By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Mississippi State had the last chance to end the unbelievable dominance when it played Tennessee at home in the regular season finale last Saturday.
Previously, teams from the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division had played Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida or Tennessee 23 times this season. And 23 times the top four from the SEC East walked away with wins.
But as important as the game was for Mississippi State’s NCAA Tournament resume, a predictable outcome still occurred: The Bulldogs lost to the Vols. And the SEC East’s big four improved to 24-0 against the West.
“You can’t hide or run from the stat,” Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said Monday on the SEC Teleconference. “Those top four teams were just better.”
There hasn’t been much reason to engage in an SEC East vs. West debate during the 2009-10 season, which will conclude with this week’s conference tournament Nashville, Tenn. It’s obvious the SEC East has been the most powerful side of the league, paced by four teams who have rolled through their West counterparts.
So will the divisional feast continue when games tip-off in Nashville this week? Only time will tell. But Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings believes nothing is guaranteed, although the East’s top four teams were clearly dominant throughout the regular season.
“I don’t think it holds any weight as it pertains to the tournament because as is proven every day in college basketball, the best team doesn’t always win,” Stallings said. “So I don’t think that’s as significant when tournament play comes because the nature of tournament play is different. It’s more pressurized. It’s a one-and-done kind of thing if you lose. It’s different.”
One thing going for the Western Division schools is a feeling of desperation. The only chance Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama and LSU have of reaching the NCAA Tournament this season is by winning four games.
It’s an unlikely feat, although it has been accomplished by Arkansas (2000), Georgia (2008) and Mississippi State (2009). But LSU coach Trent Johnson was a little more realistic for the Tigers, summing up his team’s goal in the tournament Monday.
“We’re in a spoiler role,” Johnson said. “We’re going to Nashville to compete and see what happens.”
The outlook isn’t promising for Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the SEC West co-champions, either.
Most bracketologists have both Mississippi schools on the outside looking in if the NCAA Tournament field was selected today. It would mean the SEC West would be shut out of the NCAA Tournament picture for the second time in four seasons. So winning games — preferably against Eastern Division teams — is critical for both schools.
The Bulldogs will play the Florida/Auburn winner on Friday, while Ole Miss will play LSU or Tennessee.
“The only thing that matters is that you keep winning,” Stansbury said of the Bulldogs. “We had an opportunity Saturday to take any of those questions out of anybody’s minds. We weren’t able to do it. Now it puts us in a situation where we’ve got to win basketball games.”
Said Ole Miss assistant Owen Miller: “It’s a big week.”
The same pressure won’t be felt by Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Tennessee. All three have secured their places in the NCAA Tournament field, while Florida is expected to join them barring a first-round collapse.
Seeding is the only thing that can be affected for them in Nashville this week. Kentucky coach John Calipari made it clear that seeding is his team’s only goal.
“We’re playing for a seed,” Calipari said. “That’s what we play for. We’d like to win the tournament, but it’s not the end-all for us. Our whole goal is that seed.”
The Commodores are in a similar situation, although Stallings said his team will be looking to win the tournament championship in front of a home crowd.
The support hasn’t helped Vandy in the past. The Commodores haven’t advanced out of the second round of the SEC Tournament when Nashville is the host city. But Vanderbilt believes it is capable of winning this week.
“It means a great deal to us regardless of it might or might not impact our seeding for the NCAA Tournament,” Stallings said. “If it’s on the schedule we want to win. And it’s on the schedule, so we want to win.”
If Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida continue their success in the tournament it’s likely no one from the SEC West will land in the 65-team NCAA Tournament field. It would be the first time since the SEC split into divisions in 1991-92 that the West was shut out.
But Calipari said Monday he believes five SEC teams should get invitations. Including Mississippi State.
“I really think that if Mississippi State gets in, which they should, they’ll win a couple games,” Calipari said. “And maybe more.
The only problem? The Bulldogs will likely have to beat at least one of the big four from the SEC East to even get that chance in the NCAA Tournament.
The 24-0 mark has shown that’s easier said than done.
“The facts are what they are,” Stansbury said. “For the most part, they were better than everybody in the West.”
2010 SEC Tournament
First-Round Games (Thursday)
Noon Game 1 S.C. (East 5) vs. Alabama (West 4)
2:15 Game 2 LSU (West 6) vs. Tennessee (East 3)
6:30 Game 3 Auburn (West 5) vs. Florida (East 4)
8:45 Game 4 Georgia (East 6) vs. Arkansas (West 3)
Second-Round Games (Friday)
Noon Game 5 Kentucky (East 1) vs. S.C./ Alabama
2:15 Game 6 Ole Miss (West 2) vs. LSU/Tennessee
6:30 Game 7 Miss. St. (West 1) vs. Auburn/Florida
8:45 Game 8 Vanderbilt (East 2) vs. Georgia/Arkansas
Semfinals (Saturday)
Noon Game 9 Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
2:15 Game 10 Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Finals (Sunday
Noon Game 11 Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner
