in Ole Miss' SEC opener against Florida, in the 15 games since he's averaging only 1.9 per game ... He made over 50.0% of his shots in 18 games this year ... He dished out zero assists in Ole Miss' last game versus Mississippi State ... Versus UK earlier in the year, White scored 21 points on 7-15 shooting (38 threes), grabbed five rebounds, handed out seven assists and had two turnovers.

David Huertas: 6-5, 200 lb junior guard -- The Florida transfer is averaging 16.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game (2.5 turnovers). He making 37.7% of his shots, 30.4% of his three-point tries (35-115), and 78.3% of his free throws.

Huertas has a hurt foot and is listed as a game-time decision ... Baloney ... He'll play ... But, he played only 16 minutes versus Mississippi State in UM's last game ... He has only one steal in his last four games ... Over his last three games he's averaging only 12.0 points per game ... In his last two games he's made only seven of 19 shots (38.6%) ... In that same span he's made three of 12 trifecta attempts (25.0%) ... Versus UK earlier in the season, Huertas scored 21 points, making five of 15 shots (3-9 threes), corralled five rebounds and dished out four assists.

Zach Graham: 6-6, 225 lb sophomore guard -- Graham is averaging 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He's shooting 38.8% from the field, 39.6% for behind the arc (19-48), and 73.8% from the charity stripe.

Graham is averaging 15.5 points over his last four games ... He's averaging taking nine free throws per game in that same span ... He's made six of his last 17 three-pointers in his last four games (35.3%) ... He's dished out eight dimes over the last two games ... In his first 24 games played this year he took double-digit shots only twice ... He's taken 10 or more shots in four of his last six games ... He's committed five turnovers twice in his last four games ... In their earlier meeting with UK, Graham scored 11 points on 3-9 shooting (3-6 threes), grabbed five rebounds, had two assists, one steal, and two turnovers.

Malcolm White: 6-9, 217 lb sophomore forward -- White is averaging 8.9 points, 6.6 rebounds (2.6 offensive rebounds), and 1.3 blocks per game. He's shooting 51.3% from the field, and 81.8% from the free throw line.

White scored 20 points (7-8 field goals) versus Mississippi State in UM's regular season finale ... Over his last 11 games he's 46-74 from the field (62.2%) ... He nabbed 18 rebounds versus Auburn on February 25, he also had six turnovers in that game ... He's recorded 17 offensive rebounds over his last four games (4.3 per game) ... He blocked five shots versus Georgia on February 21 ... White has 47 rebounds over his last five games (9.4 per game) ... In Ole Miss' first 18 games, White scored in double-digits only twice, in his last 12 games he's scored at least 10 points seven times ... He's made 14-16 free throws over his last five games (87.5%) ... He's dished out only three assists all year ... He's recorded two or more blocks in four of his last six games ... Versus UK, he had 20 points (8-12 field goals), grabbed six rebounds, had one steal and one block.

Murphy Holloway: 6-7, 227 lb freshman forward -- Holloway is averaging 8.9 points, and 7.4 rebounds per game (3.3 offensive rebounds). He's shooting 50.8% from the floor, and 52.3% from the free throw line.

In five of his last seven games Holloway has grabbed double-digit rebounds ... Over his last seven games he's averaging 9.4 rebounds per game ... In UM"s last game versus Mississippi State he gathered in 14 rebounds ... In three of his last seven games he's grabbed at least five offensive boards per game ... In a three game stretch versus LSU, Tennessee, and Georgia, he was 19-32 from the field (59.4%), in the four games since he's only 10-23 (43.5%) ... The freshman has played in all 30 Ole Miss games, and scored in every one of them ... He's scored in double-digits 14 times ... Against UK, he scored five points (2-6 field goals), grabbed six rebounds, had three assists, two steals, and one block.

