After the depressing, but seemingly expected, loss to Florida last night in Nashville, Auburn returned home with hopes of a postseason hanging in question.

There are a lot of fingers pointing in different directions.

Was the loss because senior Tay Waller, arguably one of the most important players in the Tiger’s offense, was shut down by the Gator’s defense and missed all six of the shots he attempted?  Or was it because senior point guard DeWayne Reed just couldn’t jump start the already spent offensive playbook, despite putting up 18 points himself and five assists?

All of those reasons could play an important role in the loss, but what most fans are saying is that it was because of a lack of good leadership at the helm of the already sinking Auburn basketball ship.

Coach Jeff Lebo’s future, in my opinion, has never been more uncertain than it is today.

Before going into last night’s game Lebo had already told the media that he was going to meet with Jay Jacobs, Auburn’s athletic director, after the season was over.  That time may have come earlier than he thought.

With next season on their minds, a new arena and the hopes of attracting recruits to not only a mediocre basketball program, but an often referred to as mediocre basketball conference, outside of Kentucky and Florida, what will the Auburn administration do?

Many argue that Lebo, who has been on Auburn’s sideline for six seasons now, five of which have been losing seasons, has run his course as the coach of the Tigers.

Lebo has two years remaining on the eight year contract he was signed to.  Firing him early would cost the school a $1.5 million buyout.

I think it’s important to first to take a look at Lebo’s past coaching record when it comes struggling teams.

Lebo started the first of six seasons as an assistant under coach Eddie Fogler with an SEC Championship, an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance and a 28-6 record at Vanderbilt in 1992-93.

The Commodores went 14-2 in the SEC for only their third league title in history, and their first since 1974.

Lebo then followed Fogler to South Carolina where he worked for five seasons and helped lead the Gamecocks to their only SEC Championship in 1997 and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

After turning the South Carolina program around from 9-19 and 10-17 records the first two seasons, Fogler and Lebo led the Gamecocks to an average of 22 wins over the next three years.

Lebo earned his stripes.

In the six years as a collegiate head coach, prior to Auburn, Lebo turned around two drowning programs at Tennessee Tech and Tennessee-Chattanooga where he earned a 115-63 career record, an average of 19.2 wins per season.

While there he won a pair of Ohio Valley Conference Championships at Tennessee Tech and came within one game of the NIT Final Four.

When Lebo was named head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga in April 2002, he inherited a team without a returning starter and without a signee for the upcoming season.  He transformed the Mocs into a Southern Conference championship contender in just one season, leading UTC to a 21-9 record in 2002-03, the school’s first 20-win season in six years.

In 2004, Lebo took command of an Auburn team that many said had hit rock bottom.  Players had left.  Probation was in the air.  Things were bad.

His first season, after losing four starters and nine lettermen, Lebo began his remodeling efforts at Auburn by leading the down and out Tigers to an over-achieving 14-17 (4-12 SEC) record in 2004-05.

Fast forward to 2008 when Lebo and the Tigers recorded the second most wins in Auburn history by going 24-12 and tied for second overall in the SEC with a 10-6 record.  The Tigers were one of the last teams left out of the NCAA Tournament and came within an eyelash of the NIT Final Four.

He sounds like a spot on coach with a strong record of bring teams back from the dead.  However, if you look at the years I discussed at Auburn there are a lot of gaps.  It’s those gaps, four other losing seasons, that are fueling the fire behind his critics eyes.

So here we sit, five losing seasons later.  A program with a good list of improvements, but a lot more work to do.  A roster of strong players brought in despite the promise of playing in the decrepit Beard-Eaves and playing for a program devoid of any recent NCAA stardom.  The “savior”, Jeff Lebo, his future under fire, is probably more nervous than ever about whether or not a seventh season is in the works.

Like I have said before, a new arena brings new hope to a predominantly football oriented school.  I say that because let’s be honest, the fan numbers for Auburn basketball are no where near what they are come football season.  But the question being asked by the fans and administration, is could they be bigger?  That’s what the arena is for.  That’s what the new style of seating, with emphasis being placed on students and recruits, has been built to try and accomplish.

