John Calipari: "The SEC should get 7 or 8 teams"

The SEC had their media day today, and it was relatively uneventful.

Perhaps the biggest news came from John Calipari via his twitter (where else?).

I told the media the SEC should get 7 or 8 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year.

Some people took exception to this statement, specifically Eamonn Brennan over at The Dagger.

The Dagger is one of the best college hoops blogs out there, and I generally agree with most of what those guys say. But I have to disagree with this:

No, dude. No. If this was a coach from the Big Ten, sure. The ACC, maybe. The Big East? I'd listen. But not the SEC. Come on now... Everyone knows this is silly, right? I don't have to explain why this is silly?

Not only do I think there is a chance the SEC gets seven teams in this year, I think it is a very real possibility.

The SEC Tournament will be one of the most exciting come March.
(photo credit: NashvilleSports.com)

Why?

Because the SEC is going to be the most improved conference in the country.

Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi State (even without Renardo Sidney) are virtual locks to get a bid.

Ole Miss will return a healthy Eniel Polynice and Chris Warren, and when combined with Terrico White give the Rebels one of the best back courts in the league. I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that Ole Miss wins 11 or 12 games in the league this year.

South Carolina barely missed the NCAA's last season, and returns Devan Downey, one of the best scorers in the country, and their entire front line.

Vanderbilt will be a sleeper in the league this year as they return everyone and add freshman John Jenkins, who may be the best shooter in the country, to the mix to fill their biggest hole last season.

Florida is overflowing with potential, and while they did lose their point guard Nick Calathes, the Gators may be better off with Kenny Boynton at the point.

Even Arkansas, a team that struggled to a 2-14 finish and may be the worst run program in the country, returns their top four scorers from a team that beat both Texas and Oklahoma early last season.

Simply put, the SEC, especially the eastern division, is going to be very good this season.
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Coaches Behaving Badly

Back in December, Andy Kennedy was arrested for allegedly assaulting a cab driver. There were conflicting stories about what happened that night, but it seems like the Cincinnati police believe Kennedy was drunk and belligerent at local college hangout called The Lodge Bar. He tried to get more people in a cab than would fit, and ended up assaulting the cab driver after some sort of verbal altercation.

I didn't think this story would have any legs after it came out that his wife was suing the cabbie for, among other things, ruining their sex life. But now, the Cincinnati police has released the video from Kennedy's arrest:



My two favorite parts: when Kennedy says that his arrest will be an "international incident". Really? People outside of the US are going to care when a mediocre coach from a mediocre team in a mediocre conference gets arrested for being a drunk redneck? Right.

The other great line? At the 3:45 mark, one of the cops says something along the lines of "You think we haven't made a national arrest? We deal with the Bengals all the time!"

You can't make this stuff up.

While pops is in the news for his reported interest in the Georgia job, Pat Knight is in the news for a legendary tantrum. The video explains it exactly, but apparently what happened is a Tech player was called for a foul when he was thrown to the floor. Knight lost it, and twice chased the refs all over the court:



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess. UPDATE: Pat Knight will not be suspended by the Big XII. How is that possible? Did you see what he did? Should I send this post to the Big XII? Continue reading...

Friday Morning Shootaround

Louisville hung on against a game Mississippi team to win 77-68. Ole Miss was down as much as 17 in the first half, but came all the way back and at one point took the lead with under ten minutes to go in the game. But down the stretch, Louisville was just too much.

When are the Cardinals going to put it all together? These guys are clearly extremely talented, but it just always seems like they are missing something. Last night, it was the ability to finish inside. The Cardinals must have missed 15 lay-ups. Samardo Samuels was the worst. He finished with 9 offensive rebounds (15 total), but he only had 9 points because he was 2-13 from the floor. I can't remember him taking one shot outside of the paint, either.

The problem was he didn't go up strong. He was looking for contact and trying to avoid getting his shot blocked when all he needed to go was go through defenders and to the rim.

The good news for Louisville is that they actually shot the ball pretty well from deep, going 9-25. That means in their last two games, they are shooting 40% from beyond the arc (20-50). With the guys that they have, I still think that they take way too many three's.

Earl Clark had his best game since he has been at Louisville. He finished with a career-high 25 points, 16 boards, 5 assists and 6 blocks. 18 of his 25 came in the first half as Louisville built a 17 point lead. But Mississippi came storming back. The biggest reason why? Louisville's missed shots inside. The Cardinals killed to Rebels on the glass (57-37), but their inability to finish easy looks around the rim meant that Louisville could not get into their press. As a result, Mississippi was able to get into a rhythm and gain some confidence offensively.

I guarantee that everyone involved with this Mississippi season wishes there was a do over button. First, it was Trevor Gaskins going down for the season. Next was Eniel Polynice. Then Andy Kennedy was arrested on Wednesday night for allegedly cursing at and assaulting a cab driver in Cincinnati. Now, Chris Warren, the team's starting point guard and best player, looks like he is done for the season. With under a minute to go last night, Warren was just trying to get a quick basket for Ole Miss. He drove the lane, and after coming to a jump stop and elevating to shoot, he immediately went to the ground and grabbed his left knee. He still needs to get an MRI to confirm it, but more than likely he tore his acl. It really is too bad, because Mississippi was coming off of a 20 win season last year, brought back a ton of talent, and plays in a good mid-major the weak SEC.

The rest of the night's games:

• North Carolina 91, Evansville 73: Tyler Hansbrough set the UNC career scoring record.
• Gonzaga 84, Texas Southern 42
• Cincinnati 75, Mississippi State 63: Why are these two teams playing in one of the four games in the SEC/Big East Invitational? The Bearcats hit nine three's in the first half and closed the half on a 20-2 run, sparked by four Deonta Vaughn three's. Vaughn finished with 16 and 6 assists.

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