Live chat coming Wednesday!

Sorry for the late notice on this, but we're going to try something new at the Ledger-Enquirer (at least for me) and have a live chat Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. EDT (noon central) to discuss Auburn athletics.

This is just a guess, but I think most of it will focus on football.

Here's a link to the chat or if you'd like to submit questions ahead of time.

(UPDATE: I'm not sure how the submitting questions function works. Apparently, you have to do it once the chat starts. Do not be dissuaded. Please arrive at 1 p.m. EDT and fire away with all the questions you've got.)

I encourage any and all to show up.

Spring practice: Tuesday's notes and quotes

The threat of inclement weather postponed Tuesday's practice to Wednesday evening, but we still got to speak with players beforehand.

Here are the highlights:

• Quarterback Kodi Burns is learning his third offense in as many years. Here's what he had to say about it: "It does kind of get confusing. You kind of revert to your old habits a little bit, not thinking right, and that's what coach (Gus) Malzahn said that he wants to get all the old stuff out of us if he can, if there's any left, he just wants to program us to run his offense, and then after he programs us to do that, then we can be ourselves and I can do what I do best to run the offense."

• We got some more insight about the numbers associated with the offensive numbers in Malzahn's system. Receiver Quindarius Carr was nice enough to inform us the numbers 9 and 2 are basically the X and Z receivers (outside receivers). The 5 is the slot receiver (formerly the Y). The 3 is an H-back position (think Mario Fannin) and the 4 is as close to a regular running back as there is (think Ben Tate).

• I wrote an Eltoro Freeman story for tomorrow's paper, but here's a sneak peek: Stevens likened him to Tray Blackmon, which is a good thing considering he was praising The Bull's aggressiveness and willingness to smack someone. Bynes likes the sophomore's enthusiasm, even if he has to tell him to slow down on occasion. "He's fired up every day," Bynes said. "He said, 'That's how I am.' I say, 'I ain't gonna knock your hustle down.' Anyway you got to have a good day at practice, you do it. No matter if you've got to do backflips out here or something. Anyway for him to have a good day at practice, I'm all in for it."

• Linebacker Craig Stevens has earned some early distinction this spring, being recognized by defensive coordinator Ted Roof on a couple of occasions. "I’ve just been going out trying to work hard every day – doing drills full speed, try not to take a play off and just get better every day," Stevens said. "I guess he just noticed that."

• Stevens said he can tell Roof is a linebackers guy. "Oh yeah," Stevens said. "When he gets out there and is teaching us those drills, it’s like he forgot he was coaching out there. He tries to go full speed out there – he’s out there jamming us and stuff. He’s about to hurt us."

• Bynes had similar thoughts: "Look at him. He looks like a linebacker. He's got the big legs, big upper body. From working with him, he's been a very very good coach and he's doing the things possible to get us better on defense as linebackers. He wants us more physical and get us instead of just being there and being a guy getting blocked. It's about us making an impression on the offense that 'Yeah, we're going to come at you hard and come at you fast and come at you physical on every play.'"

• Some sad news to report: Paul Davis, who was an assistant coach at Auburn from 1967-80 and 1987-89, died at the age of 87 on Tuesday. Davis was Shug Jordan’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach from 1967-75. He later served on the staffs of Doug Barfield and Pat Dye. In 17 years with Auburn, Davis coached seven All-Americans and participated in nine bowl games.

• Converted tight end Vance Smith is enjoying life on the offensive line, working at both tackle positions to give Auburn some much-needed depth. Smith decided to make the switch in the offseason (he says it was his choice). After playing last year at 240 pounds, he's up to 260 right now, with a goal of gaining two pounds a week to be at 290 by the end of fall camp. Happy eating, Vance!

• One offensive line member who is not gaining weight is Mike "Big Snacks" Berry, the heaviest of the linemen at 313 pounds. Berry says he's "just staying" at his current weight, trying to keep in that 310-to-315-pound range.

• Berry is working at left guard and center as a backup to Ryan Pugh. Byron Isom has been working at right guard.