The broken and bruised Auburn basketball ship is being rebuilt.  The only question is, who will its captain be?

I for one feel sorry for Lebo, but six seasons is a long time to rebuild and have nothing to show for it aside from one strong season.

Chuck Person, rumored to have expressed interest in coaching at Auburn, is who I have my money on right now. The three-time first-team All-SEC selection and All-American from 1984-86 is Auburn’s all-time scoring leader with 2,311 points. Person led Auburn to its greatest run in the NCAA Tournament by reaching the Elite Eight in 1986.

Is he the right Person?  (see what I did there?)

I am beginning to think so.  What do you think?

South Carolina and Alabama will tip off at 1 o’clock central time on Thursday to begin what should be a very entertaining couple of days in Nashville, Tennessee. Eleven SEC opponents will try to knock off John Calipari and his top seeded Kentucky Wildcats to claim the conference title.

There are many teams that have yet to have their post season fates decided. Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee appear to be the only teams that have claimed their spots in the big dance. Florida, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State will likely have to make some noise this weekend to make the field of 65.

But as we know, anything can happen in the SEC tournament. It was just two years ago that Georgia surprised the nation by winning the tournament while coming in with a record of 14-16 and last year Mississippi State came in and won four games in four days. So here is a rundown of the tournament:

First Round-

South Carolina 15-15 (6-10) vs. Alabama  16-14 (6-10)

If I had to pick a team that has the best chance to win the tournament that doesn’t have a shot at an at- large bid it would have to be South Carolina. Led by senior point guard and the SEC’s leading scorer Devan Downey, the Gamecocks will look to regain their early season form to make a run at an SEC title. The Gamecocks rank second in the SEC in points per game and should be able to take down the slumping Crimson Tide.

Winner: South Carolina

LSU 11-19 (2-14) vs. Tennessee 22-7 (10-5)

Let’s just face it, the Tigers have been awful this year. We thought for a while they might not get an SEC victory. Trent Johnson had a decent first year at LSU but may be on the hot seat after this abysmal year. Tennessee leads the SEC in points per game and shouldn’t have too much trouble getting past the Bayou Bengals.

Winner- Tennessee

Auburn 15-16 (6-10) vs. Florida 20-11 (9-7)

Out of all the teams on the bubble in the SEC, it appears that Florida is in the best position. With wins over Florida State, Tennessee and North Carolina State it may only take one win the the SEC tournament for them to get an at- large bid. Auburn shouldn’t pose too much of a threat and the Gators should move on to the next round.

Winner- Florida

Georgia 13-16 (4-11) Arkansas 14-17 (7-9)

Don’t expect to see this years Bulldogs pull off the same feat they did in 2008. Arkansas showed some signs of promise with wins over MSU and Ole Miss, but neither of these teams should make too much noise in the tournament.

Winner- Arkansas

Quarterfinals-

Kentucky 29-2 (14-2) vs. South Carolina

South Carolina is one of two teams that have beaten the Wildcats this year. John Calipari has proven himself to be one of the best coaches/recruiters in the nation. Don’t be surprised if the Gamecocks take this one but Wall and the Wildcats will probably be too much for South Carolina.

Winner- Kentucky

Ole Miss 21-9 (9-7) vs. Tennessee

The Rebels still have a sour taste in their mouths after a two point loss to Tennessee in Knoxville in OT. Chris Warren has been hot for the Rebs as of late and the return of Eniel Polynice from suspension should be a nice spark for the Rebels. This should be a hard fought battle and if the Rebels are shooting well from the 3- point line, they should take this one.

Winner- Ole Miss

Mississippi State 21-10 (9-7) vs. Florida

This should be one of the more interesting games of the tournament. Florida won their only meeting back in Febuary and the defending SEC tournament champs have been struggling lately. Both teams are on the bubble of the NCAA tournament and both may need this win to make it in. Jarvis Varnado will be a difference maker for the Bulldogs down low as he leads the league in both blocks and rebounds.