UK vs. Ole Miss Statistical Comparison -- League Games Only (SEC Rank in Parenthesis)

Kentucky Ole Miss

Points Per Game -- 70.7 (9) 72.2 (8)

Field Goal% -- 45.5 (3) 42.9 (9)

Free Throw% -- 76.9 (1) 68.6 (7)

3-Point% -- 36.6 (3) 33.2 (8)

Rebound Margin -- +3.2 +4.9

Off. Reb. Per Game -- 11.1 (10) 13.8 (1)

Off. Rebound% -- 35.5 (4) 36.6 (2)

Def. Rebound% -- 66.0 (7) 68.5 (3)

Assists Per Game -- 13.6 (4) 11.6 (9)

Turnovers Per Game -- 17.0 (11) 13.7 (6)

Steals Per Game -- 6.6 (8) 4.8 (12)

Blocks Per Game -- 6.4 (1) 3.2 (9)

Rebel "Rousers"

Ole Miss is 1-3 in their last four games, and 4-6 in their last 10 ... In their last three games the Rebels are giving up 87.7 points per game ... In their last three games they've given up 32 made three-point baskets, and are allowing their opponents to shoot 38.6% from beyond the arc ... Ole Miss opponents have scored over 40 points in seven consecutive halves ... Over their last two games 68 free throws have been taken by their opponents ... Over their last four games their opponents are averaging 30.8 free throws per game ... The Rebels shot over 45.0% from the field only three times in SEC play ... Ole Miss conference opponents shot over 45.0% eight times ... In half of their SEC games, Ole Miss recorded single-digit assist totals ... Ole Miss is averaging 23.7 three-point attempts per game, over their last 11 games.

Omen, omens, looking for omens

UK is 13-0 versus Ole Miss in SEC Tournament games ... UK has played Mississippi on a neutral floor a total of 25 times, winning all but one game ... The lone UK loss to UM at a neutral site was in the 1928 Southern Conference Tournament ... Today's date, March 12, is the anniversary of the following UK triumphs -- March 12, 1966; Rupp's Runts defeated Michigan to gain a spot in the Final Four ... March 12 1993; UK annihilated Tennessee 101-40 in a first round SEC Tournament game, ending Allan Houston's college career ... March 12, 1995; UK defeated Arkansas 95-93 in overtime, coming back from 19 points down, to claim the SEC Tournament Championship.

CliffsNotes Analysis

Editors Note -- I refuse to do my normally brilliant? pre-game analysis until UK wins another game.

For a look at the complete boxscore of Ole Miss' 85-80 victory over UK earlier in the year, go here. Go here For Tru's Postmortem, or my post-game thoughts, "It's a 40 Minute Game."

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Tennessee at Ole Miss - Game Preview

Will — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:36:46 -0000

The four-way tie atop the SEC East has dissolved to two, thanks to Florida and now Kentucky having slipped up on the road. Tonight that test falls to Tennessee and South Carolina, both in the state of Mississippi, and both looking to keep pace in the division and shore up their NCAA Tournament credentials.

The Vols will be in Oxford, where the Rebels' only losses this season are to West Virginia and LSU. Ole Miss had really played themselves back into some conversations in a three game win streak over Kentucky, Mississippi State and Auburn, but last week's road trip to Vandy and LSU found them winless, and puts the Rebels at 13-11 on the season and now on the NIT bubble, needing to finish above .500 to make the field.

You have to continue to admire what this team has done in the absence of Chris Warren and under the extracirricular circumstances surrounding Andy Kennedy earlier this year. David Huertas, Puerto Rico's finest, has scored 15+ in seven straight games (his career high, before you ask, is 29 points in the SEC Tournament last season). The Vols will also have to deal with his backcourt mate, freshman Terrico White from Memphis, who's scored double figures in five straight contests.

In his press conference this week, Bruce Pearl also described the Rebels as tough and physical, which means this should be a complete test for the Vols. The Vols are yet to win three straight SEC contests, though confidence should be high after two home drubbings of Georgia and Vandy last week. Tyler Smith rose to the occasion at home, and the Vols will need another great leadership effort from him tonight. And J.P. Prince has been everywhere in the last couple of weeks.

Still, can someone else aside from the Tyler/Chism/Prince combo step up and provide the extra scoring to push the Vols over the top? It's been Bobby Maze some nights and Scotty Hopson others, and if Huertas is allowed to go off the way several guards have against the Vols, Tennessee is going to need points to match.

On the other hand, slowing Huertas would be great practice and a great motivator before the Vols see Jodie Meeks again on Saturday.

