If there’s one takeaway from the Southeastern Conference tournament, it’s not to mess with a team with a chip on its shoulder.
That’s what happened with tournament champion Ole Miss (26-8, 14-7 SEC), which came in riding a two-game winning streak after losing at perennial SEC bottom-dweller and in-state rival Mississippi State.
**Rebels upset Missouri**
When conference tournament play began on Wednesday the Rebels were still considered a “bubble” team at best, but come Friday, they were more than ready for what Missouri (23-10, 11-7 SEC) threw at them. From senior center Alex Oriakhi’s dominant performance inside, with 16 points on perfect shooting and nine rebounds, to junior guard Phil Pressey’s 14 points and seven assists, the Rebels weathered the offensive storm.
Junior guard Marshall Henderson countered with 27 points of his own and freshman guard Derrick Millinghaus, in for the concussed Jarvis Summers, added 11 points of his own, including a three to pull Ole Miss even with Missouri with 29.2 seconds to play and the game-winning floater with 1.1 seconds to play.
**Vandy’s Road**
Vanderbilt handled 7-seed Arkansas on Thursday, and then pulled the tournament’s biggest upset with a 64-48 thumping of Kentucky in front of Big Blue Nation.
To many, this upset was no surprise.
Commodores coach Kevin Stallings’ team is built year after year to make these kinds of tournament runs, both in conference and national play.
Sophomore center Josh Henderson exchanged blows with UK’s Willie Cauley-Stein on the post and junior forward Rod Odom badgered Alex Poythress on the perimeter and ran him around a thousand screens. Meanwhile Kedren Johnson, an all-tournament team snub, had Vanderbilt’s offense humming and sharing the ball. Eight Vandy players scored in the game and four were in double figures.
The ‘Dores played matchups perfectly and shot 50 percent from the field including 41.7 percent from three, forcing the Wildcats out of their dribble-drive offense and into a jump-shot first mentality.
**Cinderella faceoff**
The Rebels turned the tables on 10th-seeded Vanderbilt, out-shooting the Commodores in their hometown of Nashville, and ending a Cinderella run in the process.
Ole Miss truly had what coach Andy Kennedy called a “complete team effort.” The sharpshooter Henderson scored 20 points in all three games and forwards Reginald Buckner and Murphy Holloway kept the painted area free of any unwanted guests.
That combination, along with Henderson’s highlight reel was too much for Missouri on Friday. Saturday, the Rebels were fresh enough to run with Vanderbilt and keep the Commodores from getting quality looks early in the shot clock, forcing VU to spend more energy on offense (as if chasing Henderson isn’t exhausting already) and basically tiring the tournament hosts out.
**Stunning the Gators**
Sunday, though, exemplifies the reason you watch basketball in March when, really, you should be breaking in your baseball glove.
When Florida’s Will Yeguete dove seven feet across the floor, only to land on top of Henderson, the only thought was to win the ball from the Rebel guard even if it meant out of his cold, dead hands. There was no thought of time or score or floor burns or another game to play.
No, that ball, to Yeguete, was life and death. So finally the Gator forward pried the rock from an overwhelmed Henderson and found Scottie Wilbekin for a three that cut Mississippi’s lead to two.
But instead of staggering to his feet, Henderson was already down court, chasing after Holloway who was running in transition. Florida’s Patrick Young altered Holloway’s layup enough for it to rim out, but Henderson was there for the follow, flinging his wiry frame into all 6 feet, 9 inches and 250 pounds of Young, bouncing the put-back off the glass from mid-air and tumbling down on top of the Gator forward, then rolling into the unpadded section of the Bridgestone Arena’s south goal.
That’s why you worship March basketball — to see gladiators in tank tops maul each other to throw an orb in a basket. It’s blood sport. It’s sudden death. We love it, too.