By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:
CASTELTON PROVIDES SUDDEN IMPACT
Any concerns Colin Castleton might have had about re-injuring his shoulder disappeared within a couple of minutes Saturday afternoon at the O-Dome. Playing his first game since January 15, Castleton was going head-to-head with Ole Miss 7-footer Nysier Brooks and there might have been a little bit of apprehension, but after a little bit of contact at both ends of the floor, Castleton forgot all about the shoulder.
“It felt a little weird since I haven’t had 5-on-5 contact in awhile so going out there … you know Nysier Brooks is a big dude,” Castleton said after he scored 17 points to go with seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal to lead the Gators (15-8, 5-5 SEC) to a 62-57 overtime win over the Rebels. “Once I started getting in a zone, I was like you know what, don’t even worry about the shoulder. Just play basketball. Do what you do. Obviously, I’m a big person as well, so I’m not going to back down from anybody. I was just battling him as much as possible.”
Without Castleton a couple of weeks ago, Ole Miss hammered the Gators, 70-54, in Oxford, scoring 32 points in the paint. The Rebels managed only 16 Saturday. Ironically, when Castleton was in the game Saturday, his presence was worth +16 points for UF. Castleton was the sudden impact Gator at both ends of the court. Keeping him healthy the rest of the season is a necessity.
Castleton obviously couldn’t do it alone. Phlandrous Fleming Jr. had 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal and Tyree Appleby had 10 points and 10 assists. He was 7-8 from the free throw line in overtime to seal with win.
The Gators are now 15-8 on the season, but they’re 5-5 in SEC play, which is fairly remarkable when you consider they started SEC play 0-3 and had to play three weeks without Castleton. There are eight SEC games remaining and for the Gators to get off the NCAA Tournament bubble they will need to at least get a split. They have home and home games remaining with No. 5 Kentucky, a home game with No. 1 Auburn and a home game with an Arkansas team that should crack the AP top 25 this week. Win the four winnable games and steal one of the four with Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas and the Gators won’t have to sweat Selection Sunday.
SEC Basketball
Tuesday’s games: No. 1 Auburn (22-1, 10-0 SEC) at Arkansas (18-5, 7-3 SEC); No. 5 Kentucky (19-4, 8-2 SEC) at South Carolina (13-9, 4-6 SEC); No. 25 LSU (16-7, 4-6 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-8, 4-6 SEC); Missouri (9-13, 3-6 SEC) at Vanderbilt (12-10, 4-6 SEC)
Wednesday’s games: Georgia (6-17, 1-9 SEC) at FLORIDA (15-8, 5-5 SEC); Alabama (14-9, 4-6 SEC) at Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7 SEC); No. 22 Tennessee (16-6, 7-3 SEC) at Mississippi State (14-8, 5-3 SEC)
IF UF WOMEN AREN’T RANKED, THEN THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG
After a week in which they have kneecapped No. 7 Tennessee in the O-Dome and gone on the road to score a 54-51 win over 14th-ranked Georgia, the Florida women’s team has five wins over ranked teams, all in league play. If what Kelly Rae Finley has done with the Gators (17-6, 7-3 SEC) doesn’t resonate with the voters then there is something seriously wrong with the polls. This Florida team is very much real and sitting third in the SEC, the toughest league top to bottom in the country.
Sunday, the Gators struggled offensively against a Georgia team that Finley says is as good defensively as any team in the SEC, but UF remembered to bring its defensive intensity, too, and that proved to be the difference, particularly in the fourth quarter. The Gators trailed 46-40 with 8:59 to go in the game, but they held Georgia to just five points the rest of the way, scoreless over the final 4:39.
Jordyn Merritt’s 3-pointer with 3:35 cut Georgia’s lead to 51-48 and a pair of free throws by Kiki Smith with 2:16 left brought UF within one. Zippy Broughton’s layup among Georgia’s tall trees in the lane with 1:32 left gave the Gators their first lead since the 7:20 mark in the third quarter. Broughton added a layup at the buzzer to provide the final margin.
Florida hit only 3-13 from the 3-point line but the Gators held Georgia to 1-10 and held 6-5 Jenna Staiti to four points, 11 below her average.
The Gators travel to Mississippi State (14-7, 5-4 SEC) Thursday night.