• Berry said offensive line coach Jeff Grimes has a calmer approach to instructing his linemen than former coach Hugh Nall, a longtime Tommy Tuberville assistant who is now the CEO of a trucking business in Albany, Ga. "He’s a lot more supportive," Berry said of Grimes. "Nall was going to get after you. That’s just the type of guy he was. You gotta love that. Grimes, I would say, is more balanced. He’s a pretty easy-going guy. He’s going to coach you hard but he knows how far to go." Has Berry seen Grimes chew anyone out? "Not for real," he said. "Not the Nall way. Having Hugh Nall for three years, I’ve not seen him do that."

Bonner named second-team All-American

Auburn’s DeWanna Bonner was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Bonner, who was previously named to ESPN.com’s first team, helped the Tigers to a 30-4 record and their first SEC regular season title since 1989, averaging 21.1 points per game to earn SEC Player of the Year honors.

The senior broke the school’s all-time scoring record during the SEC tournament, finishing her career with 2,162 points.

Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, Connecticut’s Maya Moore, Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry, Maryland’s Kristi Toliver and Connecticut’s Renee Montgomery made the first team.

Stanford’s Jayne Appel, Maryland’s Marissa Coleman, Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender and Connecticut’s Tina Charles joined Bonner on the second team.

Reports: VCU to hire Florida assistant

So much for any Jeff Lebo-to-Virginia Commonwealth University talk. The Rams hired Florida assistant Shaka Smart to be their new head coach, according to multiple reports.

Lebo's name came up shortly after Anthony Grant left VCU to become the head coach at Alabama. VCU athletic director Norwood Teague, a North Carolina alum, put Lebo's name on a list of four candidates he was considering for the job.

VCU never made contact with Auburn, athletic director Jay Jacobs said Sunday.

New video, plus some shameless promotion

Here's some video of interviews done Sunday. It's got defensive coordinator Ted Roof, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, linebacker Eltoro Freeman (check out the guns!), guard Byron Isom and running backs Onterio McCalebb and Ben Tate.

Plus, here's a link to my newspaper story today about the offensive line. A lot of stuff I've covered here on the blog, but now it's in story form.

Enjoy.

Spring practice: Sunday's notes and quotes

Ben Tate might not be the fastest running back on the Auburn roster, an honor that goes to speedy Hargrave Military Academy transfer Onterio McCalebb, but he’s tired of being pigeonholed as the team’s power back.

“Some people always tell me when I run, I never look fast,” Tate said. “I’m like, ‘Really? Well race me.’”

The 5-foot-11, 217-pound Tate ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash when the team was timed before Auburn’s pro day. That’s just as fast as tailback Mario Fannin, who is largely considered by outsiders to be the speedier of the two.

Tate, who puts himself among the fastest players on the team along with defensive backs Walt McFadden, Neiko Thorpe and Harry Adams, thinks it’s his longer stride that makes him look slow.

“Most of the guys on our team think I’m fast,” Tate said. “But everybody else, they be like, ‘I don’t know.’”

Tate ran for 664 rushing yards last season, a disappointing dropoff after he put up 903 yards and eight touchdowns in 2007. So far, he’s drawn strong praise. Running backs coach Curtis Luper thinks he can be a 1,000-yard back. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn likes what he’s seen in the early going.

“He has that physical edge,” Malzahn said, “that mentality that we’re looking for.”

While Tate is quick to point out his speed, he still won’t go up in any direct competition against McCalebb, who was clocked at 4.3 seconds in the 40.

Some other quotes and notes ...

• Malzahn said the team should have the majority of its base offense installed by the end of next week.

• Malzahn, on the offense so far: "We’ve thrown a lot at them. We’re not only throwing a lot at them, we’re throwing a pace at them in that they have to recover. It usually takes a couple of weeks where they can actually recover, and mentally being able to recover for the next play. We’re putting a lot of stress on them. We’re straining them right now. We’ll keep after them."

• Malzahn singled out wide receiver Tim Hawthorne having made a couple of good catches Sunday.

• Tate, on putting last season behind him: "January passed and I was like, 'It's over with. I've got to work harder than I did before.'"

• Fannin was wearing a protective walking boot Sunday. He turned an ankle in practice Saturday and hopes to be back on the field later this week.

