A few thoughts from around the SEC basketball landscape...
- It seems the consensus on Gottfried is that while he should probably be fired, he will most likely be retained almost wholly as a result of the indifference that permeates the basketball program. In a sense it's a funny situation. For a long time, Gottfried complained that the program was not getting the support it needed -- obviously stemming from a lack of care about basketball in general -- and now he sits here a few years later, with the only thing saving his own hide being the same lack of care about the basketball program that he complained about for so long. How is that for irony?
- The move by LSU to fire John Brady was obviously a very good one. Now the Bayou Bengals are easily playing the best basketball they have in a long time. I suppose the real shame is that it just happened too late to make a tangible difference. They literally went from getting spanked by the likes of Tulane to going into the Swamp and dominating Florida. And you can rest assured, they have already landed their next coach.
- Ole Miss is terrible, end of story. I don't care how many games they won to start the year, it doesn't matter the least little bit right now. They lost twice this week in not-so-close games to Alabama and Auburn, and now they sit at 3-7 in conference play. This bunch is going to continue to fall apart, and will probably finish, at best, 5-11 in SEC play. They will not make the NCAA Tournament, which is pathetic given their start.
- Tennessee is probably the best team in the conference, but apparently that is not really saying anything. They honestly should have lost to LSU -- and though they have improved, that is still not very good -- and today squeaked by a very bad Georgia team. I fully expect them to lose to Memphis. They will probably end up as SEC Champions, but I think that speaks more to the weakness of the SEC than anything else. I don't see this team making any serious run in the NCAA Tourney.
- Mississippi State is seemingly the best team in the SEC West, sorry Hogs. That said, both are seemingly behind Tennessee in the pecking order, and much like with the Vols it is hard to see them going deep in the NCAA Tourney.
- Kentucky is the anti-Mississippi. They started off terribly, but now they are playing really well. Say what you will, a 7-3 conference record is pretty impressive, and if I had my druthers about it, they would probably end up in the NCAA Tournament.
- I watched the Florida v. Vanderbilt game earlier today, and I have two thoughts. One, Florida is not going to be gone for long, though this may be a "down" year for them, I figure they are the favorites to win the SEC in 2009. Two, Vanderbilt is a really enjoyable team to watch play. Though not athletically gifted, but they are very sound fundamentally, and it ends up with a lot of success on the court. In so many ways, they are everything we are not.