CRUNCHING UF FOOTBALL SCHOLARSHIP NUMBERS
Here is a position-by-position breakdown of Florida’s football players on scholarship counting players who have signed their letters of intent. A check of the spring roster also reveals a couple of players who are using their COVID year (WR Jordan Pouncey, LB Amari Burney). The Gators have 91 on scholarship so that will require attrition of at least six if Billy Napier doesn’t add anymore high school, jucos or transfers. Heights and weights are based on UF’s spring roster.
QUARTERBACKS (6)
Emory Jones (6-2, 201, RJR); Anthony Richardson (6-4, 237, SO); Jack Miller III (6-3, 215, SO/Transfer from Ohio State); Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 228, RFR); Jalen Kitna (6-4, 205, RFR); Max Brown (6-2, 200, FR)
RUNNING BACKS (5)
NayQuan Wright (5-9, 201, JR); Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 205, RJR); Demarkcus Bowman (5-10, 183, SO); Montrell Johnson (5-11, 210, SO/Transfer from Louisiana); Trevor Etienne (5-9, 217, FR)
WIDE RECEIVERS (9)
Jordan Pouncey (6-1, 210, RSR); Justin Shorter (6-5, 228, SR); Trent Whittemore (6-4, 210, RSO); Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 216, RSO); Xzavier Henderson (6-3, 193, SO); Ja’Quavion Fraziars (6-3, 212, SO); Marcus Burke (6-4, 183, RFR); Daejon Reynolds (6-2, 208, RFR); Caleb Douglas (6-3, 191, FR)
TIGHT ENDS (6)
Keon Zipperer (6-3, 234, JR); Jonathan Odom (6-5, 245, RFR); Gage Wilcox (6-4, 241, RFR); Nick Elksnis (6-6, 232, RFR); Tony Livingston (6-5, 225, FR); Hayden Hansen (6-6, 256, FR)
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (16)
Richard Gouraige (6-5, 310, RJR); O’Cyrus Torrence (6-5, 335, JR/Transfer from Louisiana); Ethan White (6-5, 334, JR); Kingsley Eguakun (6-4, 305, RSO); Josh Braun (6-6, 357, SO); Michael Tarquin (6-5, 301, RSO); Riley Simonds (6-3, 301, RSO); Will Harrod (6-5, 333, RSO); Richie Leonard (6-2, 315, SO); Austin Barber (6-6, 311, RFR); Yousef Mugharbil (6-4, 311, RFR); Jake Slaughter (6-5, 302, RFR); Kamryn Waites (6-8, 358, RFR/Transfer from Louisiana); David Conner (6-5, 295, FR); Christian Williams (6-4, 319, FR); Jalen Farmer (6-5, 334, FR)
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (15)
Griffin McDowell (6-4, 283, RJR); Dante Zanders (6-5, 261, RJR); Gervon Dexter (6-6, 313, SO); Princely Umanmeielen (6-4, 259, SO); Jaelin Humphries (6-3, 330, RSO); Desmond Watson (6-5, 415, SO), Jalen Lee (6-2, 305, SO), Lamar Goods (6-2, 351, RFR); Justus Boone (6-4, 245, RFR); Chris Thomas Jr. (6-5, 309, RFR); Tyreak Sapp (6-2, 264, RFR); Chris McClellan (6-3, 305, FR); Jamari Lyons (6-4, 298, FR); Jack Pyburn (6-3, 263, FR); Andrew Savaiinaea (6-3, 261, FR)
LINEBACKERS/EDGE (11)
Ventrell Miller (6-1, 228, RSR); Amari Burney (6-2, 236, RSR); Brenton Cox Jr. (6-4, 253, RJR); David Reese (6-2, 236, RJR); Diwun Black (6-3, 221, JR); Lloyd Summerall III (6-5, 236, RSO); Derek Wingo (6-1, 225, SO); Antuan Powell (6-2, 245, RFR); Chief Borders (6-4, 232, RFR); Scooby Williams (6-2, 232, RFR); Shemar James (6-1, 210, FR)
SECONDARY (19)
Trey Dean III (6-3, 201, RSR); Jadarrius Perkins (6-1, 182, JR); Jaydon Hill (6-0, 193, RSO); Avery Helm (6-1, 174, SO); Jason Marshall Jr. (6-0, 192, SO); Rashad Torrence II (6-0, 197, SO); Tre’Vez Johnson (5-11, 192, SO); Kamar Wilcoxson (6-1, 183, SO); Donovan McMillon (6-1, 200, SO); Mordecai McDaniel (6-1, 194, SO); Fenley Graham Jr. (5-9, 166, SO); Ethan Pouncey (6-1, 166, SO); Jordan Young (6-0, 188, RFR); Corey Collier Jr. (6-1, 179, RFR); Dakota Mitchell (5-11, 171, RFR); Jalen Kimber (6-0, 170, RFR/Transfer from Georgia); Kamari Wilson (6-0, 201, FR); Devin Moore (6-2, 190, FR); Miguel Mitchell (6-1, 203, FR)
SPECIAL TEAMS (4)
Long snappers (2): Marco Ortiz (6-4, 235, RJR); Rocco Underwood (6-3, 227, RFR)
Punter (1): Jeremy Crawshaw (6-4, 188, SO)
Kicker (1): Trey Smack (6-1, 200)
SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTES
Alabama: Alabama played without reserve forward Darius Miles in its loss to Kentucky. Miles, who averages 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, was suspended for the game for a violation of team rules.
