‘No lead is too secure.’ Season’s many comebacks signal drama ahead in SEC tourney.
Kentucky’s two games last week capped a Southeastern Conference regular season that led Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes to a conclusion that should be hard to refute.
“No lead is too secure,” Barnes said on an SEC teleconference Monday.
To review: Kentucky led Tennessee by 17 points with barely 16 minutes remaining last Tuesday. Tennessee rallied to win 81-73.
Saturday saw a strikingly similar reversal of fortune. Kentucky trailed by 18 points at Florida with barely 11 minutes remaining. Kentucky rallied to win 71-70.
After the Florida game, UK Coach John Calipari said he couldn’t explain this season of comebacks.
These games fit a pattern that suggests the SEC Tournament, which begins Wednesday, should provide plenty of additional basketball drama. In the regular season, 14 games saw league teams either erase deficits of 15 points or more to win or vice versa.
And that doesn’t count:
▪ LSU leading South Carolina by 19 with 5:11 remaining, then holding on to win 86-80.
▪ LSU trailing Alabama by 18 with 14:08 left in the second half. LSU closed to within 78-77 before Alabama won 88-82.
▪ Vanderbilt leading Davidson by 20 with 13:09 left. Then, the Commodores did not make another basket the rest of the game. Vandy made enough free throws to win 76-71.
▪ Vanderbilt leading SMU 77-71 with 28 seconds left. SMU won in overtime, 92-81.
“A 15-point lead used to be a big deal,” Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland said. “It’s no longer that big a deal (or) insurmountable in any way.”
On the plus side, he added, “it does make for an exciting game for fans and for television.”
In terms of no lead being safe, the come-from-ahead loss to Kentucky was nothing new for Florida. The Gators opened league play on Jan. 4 by coming back from 21 points down to beat Alabama 104-98 in double-overtime. It was the largest comeback in Florida basketball history.
This milestone lasted for exactly two months. On March 4, Florida trailed by 22 at Georgia before rallying to win 81-75.
By that standard, Florida’s first game against Georgia was a relative possession-by-possession struggle. The Gators trailed by only 15 points before winning 81-75.
When asked about these wild swings, Florida Coach Mike White joked (?), “I’m looking for a night when I can get some really good sleep. … If you ask me that question, now it’s going to be hard again tonight to sleep.”
White attributed these dramatic ebbs and flows to Florida’s relative youth and inexperience. Of the nine players averaging the most minutes in league play, eight are either freshmen or sophomores.
The exception is graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear, who played less than two minutes in the second half against Kentucky because of a wrist injury.
“When things are going well for our team, we’re pretty good,” White said. “We don’t necessarily handle … adversity as a championship-level team should.
“Kentucky won the (SEC) championship. They were down 18. They responded like champions. They got big stops when they needed them down the stretch. They got great shots. With us, we’ve been close. But, emotions run too high and too low at times with this team.”
Alabama Coach Nate Oats had reason to say something similar. Earlier this season, the Tide reduced a 22-point deficit to five before losing to Rhode Island. And Alabama led Tennessee by 15 on Feb. 4 before losing 69-68. Oats spoke of wanting to see “a maturity” from his players.
“I think our guys, when the offense is clicking, they don’t think it’s as important to play defense,” the Alabama coach said. “When your defense isn’t played as hard as it needs to be on every possession, you end up giving up runs and giving up leads.”
LSU Coach Will Wade, whose team lost to Utah State after leading by 19 in the second half and saw a 19-point lead with 5:11 left at South Carolina devolve into a nervous 86-80 victory, suggested the team that trails has an advantage.
“I always liken it to scout-team players,” he said. “Those guys shoot the cover off the ball (in practice). Everybody always says we ought to put those guys in a game.
“Well, there’s no pressure when they’re on the scout team. There’s no repercussion if things don’t go well. On the miss, there’s no defensive transition assignment. It’s a lot different in the game when there are five other things that go along with making a shot.
“A lot of times when you’re down, you’re kind of like that scout-team player. Fire it up there and whatever happens happens. That gives you a better chance of making it.”
SEC Tournament
When: Wednesday through Sunday
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Kentucky’s first game: 1 p.m. EDT Friday vs. Tennessee or Alabama (ESPN)