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof singled out junior outside linebacker Craig Stevens for the second straight day. “Funny how it keeps happening, huh?” Roof said. “He’s very coachable. He’s a salty veteran.”

• Add guard Byron Isom to the bulked-up offensive lineman club. The junior is up to 300 pounds, a 15-pound increase from last year. He’d like to be at 305 for the season.

• We got to talk to junior college transfer Eltoro Freeman for the first time today. Very entertaining interview. He talked to us about the non-contact drills, which, if you saw the size of Freeman's biceps, you'd understand why he doesn't like them. "Those backs, they try to shake you and keep running," he said. "When they're supposed to be down, they keep running like they scored a 100-yard touchdown or whatever. But then when you get in full pads, you get a chance to stop that."

• I plan to do a feature on Da Bull at some point, but he said he never wavered on Auburn, even during its down period last year. "When I signed with Auburn University in 2007, I didn't sign with no coaches. (Tommy) Tuberville wasn't on my scholarship, coach (James) Willis wasn't on my scholarship. Auburn University was on my scholarship. So when I didn't qualify, Auburn, they didn't drop me, they still kept in contact, they still kept on encouraging me. When Auburn had a down season, I sat back and thought about that, they were with me when I was down, so I decided to stick with them when they were down. Plus, it's a great place. I wouldn't want to be nowhere else."

• Another good tidbit on Freeman: he wears No. 21 to honor his his football-playing first cousin, Onterio Harrell, a high school teammate of Terrell Owens. Harrell died of cancer at age 24. "Everywhere I go I've been having it," Freeman said. "So that's been a blessing for me."

• Lots of great stuff from McCalebb, which I'm going to turn into a feature for Wednesday's paper. Short version: this kid has persevered through a pretty tough upbringing in Fort Meade, Fla., to get to where he's at, going through a military prep school in Virginia before getting to Auburn. Very impressive. I hope the story can do it justice.

Baseball: Auburn 11, Vanderbilt 10

AUBURN, Ala. — Banished to the locker room an inning earlier following his ejection, John Pawlowski sat alone as his team’s bullpen struggled to hold a five-run ninth-inning lead.

Was he listening?

“I was hoping,” the first-year Auburn coach said. “I was hoping to hear the crowd cheering.”

He finally did when reliever Austin Hubbard induced a ground out to end Vanderbilt’s furious rally in Auburn’s wild 11-10 victory at Plainsman Park on Sunday.

Aided by a hitter’s friendly wind that was blowing out to all fields, the Tigers (18-9, 4-5 SEC) smacked five home runs to take the rubber match of a three-game series, bouncing back from a sweep against Arkansas last weekend.

“We didn’t play real well (last weekend), but this league is about getting up off the mat,” Pawlowski said. “You’re going to get knocked down and you’ve get to get back up and you’ve got to get back up and fight.”

Quick thoughts ...

• Trent Mummey, Kevin Patterson, Brian Fletcher, Justin Hargett and Hunter Morris all went deep, Auburn’s third game this season with at least five home runs.

• The Tigers have already matched last year’s home run total with 58. With 29 games left on the schedule, they are 29 shy of the school record.

• Starter Taylor Thompson (2-1) gave Auburn exactly what it needed in a third starter. The right-hander went five innings in his first conference start, giving up four runs on six hits. The junior struck out four and left the game with a 7-2 lead.

• Nice argument by Pawlowski on a weird play in the eighth. Vandy failed on a squeeze play and two runners got caught up on third. Catcher Tony Caldwell tagged one and then other once he strolled of the bag for an apparent double play. The umps convened and said that only one of them was out. Pawlowski went nuts, arguing the play for several minutes. He took off his hat, waved it frantically and slammed it to the ground after third base umpire Kevin Sanders finally ejected him. Honestly, I think the umps got the call right, but Pawlowski had been festering since a bad call from Saturday and was probably looking to get tossed.

• Oh, that Auburn bullpen. Hubbard gave up four runs in the ninth to make it a one-run game before finally shutting the door. When the wind blows out at Plainsman Park, no lead is safe.