Arkansas: The Hogs started the SEC portion of their schedule 0-3, but they’re on an 8-game roll right now with seven straight wins in the SEC. They have a chance to knock off No. 1 Auburn Tuesday night.
Auburn: Auburn’s three transfers are difference makers. Georgia transfer K.D. Johnson averages 13.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Eastern Kentucky transfer Wendell Green Jr. averages 12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Walker Kessler, the 7-1 transfer from North Carolina, averages 11.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game.
FLORIDA: In his last eight games, point guard Tyree Appleby is averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 assists. In those games, Appleby has hit 36-39 from the foul line (92.3 percent).
Georgia: With 11 losses in 12 games and another losing season all but guaranteed, the future of Tom Crean is in serious jeopardy.
Kentucky: Kentucky’s perimeter defense against Alabama was off the charts. The Wildcats held Alabama to 3-30 shooting (10 percent) from the 3-point line.
LSU: LSU was 14-1 when point guard Xavier Pinson went down with a knee injury. The Tigers are 2-6 since and have lost their last three.
Mississippi State: If the Bulldogs are to make a run to get into the NCAA Tournament, then 6-11 Tolu Smith is going to have to stay healthy. He is their best inside player (12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds), but he’s played only nine games this year.
Missouri: The Tigers hit 13-15 from the foul line to score the win over Texas A&M to break a 4-game losing streak.
Ole Miss: Jakel Joyner played 40 minutes against the Gators in his first game since January 8. He is the Rebels leading scorer (13.1 per game) and essential for Ole Miss to have any chance at making the NIT.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks have lost their last two games by a combined 38 points.
Tennessee: The Vols are 6-1 over their last seven, their only loss at Texas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Texas A&M: The Aggies have lost six of their last seven games.
Vanderbilt: Just days after LSU coach Will Wade complained that Vanderbilt draws a foul on more than 30 percent of its possessions and spends an extraordinary amount of time at the foul line, the Commodores shot only 17 free throws (made 10) against Wade and the Tigers. LSU, on the other hand, was 21-29 but somehow the Tigers lost by nine and were down 20 at the half.
SEC FOOTBALL NOTES
Auburn: Auburn center Nick Brahms is asking Auburn president Jay Gogue and the Board of Trustees to meet with players to discuss the situation regarding head coach Bryan Harsin. It is unclear whether the players are supportive of Harsin or will be asking for his head on a pike.
Georgia: Georgia officially hired Chidera Uzo-Diribe as its outside linebackers coach, replacing Dan Lanning, now the HBC at Oregon.
Kentucky: San Francisco 49ers offensive line assistant Zach Yenser is expected to be hired as the replacement for Eric Wolford, who left last week for Alabama.
LSU: Linebacker Kolbe Fields, who was a 3-star recruit out of high school, has transferred to LSU from South Carolina.
Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher’s rant about NIL and how the Aggies are pure as the driven snow is under quite a bit of scrutiny now that a comment he made on Paul Finebaum’s show back in December has resurfaced. “There’s always been NIL stuff going on, it just wasn’t legal,” Fisher said on that show.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Should Auburn part ways with Bryan Harsin this week, maybe the first name you’ll hear on the wish list is Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze. Freeze turned down Auburn last year when Gus Malzahn was given the heave-ho and it probably would be a shocker if he accepted the second go-round. Liberty pays him $4 million and has built his family a beautiful home on the mountain overlooking the campus in Lynchburg, Virginia. That’s not to say he will stay at Liberty forever, but why take over a dysfunctional job like Auburn that has to share a state with Nick Saban? There will be other jobs.