This is a game Tennessee needs. The next four after this one are at Kentucky, home for Mississippi State, at Florida and at South Carolina. You'd love to go into that stretch on a three game winning streak and playing with the necessary confidence, not to mention still atop the SEC East leaderboard. If this team is going to be tough enough to get some of those wins in those hostile environments with the East on the line, they can start showing it with a win in Oxford tonight.

SEC Power Poll Round Table Roundup

Gamecock Man — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:27:25 -0000

Thanks to those that participated in the Round Table. Below are some of the more interesting answers from our esteemed electoral college.

1. What were the biggest surprises in the SEC over the first half of the season?

By far, the biggest surprise has been Tennessee’s failure to dominate the league. Sure, it’s easy for me to throw stones at one of my team’s big rivals (even if their non-dominance over the rest of the league comes the same season they’ve owned us, sigh) but their inconsistent form is the big news of the season. At the beginning of the year they were supposed to tower over an otherwise mediocre conference. Instead, we have the mediocrity without the one good team to carry the conference banner.

South Carolina fans had every reason to anticipate the arrival of Darrin Horn but I don’t think they dared to think they’d be this good in his first year. LSU was supposed to be good but I don’t think anyone expected them to be the best team in the league. Arkansas’ out of conference form was pretty unexpected, so their failure to continue it in SEC play could be considered a huge surprise relative to the expectations set by those Big XII wins.--Save the Shield

So far, South Carolina is the biggest surprise in the East as far as success goes. Darrin Horn has found a way to make what looks like a cobbled-together lineup very successful, and Devan Downey just keeps getting better.

From a negative standpoint in the East, it has to be Tennessee. Many (although I was not among them) thought UT would be serious national contenders this year, and they showed great promise in the early season. But lately, UT has looked more and more vulnerable, and their back court play has simply not been good enough.

In the West, Mississippi State is a big surprise. I thought the loss of Gordon and Charles Rhodes would be too much to overcome, but I think they have done so. The three-point shooting on that team, the way they use four guards, and the freakish shot blocking of Jarvis Varnado is just a matchup nightmare.

From a negative standpoint, I think you have to say Arkansas. Even though I figured the Razorbacks would have a down year this year, they started off like gangbusters and beat two highly ranked teams before tanking in SEC play. I expected them to be less good in SEC play, but no way did I see them 1-8 at this point.--A Sea of Blue

2. Who is the SEC Player of the Year over the first part of the season?

My vote's for Devan Downey. Sure, there's a case for Jodie Meeks, but I'm still going with Downey. Without Downey, South Carolina isn't even competitive.--Ghost of Chucky

Until Kentucky lost three in a row, I would have said this award at the halfway point would clearly belong to Jodie Meeks. Now it’s much more iffy, with players like Devan Downey at South Carolina, Marcus Thornton at LSU, Nick Calathes at Florida, and David Huertas at Ole Miss carrying their teams in the other direction with their spectacular play. I’ll cop out and say that as of now, it’s a tie between Downey and Meeks. If Kentucky turns things around and finishes well, it will largely be on Meeks to drive it and could propel him to a clear POY win. If the Wildcats continue to slide and South Carolina finishes well, my vote would be with Downey.--The Bruce Ball Blog

3. Is the SEC really this down? Why or why not? What can the conference do in the postseason? Is there any hope for a Final Four team? Where does the conference go after this year?

I would have to say that the SEC is down when you compare it to prior years but the league is not soft by any means. Talent has moved on to the NBA and made a lot of teams level in playing ability which has made for a see-saw kinda year so far. I think 1 or 2 teams will make the NCAA tourney interesting but I don't see a final 4 team amongst the bunch as of right now. I feel this conference will improve and next year be stronger. Lots of young kids earning their stripes right now.--

Leftover Hot Dog

Yeah, it’s pretty down. I tend to look to “computer ratings” (which are really only as valid as the guy writing the algorithm) for questions like this because there are just too many OOC games for me to hold them all in my brain at the same time. But in this case Pomeroy and Sagarin are just confirming what the intuitive “sight test” tells us, that the SEC is the worst of the high-major conferences.

