Missouri and Tennessee entered the SEC tournament on the edge of the NCAA tournament picture, according to various bracket projections.
Missouri may have played its way out of the bracket while Tennessee remains on track to make it.
The Tigers hoped to enhance their case with a victory against Florida in Friday’s quarterfinals. Instead, they followed their double-overtime victory against ninth-seeded Texas A&M with a 72-49 loss to the Gators.
Now Missouri anxiously waits to see their fate when the brackets are announced.
“We’ll see (Sunday),” Missouri guard Jabari Brown said.
The Volunteers handled No. 13-seed South Carolina in the quarterfinals and have a chance to enhance their resume against the Gators.
South Carolina coach Frank Martin said the Vols are playing better than anyone in the league, including the top-ranked Gators.
“Florida is coming after you, and they are relentless with their pressure,” Martin said. “If Tennessee handles Florida’s pressure, their inside play can create problems for Florida.”
Before Friday’s games Jerry Palm of CBS Sports had the Tigers and Vols as one of his last four teams in the tournament field. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected Missouri as among the last four teams to be left out of the tournament and that Tennessee would be among the last four teams to avoid the play-in games.
At home in Dome: Each 3-pointer that Florida's Scottie Wilbeken and Michael Frazier put a dent in the theory about shooters not liking domes.
The thinking is that the expansive background in domes throws off depth perception and makes long-range shooting more difficult. But Wilbekin made five of six 3-point shots and Frazier five of seven during Florida’s rout of Missouri on Friday.
“It’s just another gym, to be honest,” Wilbekin said. “Sometimes you shoot good in them, sometimes you don’t. I don’t know. If the first one goes in, it makes it easier have more confidence.”
Bulldogs lose recruit: Norense Odiase, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound power forward from Odessa, Texas, by way of Nigeria, committed to Texas Tech over Georgia, according to several published reports Friday. The Red Raiders are now coached by former UGA, Kentucky and Minnesota coach Tubby Smith.
A three-star prospect, according to 247Sports.com, Odiase also had an offer from Old Dominion and was recruited by Georgia Tech and Tulane.
Low turnout: Attendance for the SEC tournament was down in the opening three sessions over Wednesday and Thursday. The 10,218 that turned out for the Thursday night session was the first to crack the 10,000 mark and put the average at 8,886. In its basketball configuration that Georgia Dome can accommodate more than 25,000.
About the Author