A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:
CASTELTON PROVIDES SUDDEN IMPACT
Any concerns Colin Castleton might have had about re-injuring his shoulder disappeared within a couple of minutes Saturday afternoon at the O-Dome. Playing his first game since January 15, Castleton was going head-to-head with Ole Miss 7-footer Nysier Brooks and there might have been a little bit of apprehension, but after a little bit of contact at both ends of the floor, Castleton forgot all about the shoulder.
“It felt a little weird since I haven’t had 5-on-5 contact in awhile so going out there … you know Nysier Brooks is a big dude,” Castleton said after he scored 17 points to go with seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal to lead the Gators (15-8, 5-5 SEC) to a 62-57 overtime win over the Rebels. “Once I started getting in a zone, I was like you know what, don’t even worry about the shoulder. Just play basketball. Do what you do. Obviously, I’m a big person as well, so I’m not going to back down from anybody. I was just battling him as much as possible.”
Without Castleton a couple of weeks ago, Ole Miss hammered the Gators, 70-54, in Oxford, scoring 32 points in the paint. The Rebels managed only 16 Saturday. Ironically, when Castleton was in the game Saturday, his presence was worth +16 points for UF. Castleton was the sudden impact Gator at both ends of the court. Keeping him healthy the rest of the season is a necessity.
Castleton obviously couldn’t do it alone. Phlandrous Fleming Jr. had 10 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal and Tyree Appleby had 10 points and 10 assists. He was 7-8 from the free throw line in overtime to seal with win.
The Gators are now 15-8 on the season, but they’re 5-5 in SEC play, which is fairly remarkable when you consider they started SEC play 0-3 and had to play three weeks without Castleton. There are eight SEC games remaining and for the Gators to get off the NCAA Tournament bubble they will need to at least get a split. They have home and home games remaining with No. 5 Kentucky, a home game with No. 1 Auburn and a home game with an Arkansas team that should crack the AP top 25 this week. Win the four winnable games and steal one of the four with Kentucky, Auburn and Arkansas and the Gators won’t have to sweat Selection Sunday.
SEC Basketball
Tuesday’s games: No. 1 Auburn (22-1, 10-0 SEC) at Arkansas (18-5, 7-3 SEC); No. 5 Kentucky (19-4, 8-2 SEC) at South Carolina (13-9, 4-6 SEC); No. 25 LSU (16-7, 4-6 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-8, 4-6 SEC); Missouri (9-13, 3-6 SEC) at Vanderbilt (12-10, 4-6 SEC)
Wednesday’s games: Georgia (6-17, 1-9 SEC) at FLORIDA (15-8, 5-5 SEC); Alabama (14-9, 4-6 SEC) at Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7 SEC); No. 22 Tennessee (16-6, 7-3 SEC) at Mississippi State (14-8, 5-3 SEC)
IF UF WOMEN AREN’T RANKED, THEN THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG
After a week in which they have kneecapped No. 7 Tennessee in the O-Dome and gone on the road to score a 54-51 win over 14th-ranked Georgia, the Florida women’s team has five wins over ranked teams, all in league play. If what Kelly Rae Finley has done with the Gators (17-6, 7-3 SEC) doesn’t resonate with the voters then there is something seriously wrong with the polls. This Florida team is very much real and sitting third in the SEC, the toughest league top to bottom in the country.
Sunday, the Gators struggled offensively against a Georgia team that Finley says is as good defensively as any team in the SEC, but UF remembered to bring its defensive intensity, too, and that proved to be the difference, particularly in the fourth quarter. The Gators trailed 46-40 with 8:59 to go in the game, but they held Georgia to just five points the rest of the way, scoreless over the final 4:39.
Jordyn Merritt’s 3-pointer with 3:35 cut Georgia’s lead to 51-48 and a pair of free throws by Kiki Smith with 2:16 left brought UF within one. Zippy Broughton’s layup among Georgia’s tall trees in the lane with 1:32 left gave the Gators their first lead since the 7:20 mark in the third quarter. Broughton added a layup at the buzzer to provide the final margin.
Florida hit only 3-13 from the 3-point line but the Gators held Georgia to 1-10 and held 6-5 Jenna Staiti to four points, 11 below her average.
The Gators travel to Mississippi State (14-7, 5-4 SEC) Thursday night.