Really the SEC this year is like the ACC was in football: few really horrible teams, but a bunch of mediocre that are evenly matched. Parity is fun for the fans involved but generally underappreciated by outsiders, who focus on our lack of Top 25 contenders.

In the postseason, most likely we win a good number of NIT games and relatively few NCAA ones. However, the big problem holding league teams back is youth, so there’s some chance that one of our young teams might catch fire and make it to the Sweet Sixteen or maybe the Eight. Final Four seems a stretch without several huge upsets.

After this year, the conference improves, rapidly. Really a staggering number of teams can attribute their spotty play to inexperience. Ole Miss should be a lot better once they get their injured guys back. Vanderbilt has been treading water, barely, without a senior and with a ton of freshmen getting starts. Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina have all strugged through growing pains. Many of these young teams will be in a position to win big OOC games in the next year or two.--Save the Shield

4.Which teams will make the Big Dance?

Tennessee and Florida have high enough RPIs that I think 9 SEC wins will get them in, and I think both get there. LSU and South Carolina have plenty of wins but a somewhat weak RPI right now. Nine wins may not be good enough for either team depending on the committee’s mood, but I think LSU will probably exceed that at this point. South Carolina will need to continue playing well and go at least 5-3 down the stretch, and as of right now those prospects look good. So I’ll say those four look likely to be in. Kentucky is in a bad spot right now, sliding in the SEC standings and sitting on a very weak RPI ranking of 75 due to a weak schedule. They’ll need at least 10 wins, which is certainly doable but will have to be at the expense of some teams that are better than them right now. They’re at best a bubble team at the moment. The other seven SEC teams have an outside shot at best, with all resumes reflecting bad RPIs and too many losses. In the end, I think the SEC may only get four teams into the tourney, with either South Carolina or Kentucky fading out by March. Five is a real possibility but I’m not counting on it.--The Bruce Ball Blog

Tennessee, LSU, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Florida and South Carolina all have good chances to get in. Ole Miss has been playing well enough that it could play its way in, but I see no more than six and more likely five teams from the league getting in, including the automatic berth.--A Sea of Blue

SEC Basketball Midseason Report

Will — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:24:47 -0000

With all of the league having completed eight conference games now, we take a look at what's been a very competitive SEC this season, now at the midway point. With half the league still in the NCAA Tournament conversation, while the overall talent level may be down as expected, there are still plenty of teams who can make a run towards March. And there have been plenty of surprises along the way...

IN THE HUNT

LSU (19-4, 7-1)
Florida (19-4, 6-2)
Mississippi State (16-7, 6-2)
South Carolina (17-5, 6-3)
Kentucky (16-7, 5-3)
Tennessee (14-8, 5-3)

NIT BOUND?

Vanderbilt (15-8, 4-5)
Ole Miss (13-10, 4-5)
Auburn (14-9, 3-5)

COACHING CASUALTIES

Alabama (13-9, 3-5)
Georgia (9-14, 0-8)

THE FALSE START

Arkansas (13-8, 1-7)

More after the jump...

It's no surprise to find the East trifecta of UF, UK and UT in the first group. The Vols and Cats really struggled with a difficult non-conference slate, while Florida suffers from having not played one. Still, you have to think that if each of these teams can get to at least 9 wins in conference, they'll be fine.

It's a strange year because at the halfway point, there are no teams you could call locks for the NCAA Tournament, and there may not be any teams that go any higher than a six seed when it all shakes out. Likewise, it's almost impossible for me to see how all six of those teams get in...so if there's an odd man (or men) out, who's it going to be? And with all of them flawed and still vulnerable to the kind of collapse that cost Florida at this time last year, how can we really be sure about any of this?

It might be easier to point to the three more surprising teams on this list and say that they're most likely to fall...but South Carolina has already beaten Florida and Kentucky, and for the teams in the West, the schedule offers a better opportunity to put up a big number the way LSU has thus far. I wrote Mississippi State off after a rocky non-conference slate, but they've kept themselves in it thus far, especially after winning at Rupp Arena.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss have done a nice job of bouncing back: the Dores played an insanely difficult schedule to open SEC play, but have now won three straight. And Ole Miss has overcome a host of bad situations to pickup key wins over Kentucky and Mississippi State to get their season going in the right direction. Auburn was a team I completely wrote off, and like the rest of Vol Nation today, I'm sorry for it.