• Auburn plays next at South Alabama on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Men's swimming and diving claims national title

The Tigers men's swimming and diving team won its eighth national championship in College Station, Texas, late last night. Auburn finished with 526 points to Texas' 487. The Tigers trailed by six points heading into the final day but rallied for the win.

That's Auburn's sixth national title in the last seven years. The Tigers also have championships in 1997, '99 and from 2003-07.

The school's eight national titles are tied for fifth all time, behind Michigan (11), Ohio State (11), Southern California (9), Texas (9) and Stanford (9).

Coach Richard Quick, who was forced to take a leave from the team midseason after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, now has 13 national titles in his illustrious career, more than any other coach in NCAA swimming and diving history. He is the first coach to win national titles at three different schools, having won seven at Stanford and five at Texas. Quick was not in College Station, so the Tigers were led by assistant Brett Hawke.

Individually, Kohlton Norys and Matt Targett won four NCAA titles each. Norys took the team's lone individual title, winning the 100 backstroke. The Tigers won three relay titles.

Auburn set three U.S. Open, three NCAA and 17 school records at the meet.

New football video: Saturday edition

Hey all, I've got another new video following Saturday's practice.

This one's got Gene Chizik (briefly, because my batteries ran out), offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, defensive coordinator Ted Roof, wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis and center Ryan Pugh.

Enjoy. More blog action tomorrow after practice, so check back.

Baseball: Auburn 5, Vanderbilt 3

After being swept by Arkansas last weekend, the Auburn baseball team was desperate for a chance simply to win a series.

The Tigers’ 5-3 win against Vanderbilt at Plainsman Park on Saturday guarantees they’ll get that opportunity today.

Brian Fletcher and Ben Jones homered, Jon Luke Jacobs pitched into the seventh and the bullpen actually held a lead as Auburn (17-9, 3-5 SEC) ended a four-game losing streak in the conference.

“We didn’t play very well (Friday) night and I told our guys it’s important today to get back even, to get back to square one,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said, “which means we have to go out and play better baseball and execute.”

Some notes and thoughts ...

• Strong outing by Jacobs, who went 6 2/3, giving up three runs on eights hits. He struck out six to pick up his third win of the season. He still doesn't have a loss. “I thought he went out there and established the zone early in the game and did a great job for us,” Pawlowski said. “I thought that was the difference today.”

• Auburn's bats showed up, a day after a five-hit power outage in a 12-3 loss Friday night. Fletcher and Jones both hit homers. Jones' in the sixth proved to be the difference. “I was looking fastball and he gave me a changeup, and I just kind of happened to run into it,” he said.

• Nice piece of hitting by Hunter Morris early in the third inning. Vanderbilt used a shift against the lefty but couldn't completely move the entire infield to the right side because there was a runner on second who would have easily stolen third if the third baseman wasn't in his usual spot. With two strikes, Morris grounded a ball where the third baseman would have been in a usual shift, getting it to the outfield for an RBI single.

• The bullpen looked like it might have a repeat performance after Bradley Hendrix gave up an RBI single on the second pitch he threw in the seventh to get Vanderbilt within 5-3. But Hendrix buckled down, striking out three in his two innings and pitching around trouble. He couldn't quite finish it, but Austin Hubbard struck out Curt Casali, the only batter he faced, to strand two runners in the ninth and pick up his fourth save.

• Rubber match today at 2 p.m. EDT. Vanderbilt (17-9, 3-5 SEC) will pitch right-hander Nick Christiani (3-0, 4.78 ERA). Auburn doesn't know yet, although it will probably be Dexter Price (3-0, 4.68), Taylor Thompson (1-1, 8.38 ERA) or Paul Burnside (0-2, 6.53).

Spring practice: Saturday's notes and quotes

We were shut out from watching Saturday's practice, and thank goodness, since the weather didn't look so pleasant out there and I had no intention of standing in the rain.

We found out afterward that Auburn was in pads for the first time and did some physical drills, although not nearly physical enough if you asked the coaches.

“I thought at times, we showed signs of being physical, but we certainly didn’t make a habit of it today, which was obviously what we have to get back to,” head coach Gene Chizik said.