Winner: Mississippi State

Vanderbilt 23-7 (12-4) vs. Arkansas

Vanderbilt seems like a team that is always ready to make some noise come March. They have established themselves at the top of the SEC the past couple of years. Junior center AJ Ogilvy has played a big role this year as their big man and guard Jermaine Beal leads the team in scoring.

Winner: Vanderbilt

Semifinals-

Ole Miss vs. Kentucky

Ole Miss will probably play Kentucky a little closer than their first meeting but probably won’t have enough to beat the Wildcats. Guards Terrico White and Chris Warren will have to have an all-star performance to pull the upset and would surely love to improve their tournament stock. Wall and Cousins will be too much for the Rebels.

Winner- Kentucky

Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt

The Varnando vs. Ogilvy matchup should be a good one but Vanderbilt’s guard play will prove to be too much for State.

Winner: Vanderbilt

Championship-

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt

This game should be a classic. Kentucky will be fighting for a number one seed and Vanderbilt for a possible 2 or 3 seed. John Wall is among the best freshman in the country and is joined by fellow All- SEC freshman Eric Bledsoe. Look for Vanderbilt to make the Sweet 16 in the big dance but lose to the Wildcats.

Champion: Kentucky Wildcats

NCAA Tournament Teams (seed)

Kentucky (1)

Vanderbilt (3)

Tennessee (5)

Ole Miss (10)

Florida (11)

Mississippi State (11)

The rain is supposed to be dropping tonight on the field at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala., but hopefully so will batters as they face Auburn pitcher Cory Luckie tonight when the Tigers open their SEC play for the season against the University of Alabama (8-1) in the second annual Capital City Classic.

Luckie, who missed last season because of arm surgery for an injury he sustained, coincidentally during his last start against Alabama, is looking to come back and open the 2010 SEC season with a strong showing.

Before the injury, Luckie held the fourth-best ERA in the Tiger’s bullpen with a 4.38.  I caught up with Cory before the season during their fall game, and he is excited to be coming back.

““I have made some changes and been pitching a lot,” Luckie said. “I am really hoping to bring some new life to the rotation.”

Auburn is coming off its weekend series sweep of Miami (Ohio) in which the team collected 53 hits in three games.

They are going into tonight’s game as the top hitting team in the SEC with a .373 team batting average.  I think that deserves a “War Eagle!”

In my opinion, the offseason work and changes seem to be paying off.  At this point in the season last year the Tigers were sitting on a 5-4 record.  They are going into their SEC opener tonight sitting at 8-2.  (Again, I don’t really like to count those two losses.  A lot of factors played into the team having off nights.)

Right now,  three Auburn hitters (Brian Fletcher – .467, Hunter Morris – .423 and Tony Caldwell – .415) rank in the top 12 in the league in individual hitting. We are the only team in the league that can make that claim.  I think that deserves a “War Eagle!” number two.

However, Auburn will have its work cut out for them going into tonight’s game.  This is probably one of the first teams they are facing this season that is on the same skill level as they are.

University of Alabama freshman pitcher, Taylor Wolfe, is starting on the mound.  He struck out a career-high seven batters in the win on March 3 against No. 25 Georgia. It was his pitching that helped Alabama get a win to put them into that 25 spot on the national rankings.  I am happy and all for them, but I am ready to see them lose that ranking.

Auburn is hitting great.  Nobody can look at the numbers and argue with that.  Auburn is pitching great.  Cole Nelson and the starters have proven that, and the closing and relief staff have solidified it.

However, Alabama is a good team and deserves respect. Alabama is said to have, “one of the best middle infields in college baseball.”

Those fifth and sixth innings where our starting pitcher gets tired and our defense seems to get a little lazy, as seen this past weekend, is not going to cut it when we are up against these SEC teams, eight of which, as of yesterday, are in the NCAA top 30.

Auburn won the Capital City Classic last year 8-7 in a great game.  I am anxious to see them do it again, and put themselves in a good position to join the other ranked SEC teams.

