Only one of the SEC’s eight postseason teams is still playing, and you may have heard of them a time or two over the weekend. For the other seven schools, the season is now over. Let’s take a look at whether they met, exceeded or fell short of their postseason expectations.

Jarvis Summers and the Rebels stormed back against BYU, but couldn’t find the same shooting touch against Xavier. (Getty)

Three That Exceeded Expectations

• #11 Ole Miss (beat #11 BYU in the NCAA First Four; lost to #6 Xavier in the Second Round). The Rebels’ magical second-half outburst to beat BYU in Dayton was a real treat and it gave Andy Kennedy just his second NCAA Tournament win at Ole Miss. That alone has to qualify the Rebels’ postseason journey as a success, especially since the team had lost four of five to end the season and had to be feeling fortunate just to be there. It’s a shame M.J. Rhett has used all of his eligibility since his inside/outside game was instrumental in the First Four comeback and was one of the few players to perform well against the Musketeers.
• #6 Alabama (beat #3 Illinois in the NIT First Round; lost to #2 Miami (FL) in NIT Second Round). The Tide’s underwhelming season ultimately cost Anthony Grant his job, but for the team to stick together to win at least one game just days afterward is impressive. There’s also no shame in losing to a Miami team that had several big wins this year and ended up reaching the NIT Semifinals in New York. The big question now is whether the gobs of money Alabama has reportedly thrown at Gregg Marshall will be enough to lure him to Tuscaloosa.
• #5 Vanderbilt (beat #4 St. Mary’s in the NIT First Round; beat South Dakota State in the NIT Second Round, lost to Stanford in the NIT Quarterfinals): The Commodores looked primed for a run in the SEC Tournament but were knocked out in their opener against Tennessee. A run eventually came in the NIT, however, and the future appears bright for Kevin Stallings’ club. Vanderbilt opened with a road win in Moraga and fought to the bitter end against Stanford in Palo Alto. The Commodores’ are certainly pleased with this week’s news that Damian Jones intends to return. Stallings will pair him with a stockpile of sophomore guards (Riley LaChance, Matthew Fisher-Davis, Shelton Mitchell, Wade Baldwin IV) that will keep Vanderbilt competitive.

Three That Met Expectations

Georgia didn’t quite have enough against Michigan State (sacbee.com).

• #10 Georgia (lost to #7 Michigan State in the NCAA Second Round): It’s hard to be disappointed when you get matched up with Tom Izzo and proceed to lose in the NCAA Tournament. The man is a Mach Madness machine, and it was just too bad for Georgia that the Bulldogs got stuck in the Spartans’ path. Mark Fox’s squad rallied back from a big first half deficit to draw within three with under a minute left, but unfortunately, Denzel Valentine proved too tough and the Spartans’ athleticism seemed to bother Nemanja Djurisic. The backcourt trio of Charles Mann, Kenny Gaines and J.J. Frazier should get Georgia back in the field next season, and the entire team will need to turn this year’s experience into a positive.
• #5 Arkansas (beat #12 Wofford in the NCAA Second Round, lost to #4 UNC in the Third Round): Mike Anderson finally got an NCAA Tournament appearance under his belt as Arkansas’ head coach. Wofford was a popular upset pick but the Razorbacks squeaked by the Terriers in a tough game. Losing to a talented UNC team in the next round was no shame, however, especially since a matchup with Roy Williams’ athletes running up and down the court wasn’t ideal — a fact the Tar Heels proved by scoring 87 points on 45.0 percent shooting. Whether the Razorbacks can realistically build on this season depends in large part on whether Bobby Portis returns to school. The early chatter seems to suggest that he will come back, though, and if that’s the case Arkansas should be back on the same stage next March.
• #2 Texas A&M (beat #7 Montana in the NIT first round, lost to #3 Louisiana Tech in the NIT Second Round): The Aggies looked like a solid NCAA Tournament team until about four weeks ago, so in that sense an NIT appearance is a disappointment. Texas A&M won a game without the injured Danuel House and was eventually eliminated by a team that has had a good deal of success in the NIT the last three seasons. With a star-studded recruiting class coming in to join House, Jalen Jones and Alex Caruso, it is time for Billy Kennedy to make the leap and reach the NCAA Tournament next season.

One That Fell Below Expectations

• #9 LSU (lost to #8 NC State in the NCAA Second Round): The NCAA Tournament was a golden opportunity for Johnny Jones to shake his inconsistent, underachieving reputation; instead, he added an exclamation point to it as the Tigers coughed up a 14-point halftime lead and nine-point lead with under seven minutes left to fall to the Wolfpack at the buzzer. Maybe NC State just had that magic touch; certainly the Wolfpack’s first weekend backs up that notion. But LSU had them on the ropes and lost a chance at a Villanova team that probably wasn’t as good as its record suggested. The “what could have been” feeling has to hurt Tigers fans. Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey are both officially leaving for the NBA Draft, so that adds additional sting to the loss.

Greg Mitchell (@gregpmitchell) (231 Posts)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2015 at 9:31 am by Greg Mitchell and is filed under microsites, sec. Tagged: alabama, andy kennedy, arkansas, billy kennedy, bobby portis, feature, georgia, johnny jones, lsu, ole miss, texas a&m, vanderbilt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.