The Tigers did some 11-on-11 work and made a game of it. If the offense got four yards or more, it won the play. If the defense held the offense to three yards or less, it won the play. (I guess there was a tie if it was 3 1/2 yards). The defense apparently ruled the day.

“We actually did some good things and got past the chains, then we kind of lost the momentum,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "When you’re rotating that many people, there’s going to be some bad. The good thing from a coach’s standpoint is we get to evaluate our guys. We get to see where they’re at. When you’re in evaluation stages, you’ve got to be patient. I’m not very patient, but I’ve got to be.”

On to some notes and quotes ...

• Kodi Burns and Neil Caudle worked with the ones at quarterback Saturday. Barrett Trotter worked with the twos. Chris Todd continued to watch because of his shoulder. The coaches say it's a wide-open race, but it appears there are at least two early frontrunners.

• Malzahn liked going up against a defense for the first time. "It's great when you're out there in helmets to evaluate, but there's nothing like when those live bullets are coming at you and the speed," he said. "That's when you see some separation sometimes. I'm not saying anything specific, but now we can start really evaluating a little more than we can in just helmets."

• Despite the fact that they are installing a new offense, the coaches aren't very forgiving for mistakes, which have been plentiful this spring. "We’re not where we should be yet," Caudle said. "Coach Malzahn said we made a lot of mistakes today. We’ve got to get that better and get in the film room and get in the playbooks. We’ve got to be perfect – especially in 7-on-7s when there’s no line rush or anything. We’ve got to make perfect throws."

• Burns said running back Ben Tate had a good day in the 11-on-11. A few days back, running backs coach Curtis Luper said Tate will be a 1,000-yard back.

• Hargrave Military Academy transfer Onterio McCalebb has impressed coaches with his speed. Sounds like he and Mario Fannin will be the Tigers' Swiss Army knives next year, doing a bit of everything. "We're moving him around," Chizik said. "He's such a skillful guy in the open field right now, he's a tailback some, he's a wideout some, he's a reverse guy some. He's going to wear a lot of different hats."

• Spoke to Philip Pierre-Louis for the first time this spring and wideout said he's feeling as good as he's felt after missing last year because of an ACL tear. He's still limited in practice, wearing an orange jersey, meaning he's not allowed to take any contact. He's wearing a brace on his right knee but said he isn't restricted by it. "Sometimes I forget I'm even wearing the brace," he said.

• Malzahn doesn't seem put off by Pierre-Louis' size (5-8, 157): "A lot of people say little guys can't be receivers, but I always look at it, 'What's their range?' I've seen some little guys in the past that had great range and they played like a big receiver. He's been a little banged up, so it's really hard to evaluate completely. He's got some quickness and some miss-ability."

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said linebackers Josh Bynes, Spencer Pybus and Craig Stevens are working with the first team. Eltoro Freeman, Wade Christopher and Da’Shaun Barnes are with the second group.

• Some guys Roof was impressed with early: Stevens, defensive tackle Mike Blanc and safeties Zac Etheridge and Mike McNeil.

• Left tackle Lee Ziemba isn’t the only offensive lineman who has packed on the pounds. Center Ryan Pugh is up to 290 pounds after playing last year at 270. “Carrying it is a lot more heavy," he said. "Using it helps out a lot because the guy across from you is going to be 300-plus everywhere you go. You'll catch a guy that's a little smaller but he's going to be pretty quick. But putting that weight on definitely helps as far as being able to get leverage, especially because I'm short already so I need a little more weight, put a little more lead in my pencil, but as far as putting on weight, I think it's helped us across the board."

Report: VCU AD has Lebo on list of candidates

Virginia Commonwealth athletic director Norwood Teague has Auburn basketball coach Jeff Lebo on his short list of candidates to replace Anthony Grant, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Grant was hired to be Alabama's head coach yesterday, agreeing to a contract that will pay him around $2 million a season.

So what to make of all this? Well, it's Saturday morning, and the athletic complex is generally vacant this time of the week, so any kind of comment regarding the situation might be tough to get today.

These questions have to be asked:

Q: What's the connection?
A: Teague is a 1988 North Carolina graduate who later worked in the athletic department for some time. Lebo, as you may have heard a time or two, starred at North Carolina from 1986-89.