CRUNCHING UF FOOTBALL SCHOLARSHIP NUMBERS
Here is a position-by-position breakdown of Florida’s football players on scholarship counting players who have signed their letters of intent. A check of the spring roster also reveals a couple of players who are using their COVID year (WR Jordan Pouncey, LB Amari Burney). The Gators have 91 on scholarship so that will require attrition of at least six if Billy Napier doesn’t add anymore high school, jucos or transfers. Heights and weights are based on UF’s spring roster.
QUARTERBACKS (6)
Emory Jones (6-2, 201, RJR); Anthony Richardson (6-4, 237, SO); Jack Miller III (6-3, 215, SO/Transfer from Ohio State); Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 228, RFR); Jalen Kitna (6-4, 205, RFR); Max Brown (6-2, 200, FR)
RUNNING BACKS (5)
NayQuan Wright (5-9, 201, JR); Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 205, RJR); Demarkcus Bowman (5-10, 183, SO); Montrell Johnson (5-11, 210, SO/Transfer from Louisiana); Trevor Etienne (5-9, 217, FR)
WIDE RECEIVERS (9)
Jordan Pouncey (6-1, 210, RSR); Justin Shorter (6-5, 228, SR); Trent Whittemore (6-4, 210, RSO); Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 216, RSO); Xzavier Henderson (6-3, 193, SO); Ja’Quavion Fraziars (6-3, 212, SO); Marcus Burke (6-4, 183, RFR); Daejon Reynolds (6-2, 208, RFR); Caleb Douglas (6-3, 191, FR)
TIGHT ENDS (6)
Keon Zipperer (6-3, 234, JR); Jonathan Odom (6-5, 245, RFR); Gage Wilcox (6-4, 241, RFR); Nick Elksnis (6-6, 232, RFR); Tony Livingston (6-5, 225, FR); Hayden Hansen (6-6, 256, FR)
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (16)
Richard Gouraige (6-5, 310, RJR); O’Cyrus Torrence (6-5, 335, JR/Transfer from Louisiana); Ethan White (6-5, 334, JR); Kingsley Eguakun (6-4, 305, RSO); Josh Braun (6-6, 357, SO); Michael Tarquin (6-5, 301, RSO); Riley Simonds (6-3, 301, RSO); Will Harrod (6-5, 333, RSO); Richie Leonard (6-2, 315, SO); Austin Barber (6-6, 311, RFR); Yousef Mugharbil (6-4, 311, RFR); Jake Slaughter (6-5, 302, RFR); Kamryn Waites (6-8, 358, RFR/Transfer from Louisiana); David Conner (6-5, 295, FR); Christian Williams (6-4, 319, FR); Jalen Farmer (6-5, 334, FR)
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (15)
Griffin McDowell (6-4, 283, RJR); Dante Zanders (6-5, 261, RJR); Gervon Dexter (6-6, 313, SO); Princely Umanmeielen (6-4, 259, SO); Jaelin Humphries (6-3, 330, RSO); Desmond Watson (6-5, 415, SO), Jalen Lee (6-2, 305, SO), Lamar Goods (6-2, 351, RFR); Justus Boone (6-4, 245, RFR); Chris Thomas Jr. (6-5, 309, RFR); Tyreak Sapp (6-2, 264, RFR); Chris McClellan (6-3, 305, FR); Jamari Lyons (6-4, 298, FR); Jack Pyburn (6-3, 263, FR); Andrew Savaiinaea (6-3, 261, FR)
LINEBACKERS/EDGE (11)
Ventrell Miller (6-1, 228, RSR); Amari Burney (6-2, 236, RSR); Brenton Cox Jr. (6-4, 253, RJR); David Reese (6-2, 236, RJR); Diwun Black (6-3, 221, JR); Lloyd Summerall III (6-5, 236, RSO); Derek Wingo (6-1, 225, SO); Antuan Powell (6-2, 245, RFR); Chief Borders (6-4, 232, RFR); Scooby Williams (6-2, 232, RFR); Shemar James (6-1, 210, FR)
SECONDARY (19)
Trey Dean III (6-3, 201, RSR); Jadarrius Perkins (6-1, 182, JR); Jaydon Hill (6-0, 193, RSO); Avery Helm (6-1, 174, SO); Jason Marshall Jr. (6-0, 192, SO); Rashad Torrence II (6-0, 197, SO); Tre’Vez Johnson (5-11, 192, SO); Kamar Wilcoxson (6-1, 183, SO); Donovan McMillon (6-1, 200, SO); Mordecai McDaniel (6-1, 194, SO); Fenley Graham Jr. (5-9, 166, SO); Ethan Pouncey (6-1, 166, SO); Jordan Young (6-0, 188, RFR); Corey Collier Jr. (6-1, 179, RFR); Dakota Mitchell (5-11, 171, RFR); Jalen Kimber (6-0, 170, RFR/Transfer from Georgia); Kamari Wilson (6-0, 201, FR); Devin Moore (6-2, 190, FR); Miguel Mitchell (6-1, 203, FR)
SPECIAL TEAMS (4)
Long snappers (2): Marco Ortiz (6-4, 235, RJR); Rocco Underwood (6-3, 227, RFR)
Punter (1): Jeremy Crawshaw (6-4, 188, SO)
Kicker (1): Trey Smack (6-1, 200)
SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTES
Alabama: Alabama played without reserve forward Darius Miles in its loss to Kentucky. Miles, who averages 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, was suspended for the game for a violation of team rules.