If you had to guess today...I'd say the West champion and then three of the four teams in the East should be good bets to get in. I'm just not sure all four of the East contenders can put up good enough records by the time it's all said and done to each make it to March, though right now the two with the worst non-conference resumes in Florida and Carolina are ahead of the Cats and Vols; it'll be very interesting to see what happens on Selection Sunday if South Carolina finishes 9-7/20-9 and Tennessee finishes 8-8/18-13.

And at this pace, you could see several teams who go to the SEC Tournament feeling the need to pickup at least one win, which should continue to make for an exciting regular season and an especially fascinating weekend in Tampa.

PLAYERS OF THE FIRST HALF

G Devan Downey, South Carolina: averaging 20 points per game on the nose with a great touch for the three; lit the Gators for 33 in a 97-93 loss that evened the season series.
G Marcus Thornton, LSU: only a tick behind at 19.9 points and 5 rebounds per game; has scored 30+ five times this year and hitting 41% of his threes.
G Nick Calathes, Florida: proven to be one of the conference's most versatile at 18.1 points, 5.3 rebs and 6.4 assists per game
C Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State: this dude is averaging almost five blocks per game. Insane.
G Jodie Meeks & C Patrick Patterson, Kentucky: they go together because almost everything about the way Kentucky struggles is apart from them. Meeks hung 54 on the Vols to boost his scoring average to a league-best 25.4 per game, while PatPat goes for 18 and 9 each night.
F Tyler Smith & C Wayne Chism, Tennessee: the Vols' two most experienced players, each having been a double-double threat on any given night and being often times forced to put the young team on their shoulders. 30 points and 15 rebounds a night between them.
G David Huertas, Ole Miss: in the absence of Chris Warren, Huertas has nearly matched his scoring average and has scored 15+ in six straight games.

Poll

Which SEC East team will get left out of the NCAA Tournament?

Florida

4 votes

Kentucky

10 votes

South Carolina

34 votes

Tennessee

41 votes

All four will get in

39 votes

128 votes | Poll has closed

SEC Hoops Power Poll Round Table

Gamecock Man — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:15:09 -0000

Those that want to participate in this round table that have their own blogs should answer the questions on their sites and then post links to their answers to the comments section of this post. Others can just answer the questions in the comments section. After everyone has had time to put up answers, I'll post a collection of some of the best answers here at Garnet and Black Attack.

1. What were the biggest surprises in the SEC over the first half of the season?

Most people expected South Carolina to be better this year, but their sudden emergence as a probable NCAA tournament team after stirring victories over Florida and Kentucky has taken the conference by storm. That's probably the biggest surprise, so far. Tennessee's slow start and Ole Miss's ability to weather a slew of injuries have also been surprising.

2. Who is the SEC Player of the Year over the first part of the season?

I'm going to say it's a three-way tie between David Huertas of Ole Miss, Devan Downey of South Carolina, and Jodie Meeks of Kentucky. All three players are playing great basketball and, perhaps more importantly, their teams couldn't survive without them. Huertas has helped keep Ole Miss from folding, Downey's late-game heroics have helped the Gamecocks get their fast start, and Meeks has carried Kentucky offensively. If I had to pick between the three right now, I'd probably pick Meeks, but with Kentucky sliding, it might be Downey by the end of the year.

3. Is the SEC really this down? Why or why not? What can the conference do in the postseason? Is there any hope for a Final Four team? Where does the conference go after this year?

Barring an unexpected run of luck, I don't think that there is an SEC team that has the tools to go to the Final Four. Most teams have a glaring weakness or two; for example, Florida lacks post presence, South Carolina lacks post presence and shoots free throws poorly, and Kentucky has ball-handling issues and lacks a point guard. Tennessee seems to have all the tools, but the Vols have been dissappointing so far. Maybe LSU can make a run, but I doubt it. All of these teams are capable of winning a game or two in the NCAAs if they get a favorable seed, but none will do well once they get deeper into the tourney and have to take on one of the power teams from the other conferences. In that sense, the league is down, as it lacks an elite team. That said, I think the league is deeper than most give it credit for, with a number of teams that are decent and that have potential. Moreover, as many of the teams are very young, there's great potential for a strong conference next year.