Q: Who else is on the list?
A: Glad you asked. Here's it is:

• VCU assistant Tony Pujol (0 years head coaching experience)
• Florida assistant Shaka Smart (0 years head coaching experience)
• Texas assistant Russell Springmann (0 years head coaching experience)
• Lebo (11 years head coaching experience, 80-76 record in five years at Auburn)

Q: Huh?
A: Exactly. One of these things is not like the other. Lebo doesn't fit the profile of coaches VCU has gone after in the past (Grant, Jeff Capel), up-and-coming assistants who are going to shine for a couple years and move on to something bigger.

I've got to think this is just an old friend helping Lebo leverage a better contract. That's how the game is played. Remember, Lebo's only making $785,00 a year. That doesn't look so hot in the wake of Grant's $2 million a year windfall. Otherwise, this doesn't make much sense. Auburn is one year away from moving into a plush, new arena. VCU, while a good mid-major, doesn't have nearly the facilities Auburn will in a year. Plus, Lebo would be moving from the SEC to the Colonial Athletic Association. Not a step up.

There's also the matter of the buyout on Lebo's contract, which goes through 2013. It would cost $1.5 million for him to get out of it. That's a lot of cash for a school like VCU to pony up, considering it was only paying Grant $700,000 a year.

I can't imagine this goes anywhere, but we'll stay on top of it. The VCU AD said he wants someone in place by Thursday, so if anything happens, it will be quick.

Baseball: Vanderbilt 12, Auburn 3

AUBURN, Ala. — Ahead by three and with ace Grant Dayton on the mound, Auburn couldn’t have asked for a much better opportunity to snap a three-game SEC slide Friday.

Four catastrophic innings later and the Tigers’ early surge was nothing but a footnote in another ugly loss.

Dayton gave up four sixth-inning runs and the bullpen imploded as Vanderbilt battered Auburn pitchers for 22 hits in a 12-3 victory at Plainsman Park. It was the most hits the Tigers allowed all season.

“I’m disappointed by the way we lost,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said.

That’s four straight home conference losses for the Tigers (16-9, 2-5 SEC), who were swept by Arkansas last weekend.

“We have to learn how to play baseball better,” Pawlowski said. “Right now, we are just not playing good baseball and doing little things.”

Some notes and thoughts ...

• Not a bad outing for Dayton (2-3), who threw five scoreless innings before a mess of a sixth. He lost his second straight decision for the first time in his career, giving up four runs on 10 hits in six innings. He struck out four.

• While it's odd to look at one play in a nine-run loss, Auburn didn't help Dayton out in the sixth defensively. After Andrew Giobbi hit an RBI single to left to get Vanderbilt on the board, he tried to advance to second on the throw to the plate as Aaron Westlake retreated to the base. But catcher Tony Caldwell sailed his throw into center field. Instead of getting one guaranteed out, both runners came around to score on the error, tying the game at 3.

• Auburn's bullpen is abysmal. There's no other word for it. The Commodores scored eight runs in the final three innings. Seventeen of their 22 hits came in the final four innings. It was the most the Tigers' pitching staff had allowed all season.

• Very pedestrian night at the plate for Auburn, which managed only five hits off Vandy starter Mike Minor (2-2). Minor struck out 11, fanning nine of the first 15 batters he faced. Remember, this is a pitcher who had an 0-2 record and 5.56 ERA in his first two SEC starts.

• The teams play again today at 4 p.m. EDT, weather permitting. Jon Luke Jacobs (2-0, 4.97 ERA) takes the mound for Auburn against Vanderbilt's Caleb Cotham (3-2, 3.90).

New video: post-practice interviews

We're back with some more video. There's one of what Auburn actually did during its practice Thursday in the post below. This one's of interviews afterward, including defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, safeties coach Tommy Thigpen, right tackle Andrew McCain and left tackle Lee Ziemba.

Enjoy.

New practice video, plus some links

No practice today, but here are a couple items I wrote for today's paper.

