The Sunday Blog comes at you from rainy Nashville where the skies are clearing and there are puddles on the ground. Puddles of what, I have no idea.
1. Florida may be a long way from the NCAA Tournament, but the Gators are represented because of Wyoming’s big win Saturday in the Mountain West Tournament. Not only is former UF assistant Larry Shyatt going to the Big Dance but Matt Wise, who served as a grad assistant to Billy Donovan for two years, is the director of player personnel for the Cowboys. Wise is, of course, the son of Mark and Mary Wise, two of the best people I know. The Sunday Blog is ecstatic for Shyatt especially because his first four teams at Wyoming were good but not good enough to make it the the NCAA Tournament. Now he’s there. I hope they stick him in the Jacksonville regional.
2. I asked Georgia coach Mark Fox about the fact that, according to my research, there have been about six more foul shots per team in the SEC Tournament than during the regular season. His theory was that players are getting tired late in the season and that leads to more fouls. Makes sense. But for those who want to see more fouls called to clean up the game, it hasn’t made the basketball any better in Nashville. There have been some sloppy games.
3. That said, it has been an entertaining tournament for the most part. But it has also created a nervous Selection Sunday for the SEC. LSU and Ole Miss may be in play-in games when the field is announced later today. Texas A&M played itself out with a loss in the second round. There are even questions about Georgia. Because Ole Miss lost early in Nashville, Georgia now has no wins against the top 50. The Bulldogs are 9-9 against the top 100 with a pair of quality non-conference wins over Seton Hall and Kansas State. I think they are a lock because of an RPI of 36.
4. One thing that’s great about Nashville is walking down the street and hearing great live music blaring out of every door. At the media hotel Saturday night, there was a girl playing guitar and singing who looked like she was 18 and belonged on American Idol or something. She sang a cool medley of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” and Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” that was both cheeky and outstanding.