4.Which teams will make the Big Dance?

Right now, I would say LSU, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, and maybe Kentucky if they can stop the bleeding. Mississippi State has an outside shot if they can go on a late tear. Ole Miss, Auburn, and Arkansas could make the NIT.

Kentucky 80, Ole Miss 85: Postmortem

Truzenzuzex — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:40:27 -0000

Congratulations to a tough, determined and very skillful Ole Miss team. They absolutely wanted this game more, and they earned it. I am not going to insult the Rebels by suggesting it was Kentucky's deficiencies that were the difference. The fact is, Ole Miss simply executed almost to perfection in every single facet of the game. Combine sharp execution with players who were very confident and fearless of the newly-ranked Wildcats, and you have a big, fat upset at the Tad Pad.

Obviously, I am disappointed in the outcome, but UK has been on a long road trip and the road in the SEC can often be cruel. Teams can get hot or just plain outplay you, especially in their own gym. It was definitely the latter tonight for the Rebs. Hotty Toddy, guys, well done.

For Kentucky, obviously this setback is a disappointment. The 'Cats were hoping to find a down team that was undermanned, and instead walked into a team that has nothing to lose, and played without a shred of fear. I will say that it looks clear to me that Kentucky was not well prepared for this Ole Miss team. I think the 'Cats assumed that Jodie Meeks could wear his man down and get his shots, just has he has against many other teams this year. That didn't happen.

Anyway, here are the rest of my observations for this game:

DeAndre Liggins had a good first half, but in the second half he reverted to form. I think we have to be satisfied with that -- for now.
Jodie Meeks could not guard David Huertas. The Rebels did a super job of bouncing Meeks off of screens, and all too many times, Huertas was able to get a good look, and he was very efficient.
Kentucky came back hard on the boards in the second half after being ourebounded soundly in the first. UK wound up losing the rebounding battle by a total of five.
Turnovers did not hurt Kentucky in this game. UK managed only 10 turnovers.
What did hurt UK in this game was a 25% 3-point percentage, and being held to 34.5% by Ole Miss -- 100% due to outstanding Rebel defense. To everyone's surprise, Ole Miss scored as many points in the paint as UK, 28, and more points of turnovers, 18-7.
What did Kentucky in was an unusual lack of offensive efficiency. The 'Cats did not get the ball to Patterson enough, and Stevenson simply vanished into the thick air of the Tad Pad.
Terrico White, Malcolm White and David Huertas were just awesome tonight. Zach Graham was just shy of awesome, but very good.
UK simply could not make up the 15+ points that Meeks was unable to score. That is obviously a weakness that will have to be addressed.
I think Gillispie made a tactical error by allowing Meeks to guard Huertas. That caused Meeks to expend way too much energy defensively, and it clearly affected Meeks' offense.
What happened to the good screens that were freeing up Meeks in the Alabama game? They were absent today.
Defensively, UK never did get a grip on this team, and made number of glaring errors which Ole Miss was able to cash in on.
Darius Miller still has a long way to go offensively, but he did manage an inefficient nine points.
Deandre Liggins should never attempt 16 shots. Ever. He took more shots than Meeks, although they both shot about the same percentage.
Patrick Patterson mistimed virtually every jump today, and every time he did, Ole Miss got an offensive rebound. I can't figure out why that happened, but it was so obvious it was surreal. Perry Stevenson just took this game off.
Ramon Harris needs ... something.
I need a drink.

OK, well, that's that. It's never fun to write postmortems about losses, and this one is no exception. But lets give the Rebels their due -- they took this game with a grunt, grab and growl, and the 'Cats get to go home and dress their wounds -- especially the one to their reputation.

Kentucky at Ole Miss: Pre Game

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:07:05 -0000

Tonight, Kentucky once more goes on the road in the SEC to take on the Ole Miss Rebels down in Oxford. Ole Miss has had a really trying year so far, losing several key players to injury. Not even the coach has been immune, with Andy Kennedy having some kind of a physical altercation with a cab driver that has resulted in lawsuits and a charge of criminal assault against Kennedy.