The first is on quarterback Chris Todd and his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery. I kind of feel for Todd. He came here specifically to run Tony Franklin's system, he was never healthy when doing so and Franklin wasn't really ever given a shot to run his offense the way he saw fit. Now Todd is in a quarterback battle in which he can't yet fully participate. But he seems in good spirits about the whole thing, just thankful that he finally got something done about his ailing shoulder.

Second, here are some notes from Thursday's practice. Lee Ziemba has bulked up from 280 pounds to 308, Phillip Lolley will coach cornerbacks while Tommy Thigpen coaches safeties and everybody is getting used to each other early in practice.

Also, here's some video from Thursday's practice, the last one open to the media for about a week. A couple things struck me:

• I thought Auburn would limit itself to stretching and other useless drills for the open media sessions, but to its credit, it was out there doing some meaningful stuff, especially the offense, which ran through a hurry-up offense at one point.

• That said, I don't understand the fear of reporters being there. I could understand if Gene Chizik didn't allow video (in fact, I'm kind of surprised that he did), but to allow reporters and fans to watch as the team goes through a series of drills seems harmless. Now, if he wanted to close portions where the Tigers actually installed the offense, fine. But I think portions of practice should be open to the fans who are interested enough to watch the team. It would also add some color to our stories, which, admittedly, are going to be based a lot on what the coaches tell us for the remainder of spring, which you always have to take with a grain of salt.

• I'd like to point out that the life of a kicker/punter is a sweet one. If you don't agree, watch the clip of them practicing (by themselves it should be noted) compared to the rest of the groups.

• Some thoughts about the coaches, some of which you'll see in the video:

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, as expected, is the most entertaining to watch. He gets vocal throughout practice, and the snap count drill that's on the video is one of the best portions.

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof did an interesting drill with the linebackers, having them duck under a tarp while picking their feet up over pads that served as speed bumps. Watch him interact with Eltoro Freeman (No. 21) to get the junior college transfer to loosen up his hips before doing the drill. It's hilarious. Also, after I stopped filming, he had a great line about staying low to the ground, telling his guys to "get in love with Mother Earth."

• Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker was another fun one to watch. He too was doing a visual snap drill, while calling out fake snap counts and wiggling the ball around on the ground with a stick. I'd like to see Rocker during the contact portion of the drill. That'd be entertaining.

• Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is calm and collect all the time, but always talking. He seems to take a very cerebral approach to the quarterbacks, which I guess isn't too out of character for him.

• I didn't have any film of Chizik for the day, mostly because he was overseeing a lot of stuff, and that made for boring video. He did step in on some special teams work, but it was mostly instructional. No action, so it didn't make the cut.

Anyway, enjoy. I hope to have another video up later of some player interviews, so check back.

John Cooper leaving for Tennessee State job

John Cooper, who has been Jeff Lebo's top assistant the last five years, will be named head basketball coach at Tennessee State today, an Auburn spokesman confirmed. Fox News first reported the story.

Cooper has been with the Tigers for five years. The 40-year-old was an assistant coach at South Carolina under Eddie Fogler from 1995-2001 and at Oregon from 2002-04 before taking the Auburn job.

He and Lebo were assistants at South Carolina at the same time from 1995-98.

Cooper replaces Cy Alexander, who was fired Feb. 6 after going 67-107 in six seasons at Tennessee State.

UPDATE with quotes from an Auburn press release:

Cooper: "First of all, it is a lifelong dream and a lifelong journey. As I think about it, I am so grateful for one having the opportunity to come to Auburn and having been allowed to grow as a coach and given the opportunity by Jeff. Two, when I informed the team I told them that without them, without the year they had and what they did, I wouldn't have been given this opportunity.

"Friends never say goodbye. Friends say until we meet again, and we leave a lot of friends here. I am really enthusiastic and excited about the opportunity. My goal is to obviously be successful, but also to put a product on the court that Tennessee State University is proud of, and one that is successful both on and off the court. In the future, we want to be able to say that we competed for championships in the OVC and hopefully say that we have won championships."

Lebo: "I am real excited for John to get this first opportunity to be a head basketball coach at Tennessee State. He certainly has been an integral part of our program for the last five years. Tennessee State is getting a class act, and we all will miss him and wish him nothing but the best."

