Mississippi State Wins! ( Photo: AP) |
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| Mississippi St. University 2008-09 |
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When
Mississippi State finished its surprising run through the Southeastern
Conference tournament,
Twany
Beckham (6'5''-G) grabbed an SEC sign and hoisted it high above his head.
One problem: It was upside-down, which may have been fitting considering it was
the Bulldogs celebrating the league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA
tournament, not regular-season winner LSU, co-East Division champion Tennessee
or perennial powerhouse Kentucky. 'The only thing I know is we don't have to sit
here and worry about being on a bubble,' Mississippi State coach
Rick
Stansbury said. 'We busted that bubble. That's all that matters.'
The Bulldogs showed the rest of the SEC teams that were waiting for the decision
of the NCAA selection committee that the best way to get in is take care of your
own business.
Phil
Turner (6'3''-G-87) scored seven of his 12 points in the final 1:35 Sunday,
and No. 3 West seed Mississippi State knocked off East No. 1 seed Tennessee
64-61 for their first bid since 2005. Turner, who had 10 rebounds, hit a big
3-pointer to put Mississippi State (23-12) in front for good, then made two free
throws with 8 seconds left to help the Bulldogs hold off the Volunteers (21-12)
in a wild finish.
Cameron Tatum (6'6''-G/F-88) long 3-pointer bounced off the rim and
Mississippi State's
Barry
Stewart (6'2''-G-88) rebounded as time ran out on Tennessee's hopes of
winning the tournament for the first time in 30 years.
Wayne
Chism (6'9''-F-87) led the Volunteers with 15 points, but he missed seven of
nine 3-points attempts a day after going 4-of-6 to key a victory over Auburn in
the semifinals.
J.P.
Prince (6'7''-G-87) had 14 points and leading scorer
Tyler
Smith (6'7''-F-86) had 12 on 2-of-14 shooting.
The victory was the sixth straight for Mississippi State, which entered the
tournament needing a strong run to improve its chances of making the NCAA field.
The Bulldogs' first SEC title since 2002 ensures the league at least three
spots, with Tennessee and LSU considered locks. Auburn, South Carolina and
Florida all entered the tournament trying to improve their postseason resume.
Tennessee had hoped winning the SEC tournament for the fifth time would improve
its seeding in the NCAA tournament.
'I told our guys that first of all, we obviously didn't help our seed, so the
road to the Final Four will be much more difficult, much more challenging.'
coach Bruce Pearl said. 'We've been consistently inconsistent. If we can get it
going again, because we've been playing great basketball here in March, we'll
forget about the
disappointment of not winning this tournament. But if we're not able to pick us
up again, this missed opportunity will hurt for a long time.' Mississippi
State's run was reminiscent of Georgia's stunning march through the SEC
tournament last year. Georgia won four games in three days to earn an improbable
NCAA berth after finishing last in the regular-season conference standings.
Stewart and
Ravern Johnson (6'7''-G/F-88) both scored 11 points for Mississippi State,
which also got 10 points, seven rebounds and six blocks from tournament MVP
Jarvis Varnado (6'9''-F/C-88). The Bulldogs held Tennessee to 29 percent
shooting and forced two of the Volunteers' 14 turnovers with the game on the
line.
'There's a guy that found a way to dig deep when there's absolutely nothing left
in that tank to help us win the game,' Stansbury said of the exhausted Varnado,
a 6-foot-9 junior from Brownsville, Tenn.
Prince made one of two free throws to cut Tennessee's deficit to 62-61 and the
Vols got a break when the rebound went out of bounds off Varnado with 9.6
seconds left. But Smith was unable to inbound ball, leading to a 5-second call
that gave the ball to Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs turned it right back when
Dee
Bost (6'2''-G-89) took the inbound pass and dribbled out of bounds, giving
Tennessee another chance that the Vols squandered when Stewart tipped an inbound
pass that landed in Turner's hands.
Tennessee immediately fouled the sophomore guard, who made both free throws,
setting the stage for a celebration. The Bulldogs piled onto Stewart and Turner
in front of the Tennessee bench, then slipped on championship shirts and hats
and started dancing all over the court. Beckham grabbed the SEC placard, while
Brian
Johnson (6'9''-F/C-86) directed the pep band through a chorus of the school
fight song.
Mississippi State accepted the championship trophy, landed Varnado and Stewart
on the all-tournament team, and cut down the nets in the half-empty St. Pete
Times Forum, which drew a crowd of just 10,093 for the final. 'That last 22
seconds, I can promise you we didn't lose no TV viewers,' Stansbury said. 'We
made it interesting.'
Overall, the tournament drew 132,181 for six sessions over four days -- the
lowest attendance for the league's showcase event since 1991, when it was played
in Nashville, Tenn., and without perennial SEC powerhouse Kentucky, which was on
probation. For Tennessee, it was more postseason disappointment under Pearl,
who's 3-3 in the SEC tournament. The Vols hadn't been in the SEC final since
1991 and last won it all in 1979. 'One of the toughest things about this season
has been ... I continue to hear how people are disappointed,' Pearl said. 'Well,
we disappointed them again. At the same time, I'm proud of my basketball team
for how many times we've picked ourselves up off the deck and played beautiful
basketball.'
Courtesy of Tampa, Fla (AP)
Tournament Final: Mississippi State - Tennessee 64-61
Tournament Semifinals:
Mississippi State - LSU 67-57
Tennessee - Auburn 94-85
SEC All-Tournament MVP:
Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State
SEC All-Tournament Team
Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State
Barry
Stewart of Mississippi State
Wayne
Chism of Tennessee
Tyler
Smith of Tennessee
Korvotney Barber (6'7''-F-87) of Auburn
| All-SEC 1st Team 2008-09 |
Thornton |
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Meeks |
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Calathes |
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Smith |
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Varnado |
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All-SEC 1st Team
Marcus Thornton (6'4''-G-87) of LSU
Devan
Downey (5'9''-G-87) of South Carolina
Jodie
Meeks (6'4''-G-87) of Kentucky
Tyler
Smith of Tennessee
Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State
Nick
Calathes (6'6''-G-89) of Florida
Tasmin Mitchell of LSU
All-SEC 2nd Team
Patrick Patterson (6'9''-F-89) of Kentucky
Korvotney Barber of Auburn
Alonzo
Gee (6'6''-G-87) of Alabama
David
Huertas (6'5''-G-87) of Mississippi
Terrico White (6'5''-G) of Mississippi
Michael Washington (6'9''-F-86) of Arkansas
All-SEC Honorable Mention
Dominique Archie (6'7''-F-87) of South Carolina
Wayne
Chism of Tennessee
Chris
Johnson (6'11''-C-85) of LSU
A.J.
Ogilvy (6'11''-C-88) of Vanderbilt
SEC Player of the Year:
Marcus Thornton of LSU
SEC Newcomer of the Year:
Terrico White of Mississippi
SEC Coach of the Year:
Trent
Johnson of LSU
Stansbury
