Three of the SEC’s NCAA hopefuls are struggling at the wrong time.
Alabama has nearly derailed its tournament dreams with consecutive losses at Mississippi and Florida. Vanderbilt is 1-2 in its past three games entering its regular-season finale against Florida on Saturday, and Tennessee has played poorly the past month.
It appears the Commodores (21-8) will still make the tournament, along with Florida (23-6) and Kentucky (21-8), but Georgia (20-9), the Volunteers (17-12) and the Crimson Tide (19-10) need victories to solidify their cases.
Alabama has clinched the SEC West, but that doesn’t help in a weak year for that division.
The Crimson Tide had won nine of 10 before losing its past two games, including a blowout at Florida on Tuesday. They also have losses to Saint Peter’s, Iowa, which is last in the Big Ten, and Seton Hall to go with a weak RPI of 89, according to collegerpi.com.
After Alabama, Tennessee has the shakiest resume.
The Volunteers have lost to Oakland (Mich.), Charlotte and College of Charleston and had lost five of seven before Thursday night’s game at South Carolina.
Despite its issues, Tennessee’s RPI of 34 is strong, and the Volunteers are still considered NCAA tournament-worthy by espn.com and cbssports.com.
Georgia has an RPI of 36, and all of its losses have been to probable NCAA tournament teams, giving the Bulldogs a strong case for inclusion into the field. A win at Alabama on Saturday and at least one more in next week’s SEC tournament would improve their chances.
On a roll
-- Florida's Kenny Boynton has made 12 of his past 24 3-point attempts and averaged 17.7 points in the past three games. He has averaged 13.6 points and made only 29.4 percent beyond the arc this season.
-- Dysfunctional Mississippi State (16-13, 8-7) is trying to mend what appeared to be a lost season with consecutive wins at Tennessee and Arkansas to clinch the No. 2 seed from the SEC West and the conference-tournament bye that goes with it.
Hot shot
Virginia Tech senior Jeff Allen is one blocked shot from becoming the first ACC player with 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 steals and 150 blocks in his career.
Have not
Mississippi's Chris Warren, who is second in the SEC at 18.7 points per game, was 3-of-16 from the field and 1-of-10 from the 3-point line in Auburn's 76-73 victory over the Rebels on Wednesday. He finished with 12 points.
News and notes
The ACC regular-season conference title and top seed for the conference tournament will be on the line when North Carolina (23-6, 13-2 ACC) and Duke (27-3, 13-2) meet to close the regular season at 8 p.m. Saturday (CBS). The Tar Heels have won six straight since losing to the Blue Devils on Feb. 9. ... Alabama forward Tony Mitchell (Swainsboro) is expected to play against Georgia despite injuring his elbow in a loss at Florida on Tuesday. ... Maryland freshman Terrell Stoglin averaged 23 points in his past five games, scoring at least 20 points in four of those after not reaching the 20-point mark in any of his previous 25 career games. ... Former Tennessee star Allan Houston will have his No. 20 jersey retired at halftime of the Volunteers' regular-season finale against Kentucky on Sunday. ... N.C. State freshman Ryan Harrow (Walton) continues to lead the ACC in free-throw percentage at 88 percent. He is 66-of-75 from the line this season. ... North Carolina's Reggie Bullock, who was averaging 6.1 points, will miss the rest of the season after tearing the lateral meniscus in his left knee. ... Auburn has three comebacks of 17 or more points this season after rallying from a 20-point deficit to beat Mississippi on Wednesday.
Cross-country hops
Penn State guard Talor Battle needs one rebound to become the third player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists in a career, joining Duke's Danny Ferry and Maryland's Greivis Vasquez. The Nittany Lions play Minnesota on Sunday. ... Georgia Southern's Eric Ferguson (Statesboro) and UNC-Greensboro's Trevis Simpson (Coffee) were selected to the Southern Conference all-freshman team. ... Torin Walker (Northside-Columbus), who originally signed with Oklahoma State, is sitting out this season after transferring to Middle Tennessee. He played 10 games as a freshman with the Cowboys last season. ... Former Georgia player Troy Brewer, who transferred to American University, has averaged 11.5 points for the Eagles (22-8). ... College of Charleston freshman Trent Wiedeman (Greater Atlanta Christian) has averaged 7.6 points and leads the Cougars (22-9) with 6.3 rebounds. ... Hofstra's Charles Jenkins led the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring (23.3) and assists (4.8).
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