SEC Semifinals Recap

Kentucky 78 South Carolina 63
The Big Blue Nation was out once again in full force for this opening game of the semi-final session and they certainly had to be pleased with the show that Kentucky put on. The Cats got off to a strong start, held off various attempts by South Carolina to make a run, and ended up winning handily 78-63. The Cats were led by reserve (in name only) Gerald Fitch who poured in 24 points in the victory. Fitch was able to hit a key shot any time that South Carolina threatened to make a run, including four three pointers which each had the effect of a dagger in the heart of the Gamecocks. Kentucky once again showed why they are quietly becoming one of the best teams in the land with crisp passing that proved unstoppable for the Gamecocks’ defense. The tournament run ended for South Carolina, but they should be happy as their victories over Arkansas and LSU have likely secured them a bid in the Big Dance.

The game on Saturday was also a chance for the Chick-Fil-A Legends to once again get together and get a nice round of applause from the fans and receive their much-deserved accolades. What, you don’t know what a Chick-Fil-A legend is? I find that hard to believe considering the prestige of the award, but a Chick-Fil-A legend is a player who is a former member of an SEC team who is willing to come back to the NCAA Tournament while his alma mater is playing, and receive a polite ovation from the audience. This year’s legend group included big names such as Charles Barkley and Dan Issel, medium names such as Dale Brown, Dale Ellis and Todd Day and hidden gems such as former Ole Miss guard Gerald Glass. Barkley and Issel had to miss the final ceremony honoring their existence (there must have been an emergency somewhere), but the rest of the legends gathered on Saturday for one last go-around.

Now before I completely belittle this ceremony, I want to first make clear that I like the idea of honoring former SEC players at the tournament, and it has always been exciting every year to see who will show up. In addition, as I stated in Thursday’s column, this promotion allowed me to meet one of my all-time heroes, Charles Barkley. So in theory, I have nothing but love for the Chick-Fil-A Legends promotion. However in practice, it leaves a great deal to be desired. The nine remaining legends (Dale Brown was in the hospital after an unfortunate fall) were walked to center court, where they were greeted by a man in a cow costume who had a sign on that said “Eat More Chikin”. The cow then proceeded to hand each of the former players a trophy, which can most politely be described as “hideous.” The trophy looked to be made of plastic (or at least gold-painted metal) and contained in the middle of it, a huge clock. All of the players politely took their clocks from the cow, waved to the crowd that was anxiously awaiting the UK dance team’s performance and all tried their best to look interested. At the end of the ceremony, the players were whisked off the court, the guy behind me in the stands asked “who were those dudes?” and we all went on our merry way.

While I went into the second half a bit saddened by the whole experience, I was consoled by the reporter from Mississippi that was sitting next to me. When I asked what the criteria was now for being defined as a legend, he chuckled and just shook his head. “Legend means that you (a) are remembered and (b) are available.” I guess that is likely true, but the SEC and for that matter all conferences, should really look into creating mini-Halls of Fame for its former players. I think it would begin a great series of debates among fans (who should make the Hall, Kyle Macy or Tony Delk?) and could lead to a nice set of honors at the tournament. I love people in cow costumes as much as the next guy, but they should not be part of anything having to do with “legends.”

Florida 91 Vanderbilt 69
The second game of the semi-finals was the Anthony Roberson show as the Sophomore guard absolutely lit up the Commodores with 35 points, including 7 three pointers in the Gators victory. Roberson showed why he so many folks believe he can be one of the best guards in the country, as he played a complete game, finding the open man, taking good shots and playing strong defense throughout the game. When Roberson is hot and is not taking bad shots, he may be the best 3 point shooter in the game (take that JJ Redick!). Tonight was just such a night, as Vanderbilt could find no answer for him, or his running mate Matt Walsh, who went for 20 points of his own. Florida shot 62% for the game as Vanderbilt looked tired and unable to keep up with the runnin’, gunnin’ Gators. Vanderbilt’s star forward Matt Freije had another sub-par game as he only scored 11 points on 4-12 shooting. If Vanderbilt is going to be able to do anything in the NCAA Tournament, Freije has to become more authoritative on offense, and not just a last-second bail out when the shot clock is running down. Florida now moves on to play its arch-nemesis Kentucky in what could be a revenge game for the team that has been owned by the Wildcats the past couple of years.

This was also the game where I officially realized that no matter what I had thought before, I do not really know all that much about basketball. See we in the media, and you the fans, have a belief that basketball is a simplistic game in which people run, jump and shoot and that even though we may have not played the game well (or in my case even respectably), it still is something that we can understand as much as any top coach. I must admit that I held this view for much of my lifetime, calling Steve Fischer a fool for being unable to win a championship with the Fab 5 and firmly believing that I could have coached the 1996 Kentucky team to the national title. Well all that changed during Saturday’s second game as I had a chance to sit with two commentators on college basketball and realize once and for all that I am an idiot.

First up was my good friend Barry Booker, who sat with me during the first half and explained to me his new formula for determining who the best teams are in college basketball. Like me, Booker believes that the RPI is not necessarily the best tool that can be used for ranking teams and comparing them to others that they have not played. However unlike me, he has decided to actually do something about that and is beginning to work on what he calls the “Booker Index.” After he was able to get my attention away from the free cookies that I was eating on press row, Booker explained to me that a true indicator of a team’s ability is its offensive and defensive “efficiency.” This statistic determines how many points a team scores or allows on average per possession down the floor. Because these statistics so accurately track a team’s ability (rather than just its playing style), with this number (and some mathematical tweaking that is still in the works), teams can be compared more accurately. This was shown by the fact that the “Booker Index” accurately forcasted the results of 10 of the 11 games. I must say that this conversation blew my mind and made me realize how ultimately uncreative I am. In Booker’s free time he has come up with a new formula for determining success in one of our national pastimes, while I use my free time to analyze the odds for the newest addition of “Average Joe.”

Stunned by his brilliance, I left Booker and moved to the other end of press row for the second game where I sat near Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, who were watching the game in preparation for their telecast of the final game on Sunday. Throughout the game, I listened to these two broadcasting giants and realized that both of these men likely had forgotten more about basketball than I have ever known. As they analyzed the two teams’ offenses and spoke to their strengths and weaknesses, I quickly learned that the way I watched a game was so superficial as to be ultimately meaningless. When I see a player like Anthony Roberson hit a wide-open three pointer, I usually focus on him, or the man who set a pick to set him free. What Raftery kept pointing out was the play or subtle move that occurred seconds before that led ultimately to the open shot. It was a fascinating experience and I found myself watching some of the games later in the day in a slightly different way. It was an amazing day and once again confirmed why I believe college basketball is the greatest sport going.

As for the finals, it is Kentucky and Florida. I look for another Cats win, but I would not be surprised if the Gators kept it close. It will all depend on where Walsh’s head is during the game and to what extent Kentucky can keep up their offensive efficiency. Until next time…..