On the basketball court, Ole Miss has struggled since the loss of Chris Warren at the very end of a close game in Louisville. Several players have tried to pick up the slack, but you can't lose someone like Warren and just recover from it, and Ole miss has lost four out of five games in the conference.

So now, let's take a look at Ole Miss from a statistical standpoint

Player Statistics (Courtesy of Statsheet.com)

Normal starters are highlighted in yellow. Players highlighted in gray are out.

Player	GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	Size/Wt	Year	Pos	Role	Status
Zach Graham	19	11	21.6	7.2	43.9	2.9	0.9	0.5	0.3	6'5''/225	Fr	G	Role Player	Avail
Murphy Holloway	19	12	20.8	8.5	58.4	5.8	0.8	1.3	0.2	6'7''/215	Fr	F	Role Player	Avail
Will Bogan	19	6	14.2	2.4	31.7	0.5	1.3	0.3	0	6'1''/165	Fr	G	Limited	Avail
David Huertas	19	19	32.6	19.5	44.9	4.8	2.4	1.1	0.3	6'5''/197	So	G	Major Cont.	Avail
Malcolm White	19	15	22.3	5.7	42.6	4.9	0.2	0.3	1.4	6'9''/220	So	F	Limited	Avail
Michael Halford	1	0	4	0	0	1	1	0	1	6'3''/185	Fr	G	Non-factor	Avail
Patrick Spach	8	0	3.4	0	0	0.1	0.5	0	0	6'1''/167	Sr	G	Non-factor	Avail
Trevor Gaskins	1	0	10	4	33.3	2	0	0	0	6'2''/203	So	G	Non-factor	Out
Ryan Brown	5	0	1.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6'1''/200	Sr	G	Non-factor	Avail
Kevin Cantinol	12	1	6.3	0.9	71.4	0.8	0.1	0.1	0.2	6'10''/245	Fr	F	Invisible	Avail
Terrico White	19	9	26.6	9.3	39.8	3.1	1.9	0.9	0	6'5''/195	Fr	G	Sig. Cont.	Avail
Chris Warren	11	11	34.4	19.6	38.6	1.5	4	2.5	0	5'10''/170	So	G	Go-to guy	Out
Terrance Henry	19	3	18.5	4.8	41.3	3.6	1.1	0.2	0.5	6'9''/190	Fr	F	Role Player	Avail
DeAundre Cranston	19	7	16.5	2.8	43.1	4.2	0.7	0.4	0.4	6'9''/245	Fr	F	Limited	Avail

Team Statistics (Courtesy of Kenpom.com)

	Kentucky		Ole Miss
Category	Offense	Defense	Offense	Defense	D-I Avg
Adj. Efficiency:	109.2 [63]	86.3 [9]	108.8 [66]	103.2 [219]	100.5
Adj. Tempo:	70.1 [60]		68.2 [127]		67.1
Four Factors
Effective FG%:	55.7 [9]	41.8 [4]	48.7 [174]	49.8 [212]	48.8
Turnover %:	25.0 [330]	20.7 [171]	18.9 [69]	18.8 [277]	20.9
Off. Reb. %:	35.0 [115]	29.6 [51]	35.7 [86]	37.5 [303]	33.2
FTA/FGA:	43.2 [42]	32.3 [94]	35.1 [192]	34.2 [131]	36.3
Miscellaneous Components
3P%:	35.6 [116]	32.9 [118]	34.4 [156]	33.8 [164]	34
2P%:	56.7 [5]	38.1 [2]	47.4 [190]	49.4 [227]	47.7
FT%:	79.0 [5]	68.6 [167]	75.4 [16]	64.2 [25]	68.6
Block%:	6.9 [55]	18.4 [2]	8.2 [131]	7.8 [211]	8.9
Steal%:	11.0 [259]	9.3 [220]	8.6 [65]	9.3 [217]	10
Style Components
3PA/FGA:	30.5 [234]	32.7 [179]	31.9 [189]	32.5 [169]	33.1
A/FGM:	63.1 [24]	43.9 [9]	46.8 [315]	56.0 [214]	54.3
Point Distribution (% of total points)
3-Pointers:	22.4 [289]	30.5 [68]	26.6 [193]	27.1 [185]	27.5
2-Pointers:	54.2 [128]	48.5 [281]	52.1 [183]	54.8 [80]	52.2
Free Throws:	23.5 [41]	21.0 [151]	21.3 [117]	18.1 [268]	20.3
Strength of Schedule
Components:	101.2 [149]	100.3 [162]	103.0 [62]	97.8 [35]	100.5
Overall:	0.5242 [161]		0.6464 [45]		0.5
Non-conference:	0.4342 [238]		0.5669 [119]		0.5
Personnel
Bench Minutes:	33.0% [130]		34.9% [94]		31.40%
Experience:	1.26 yrs [287]		0.68 yrs [343]		1.65
Effective Height:	+1.6 [74]		+1.5 [83]		0
Average Height:	78.6" [3]		77.2" [77]		76.5"

