Frank Martin and his South Carolina team had to be up in arms over being snubbed by the NCAA committee. Photo Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
If you are an SEC fan, or more specifically an SEC Basketball fan, salty as a fresh seawater catch might describe your mood after the NCAA Tournament field was announced Sunday evening. Only three NCAA teams were extended NCAA Tournament bids and then the selection committee questionably placed Vanderbilt ahead South Carolina for the 11th seed.
The Gamecocks defeated the Commodores head-to-head in January and also defeated Tulsa, another 11-seed head-to-head in December. Frank Martin’s team finished with 24 wins, but had a strength of schedule of 126. Point being, Martin didn’t think this team would be this tough this quick, so he didn’t add any major powers, which is understandable.
What is not understandable is the snub over the head-to-head competition and a BPI index that rated the Gamecocks at a 39 and Tulsa at 76. If the selection committee is not going to exude the “eye-test” or any basketball common sense, then at least follow the numbers.
“To be honest with you, the old guys were hurt and they are also excited about playing; the younger guys, I don’t think they understood,” said Martin. “All this is brand new to them. I don’t think they understood the opportunity that slipped out of their hands. The older guys cared and were not happy. They are competitors, and as the night went on, they started getting excited about it.”
Martin was referring to the NIT where the Gamecocks host High Point Tuesday at 7 p.m. The motivation for Martin is to be a leader and move this team forward with an excellent opportunity in the NIT. Meanwhile, setting a school record with 24 wins and finishing four games above .500 in the league was also ignored by the 12 athletic directors on the committee.
“I’m still not over it, but I can’t let the players know that,” said Martin. “If I walk around and whine and pout, what can I expect the 20-year olds to do? Take into consideration that we were the absolutely worst team in the conference my first year and we had to go from way down there to pass 11 teams to get to here; it’s a bitter pill to swallow.”
Even as the Commodores edged out the Gamecocks, Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings was sympathetic with Martin.
“I am not gonna sit here and cry that there is a lack of respect,” said Stallings. “You look at Frank’s team and you can take a shot at their schedule, but 11-7 and the third-seed in the league is pretty strong. If South Carolina had gotten in the tournament, they would have shown that they were very worthy.”
While Stallings refused to acknowledge the lack of respect, Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy has little doubt that the SEC does suffer from a lack of respect on the national level.
“We should have had another team in.,” said Kennedy. “South Carolina or Georgia should have been in. Georgia, an argument there because they beat South Carolina three times. I don’t know why our league gets the lack of respect it gets. I’d like to know what our home winning percentage is versus the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten. We (SEC teams) are losing key games in league play to the best teams in our league. Those are games you have to win as you go forward.
Meanwhile, back in the NCAA …
Kentucky, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt are the only three NCAA representatives. The last time that happened was in 2014 when Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee received bids and all three reached the Sweet 16 before Florida advanced to the Elite Eight and Kentucky went to the Final Four.
The Wildcats won an overtime classic Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship game, 82-77, over the Aggies. Both teams should advance deep in the NCAA Tournament as the Aggies were handed a 3-seed in the West Regional, while Kentucky was surprisingly seeded fourth in the South, even after the victory. After Saturday’s game, John Calipari predicted as much.
“Now, our path, as you know, because you followed us every year, will be the hardest path of anybody in the NCAA Tournament,” said Calipari after his Wildcats won a hard-fought 93-80 SEC semifinal against Georgia. “Sometimes they stick the Lakers in there to get that going. Somebody told me they’re going to put Louisville back in the tournament in our path. That’s how it is.”
A win likely will pit Kentucky against Indiana in Des Moines on Saturday. Knock out the Hoosiers and 1-seed North Carolina could await in Philadelphia in the Sweet 16. The Wildcats were tested in that Georgia win as they trailed up until the 9:04 mark of the second half. Then, against Texas A&M, the Aggies fought from seven behind with 3:52 to play to tie the game on a Danuel House triple and layup. Kentucky gained the upper hand in the overtime with a Tyler Ulis three as the Wildcats never trailed in the extra session.
“I think, again, we use the SEC Tournament to prepare us to learn a little more about our team,” said Calipari. “The Georgia and A&M games were high level NCAA Tournament games – the third game, the fourth game (of the NCAA Tournament).”
Kennedy was surprised that Kentucky received a 4-seed, based on how well they played over the weekend and throughout February as Calipari’s team gelled into a national contender once again.
“I was surprised that Kentucky was a 4-seed,” explained Kennedy. “I can’t say that I was surprised that we were a 3-seed. John is definitely more experienced playing more games than me. I thought both of us could have been a 3-seed. They could have even been a 2-seed, as well as they have been playing.”
Kennedy will see his Aggies open in Oklahoma City against Green Bay, the Horizon League Tournament winner. Texas A&M came off three outstanding games in Nashville and Kennedy feels that the environment helped his team get ready for this week. Win that one and the Texas Longhorns, assuming they beat Northern Iowa, will be the foe in a long-awaited match up.
“Our team really didn’t have a lot of experience playing in the tournament,” noted Kennedy. “I thought the environment of the Kentucky fans was one of the toughest environments. I thought for our team to execute that well in that situation and the magnitude of that game was a good experience for our guys and our program.”
Vandy’s Stallings saw his Commodores go out of the SEC Tournament early in a 67-65 loss to Tennessee on the first day. The Commodores were still awarded a play-in game against Wichita State. The irony is that both teams had injuries to key players throughout the season which caused them to be viewed lower than they should have in the eyes of the committee.
“We’re very excited obviously to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Stallings said. “It has been an interesting road for us and has been filled with a lot of bumps along the way.”
The Shockers feature a stellar senior point guard in Fred Van Vleet, who was injured early in the season and is now back and playing at 100 percent.
“We have got to be veteran and every sense – defend and rebound and take care of the ball at a high level which we have done at times this year,” said Stallings.
The Plight of LSU
The Tigers have to be the biggest disappointment in the nation. They featured Top 10 talent with Ben Simmons, who averaged a double-double, and Antonio Blakeney, who averaged 22.6 points per game over the last five games, heading into the SEC Tournament.
LSU played itself out of postseason contention, which would have meant an NIT bid after they finished at 18-14 and were destroyed, 71-38, by Texas A&M in the SEC semifinals.
It was a Tigers team that never came together as a unit. The chemistry was poor from the beginning when they lost a head-scratcher at Charleston of the CAA. Saturday’s game showed the lack of organization and focus that plagued this team all season as A&M’s defense destroyed LSU in the half-court. LSU literally ran no half-court sets that they were able to establish as the Aggies’ lead peaked at 68-28 late in the game.
The Tigers had no energy, no enthusiasm and no will in what was certain to be Simmons’ last game. It was a large exclamation point on a dire situation that ended in the worst possible way.
Twitter: @CollHoopsWatch and @KennyThaBaller