Arkansas: The Hogs started the SEC portion of their schedule 0-3, but they’re on an 8-game roll right now with seven straight wins in the SEC. They have a chance to knock off No. 1 Auburn Tuesday night.
Auburn: Auburn’s three transfers are difference makers. Georgia transfer K.D. Johnson averages 13.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Eastern Kentucky transfer Wendell Green Jr. averages 12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Walker Kessler, the 7-1 transfer from North Carolina, averages 11.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game.
FLORIDA: In his last eight games, point guard Tyree Appleby is averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 assists. In those games, Appleby has hit 36-39 from the foul line (92.3 percent).
Georgia: With 11 losses in 12 games and another losing season all but guaranteed, the future of Tom Crean is in serious jeopardy.
Kentucky: Kentucky’s perimeter defense against Alabama was off the charts. The Wildcats held Alabama to 3-30 shooting (10 percent) from the 3-point line.
LSU: LSU was 14-1 when point guard Xavier Pinson went down with a knee injury. The Tigers are 2-6 since and have lost their last three.
Mississippi State: If the Bulldogs are to make a run to get into the NCAA Tournament, then 6-11 Tolu Smith is going to have to stay healthy. He is their best inside player (12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds), but he’s played only nine games this year.
Missouri: The Tigers hit 13-15 from the foul line to score the win over Texas A&M to break a 4-game losing streak.
Ole Miss: Jakel Joyner played 40 minutes against the Gators in his first game since January 8. He is the Rebels leading scorer (13.1 per game) and essential for Ole Miss to have any chance at making the NIT.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks have lost their last two games by a combined 38 points.
Tennessee: The Vols are 6-1 over their last seven, their only loss at Texas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Texas A&M: The Aggies have lost six of their last seven games.
Vanderbilt: Just days after LSU coach Will Wade complained that Vanderbilt draws a foul on more than 30 percent of its possessions and spends an extraordinary amount of time at the foul line, the Commodores shot only 17 free throws (made 10) against Wade and the Tigers. LSU, on the other hand, was 21-29 but somehow the Tigers lost by nine and were down 20 at the half.
SEC FOOTBALL NOTES
Auburn: Auburn center Nick Brahms is asking Auburn president Jay Gogue and the Board of Trustees to meet with players to discuss the situation regarding head coach Bryan Harsin. It is unclear whether the players are supportive of Harsin or will be asking for his head on a pike.
Georgia: Georgia officially hired Chidera Uzo-Diribe as its outside linebackers coach, replacing Dan Lanning, now the HBC at Oregon.
Kentucky: San Francisco 49ers offensive line assistant Zach Yenser is expected to be hired as the replacement for Eric Wolford, who left last week for Alabama.
LSU: Linebacker Kolbe Fields, who was a 3-star recruit out of high school, has transferred to LSU from South Carolina.
Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher’s rant about NIL and how the Aggies are pure as the driven snow is under quite a bit of scrutiny now that a comment he made on Paul Finebaum’s show back in December has resurfaced. “There’s always been NIL stuff going on, it just wasn’t legal,” Fisher said on that show.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Should Auburn part ways with Bryan Harsin this week, maybe the first name you’ll hear on the wish list is Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze. Freeze turned down Auburn last year when Gus Malzahn was given the heave-ho and it probably would be a shocker if he accepted the second go-round. Liberty pays him $4 million and has built his family a beautiful home on the mountain overlooking the campus in Lynchburg, Virginia. That’s not to say he will stay at Liberty forever, but why take over a dysfunctional job like Auburn that has to share a state with Nick Saban? There will be other jobs.
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