Analysis

You can see from the above charts that UK is a vastly superior team defensively, and just as efficient as the Rebels offensively. UK's offensive rating suffered a little due to the recent defensive struggle in Alabama, but it is likely to go the other direction tonight.

Because of a multitude of serious injuries, the Ole Miss Rebels have been trying to cobble together something out of spare parts and bailing wire. Florida transfer David Huertas has had to take over almost the complete scoring load from Chris Warren, who went down from a season-ending knee injury at Louisville earlier this year. Huertas is the only player who has started every game this year.

Looking at the starters, you can see why Ole Miss is struggling this year -- not a single upperclassman among them. In fact, there are only two on the team, both seniors and neither of whom see significant minutes. Will Bogan has taken over the point guard duties from Chris Warren. He is a good perimeter shooter, but has not exactly excelled in the point guard role, having an A/TO of just slightly over 1/1. Malcolm White is the biggest player in the starting lineup, but he only manages around five rebounds per game. Zach Graham is a good three-point shooter, and the combination of Huertas, Graham and Boggan make for a dangerous perimeter shooting team. The other starter, Murphy Holloway, is mainly in for rebounding and defense. Terrico White is a significant contributor off the bench, and is the second-leading scorer of the team that the Rebels will put on the floor tonight.

Ole Miss has neither the bodies nor the skill to hold down either Patrick Patterson or Jodie Meeks. They are so depleted and young, it will be hard for them to do anything but zone the Wildcats, with the hope that the 'Cats won't solve it well. This could happen and has happened in the past, but I do think that the 'Cats are now able to effectively attack a zone, especially one in which many of the team's best athletes are currently in rehab.

Defensively, if the 'Cats play like they did against Alabama, this game could get very ugly for Ole Miss. Huertas is a capable scorer, but he needs help to get his shot. Inside, the Rebels are too small and too slow to do much scoring against Kentucky unless Patterson and Stevenson take the night off.

Conclusion

The only way Ole Miss beats Kentucky tonight is by shooting lights-out from three and being extremely effective in holding down Patrick Patterson or Jodie Meeks. Note that they almost must do both, because only one will likely not produce enough points to win, although they could make it interesting.

If the Rebels zone the 'Cats and Meeks is hot, he could set another record against them. Even if he isn't hot, he is likely to shoot well enough to force them to face-guard him and go to a box-and-one. Face-guarding Meeks has not been a successful tactic so far by any team who has tried it, because the 'Cats are getting better at off-the-ball screens and Meeks just seems to have no limit to the energy he can exert to get open. I really don't think Ole Miss can be effective against Kentucky in the man-to-man, as thier relatively poor defensive efficiency illustrates. Ole Miss is OK against the three, but they aren't very good against the 2, and that's where Kentucky excels.

Another problem for the Rebels is offensive rebounding. You can see from their size why this would be an issue, and if UK pounds them on the offensive glass, it will be game over very early. Turnovers for Kentucky are not likely to be as much of a problem tonight, because the Rebels turn the ball over a lot as well.

In the end, this game looks like a big mismatch on paper. The Rebels can beat us if they shoot it well from outside, but a lot of other stuff has to go well for them at the same time in order for them to pull off this upset.