Games #201-202. It’s SEC Friday in Atlanta and we’re going to focus on two of the more important bubble games of the day here.
1 pm. Georgia vs. Alabama. “Everybody says, ‘Well, the SEC is down,’Well, the top sure isn’t down. I have no idea where either of us sits in the eyes of the committee, and we can’t control that. All we’re going to worry about is trying to advance in this tournament.” Those of the words of Georgia Coach Mark Fox and this game is huge in determining if the SEC has any chance at getting six tournament bids. The bottom half of the SEC is terrible. If the Bulldogs win this game, they’re all but guaranteed to make the tournament. The Dawgs’ Trey Thompkins says he is as healthy as he has ever been and played great yesterday in a 69-51 win over Auburn where he scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. That’s a point for Georgia. Alabama closed out the season with a win over Georgia in Tuscaloosa 65-57 last Saturday, so definitely a point for Alabama, but the Tide lost two straight to Mississippi and Florida; and with three losses to sub-100 RPI teams and a terrible preseason record, the Tide has to feel like this is a must-win game despite the 12-4 conference record. I’m taking Georgia 63-60.
7 pm. Tennessee vs. Florida. Tennessee’s RPI is due to a SOS ranking that is number 2 in the country. The Volunteers are also 7-6 against the RPI top 50. Most of the “experts” say Tennessee is in, but with a poor home record where the Vols lost eight games at home, a 4-6 record in their last 10 games and a sub 200 RPI loss to Charlotte, why not just win the game and put doubt to rest? It wouldn’t be the first time the selection committee left out a top 40 RPI team. Florida is playing for seeding right now. The Gators are probably sitting on a number three seed and not likely to move up, but they could certainly still drop with a poor showing in the SEC Tournament. Lots to play for here. Florida wins it 70-64.