Pregame festivities are starting.  The rain is pouring.  It’s time for some sloppy baseball.  I’ll be back later with a post game report.

War Eagle!

Even though it is only March, there is already some buzz around college football about head coaches at some prestigious programs who could be coaching for their jobs next fall.  College FootBlog takes a look at five coaches that will have a lot of eyes on them during the 2010 season.

Mark Richt needs to compete for an SEC title if he wants to keep the heat off in 2010 (google images)

5.  Mark Richt/Georgia

Unfortunately for Richt, the SEC, more than any other BCS conference, is a “what have you done for me lately?” league.  Despite a stellar record of 90-27, since taking over for the Bulldogs, to fans and boosters in Athens, Richt still has not been able to win the ‘big one,” and a repeat performance of last season’s 4-4 conference record could send him job hunting next January.  Of all the coaches on this list, Richt makes the least sense, but ask Ohio State’s John Cooper if a great overall record is enough to keep a job at a bigtime college football program.

4.  Steve Spurrier/South Carolina

“The Old Ball Coach” has made a very small splash since returning to the SEC five years ago.  Long gone are the days of his “fun ‘n gun” offenses he had when he led the Florida Gators to their first National Championship.  The Gamecocks expected big things from Spurrier, and although his overall record since taking the helm in Columbia, his SEC record is a very unimpressive 18-22 in his five-year tenure.  He could be one more .500 season away from a forced retirement.

3.  Dan Hawkins/Colorado 

Hawkins has faced criticism since his arrival at Boulder, and the rumblings from boosters and fans only intensified when he named his son, Cody as the starter at quarterback for the Buffs.  Many thought last season would be his last at CU after his team produced a dismal record of 3-9.  In Hawkins’ time there, he has managed a 16-33 record and a 10-22 record against Big 12 opponents.

2.  Ron Zook/Illinois

Like Hawkins, many were surprised that Zook still had a job this January.   Zook brought his excellent recruiting skills with him to Champaign, but other than his first third full season there, his Illini teams have never finished better than 8th in the Big Ten.  Take away his lone winning season in 2007, and Zook’s record is an absolute train wreck at 12-35.  A slow start in 2010, and Zook could easily be replaced during the season this fall.

In two seasons in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez has just eight total wins (google images)

1.  Rich Rodriguez/Michigan

After a good start in 2009 with a 4-0 record, including a thriller against rival Notre Dame, Rodriguez’ squad managed just one more win the rest of the season.  The Wolverines lost back to back games by 25 points versus Penn State and Illinois, and many folks in Ann Arbor were calling for his head before Thanksgiving.  Rodriguez has fallen victim to the same stubborn attitude that Bill Callahan brought to Nebraska. 

In Callahan’s case, he immediately instituted a West Coast offense with old school, smash-mouth option-style personnel.  Rodriguez, on the other hand, immediately forced his spread option offense on a group of athletes who had come to Michigan because of Lloyd Carr’s pro-style attack.  Callahan wore his welcome very quickly in Omaha.  Rodriguez could easily follow suit. 

Let the Les Miles rumors begin!

   Being on the bubble for the NCAA tournament puts a lot of pressure on teams around the country. Coming down the stretch, almost every game is a must win. The Ole Miss Rebels (21-9, 9-7 SEC) have been pretty good under pressure as of late as they topped the Arkansas Razorbacks (14-17, 7-9 SEC) yesterday in their season finale in Fayetteville, 68-66.

   With the suspension of junior guard Eniel Polynice, Chris Warren took over as he went for 31 points, including a clutch 3-pointer to give Ole Miss it’s first lead of the day, with under a minute remaining. An impressive defensive effort by the Rebels led to the Razorbacks only scoring four points in the final 8:17. The win clinched a share of the SEC Western Division title with in state rivals Mississippi State, and clinched a first round bye in the SEC tournament.

   The Rebels boast an RPI of 58 with key wins over possible number one seed Kansas State and UTEP. The Rebs ride a four game winning streak into the SEC tournament, posting wins over Auburn, Alabama, LSU and Arkansas. The Rebels join Mississippi State (21-10 9-7 SEC) and Florida (20-10 9-6 SEC) as the teams fighting for a spot in the tournament. Ole Miss appears to have the strongest win (Kansas State) but Florida has the chance to match that in a contest at Kentucky to wrap up their season.

   While a lot rides on the results of the SEC tournament for these teams, they may also need some help. In order for bubble teams like this to get in, teams such as Butler and UTEP need to win their conference tournaments. These teams are a lock for the Big Dance so if they were to lose their conference tournament, that could cause a potential second bid to come out of their conference.

   The Rebels could surely secure a trip to the Big Dance with a win over either LSU or Tennessee in the SEC quarter finals in Nashville on Friday. So in another must win game, we will see the Rebs can keep calm under the pressure.

—Starkville, Miss. (THE HUMP)—
Oh so close. Oh, how the season almost changed with that one game against Kentucky.

And then the inevitable happens: they blow a 7-point lead in the last three minutes and lose in OT.

It feels like we’re turning into the Cubs. Like cheering is a pointless way of having fun until you realize by the end of the game that you’re going to have your heart taken from you.

As Jim Ellis said, yeah maybe the refs blew a lot of calls BUT the Dawgs still have to find a way to score on those last possessions. Instead they played conservative, milking the clock all the way down and taking the worst of shots.

Next, the Dawgs traveled to Baton Rouge to play (screw around, not really compete) against the SEC’s worst: LSU. As I’ve stated previously, LSU is beyond horrible (0-12 in SEC). Yet somehow, we need a miraculous 3-point basket from Phil Turner to steal the game in the end.

But the game does give me perspective. As soon as I consider giving up the Dawgs, I have to examine what it must be like to be an LSU fan. Your team sucks terribly, sometimes playing with three walkons at a time. And then you play Miss. State and—WAIT WHAT?!–maybe you can pull this one out? You watch your team play hard all game long. Finally in the closing minute, you take a two-point lead on an exhilarating possession and 3-point basket.

And then that feisty guard who loves to take ill-advised NBA-deep threes finally hits one with 7 seconds to go. The little spazz only makes 29% of those.

Still time for a good shot, though. Or get fouled. But-what? WHAT?! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!—Why the hell did he just take a half-court shot with four seconds left!?

Again, it could be worse.

But the moral of the story is: The Dawgs play to the level of their competition.

This frustrates me so much, learning that the team has literally not improved one bit from last year.

On a separate note, give credit to LSU fans, Cubs fans and Vandy fans for not tossing debris on to the court. Yes, I am indirectly referring to the fact that MSU fans threw a few bottles right before the Kentucky game ended, venting their frustrations at the officials.

Fact: The officials sucked, likely costing the Bulldogs the game.
Fact: State should have scored just once in the last three minutes.
Opinion: Someone deserves to be hit with a bottle for failing to do one of the two above.

All kidding aside, it is embarrassing to see your own fans throwing trash in the Hump. I know how it feels, I was there, too, screaming my voice off and losing it for the next four days.

What’s worse is how the world seemed to take notice. ESPN made it look like all the fans were trashing the whole gym. PTI even had an opinion on it. There’s a group on facebook that gained thousand of fans in 1 day called: “Mississippi State fans = worst fans in the country”.

This is bogus. Just because a few fans decide to hurl a few bottles on to the court does not mean we’re all violent people ready to trash our beloved home coliseum. You have to piss us off really bad and the refs did just that. And don’t even get me started on Kentucky’s lack of class with Calipari and Cousins.

I’m out like MSU’s hopes of the NCAA tournament…

Positives: We didn’t lose to LSU!…Jarvis Varnado now just 9 blocks away from record…We didn’t accidentally murder any refs with bottles.

Negatives: We played like shite versus the worst team in the SEC…the whole world seems to hate our fans now…NIT hopes Read the full story