Spring practice: Thursday edition

Day 2 of spring practice is in the books and the rain held off for Auburn, which was in shorts and helmets again as it ran through a variety of drills and continued to install its offensive and defensive schemes Thursday.

Both players and coaches have tried to remind themselves that getting used to each other and the system the coaches are trying to implement, will take time.

“I woke up (Wednesday) and I had that look on my face, that frown,” defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said. “My wife said, ‘Hey, remember it was the first day.’ You can’t build a house in a day. It takes work. You know that.

“But a lot of times we want that microwave success. I understand that process, but everyday we’ve got to get better and approach practice with the right state of mind.”

The Tigers will take the field again Saturday (weather permitting) and might even do some scrimmaging, if they're ready for that.

"Well we’ve just got to see how far along we are," head coach Gene Chizik said. "Obviously if we scrimmage, we certainly don’t want it to be a sloppy situation. We have to be ready to do that."

We reporters got to see about 30 minutes of Thursday's practice, and I've got some video of drills that I'll get up on the blog tomorrow, so check back for that.

In the interim, here are some news and notes from the day:

• Chizik split up the secondary duties with Phillip Lolley coaching cornerbacks and Tommy Thigpen coaching safeties. Lolley coached corners with Chizik as defensive cornerback from 2002-03. Thigpen has a linebacker background but has worked in the secondary as well.

• Thigpen, on why he came to Auburn from his alma mater, North Carolina: "I had to look at it. You have to look at Auburn football. Mack Brown told me that. Gene Chizik told me to look back in history at the great coaches who have come out of here. If you want to make better on your career, Auburn is a serious job. I heard that from so many different guys. I want to be at a place where football is really, really important. This place? It’s unbelievable. When you talk to coaches (all over) the country, they told me you’ve got to go. It’s one of the best jobs in all of America.”

• Right tackle Andrew McCain, on this year's offense vs. last year's: "The chaos is much more controlled."

• Lots of good stuff today on Chizik and Co. laying down some new rules for the athletic center. I'm going to write more in detail of that for Sunday's paper, so I'm holding some of my better material for that, but basically, there are are no hats, jewelry or spikes in the athletic center. Plus, lockers have to be neat all the time. Coaches are coming around checking. From someone like Chizik, who is very aware of how he is dressed and appears at all times, this is not surprising.

• Left tackle Lee Ziemba has bulked up to 308 pounds from 280 last year. How did he do it? By eating 5,000 calories a day. Was it hard? "Not anymore,” he said. “It was at first. I made myself sick a few times.”

• Sophomore Mike Slade was working with the first team alongside Zac Etheridge at safety for part of Thursday. Mike McNeil had class.

New video: QBs, QBs and more QBs

We only get to talk to quarterbacks twice a week, so naturally it was feeding frenzy Tuesday with all four in the interview room after the first practice.

Here's a video in which Kodi Burns, Chris Todd, Neil Caudle and Barrett Trotter give us their thoughts about Gus Malzahn's offense and what it's like running it.

Enjoy.

Spring practice: Quotes and notes from the first day

Hoo-boy, that was a busy day. Between the Auburn basketball team losing in the final seconds of its NIT semifinal to Baylor to the Tigers opening spring practice, it felt like we were running ragged all night.

I hope to get some video up tomorrow in addition to some more material, but in the interim, here's something to tide you over. (Also, how sweet is that Todd Van Emst photo?)

First, some housekeeping:

• Auburn named Wayne Bolt its Director of Football Relations. Bolt is a former Tigers assistant under Pat Dye who worked as Gene Chizik's defensive coordinator at Iowa State the last seasons. His 31-year coaching career has included stops at East Carolina, Wyoming, Clemson, Troy and UAB. Twenty-one of his 31 years have been in the state of Alabama.

• Lots going on at the tight end position. Brent Slusher is on a medical hardship and is not listed on the roster. Vance Smith has moved to offensive line, where the Tigers are short on numbers. He'll moved around to all the positions, depending on where Auburn needs him. Gabe McKenzie was not practicing but is on the team. He is dealing with some undisclosed injuries, Chizik said. Tommy Trott, meanwhile, is not going through contact or cutting at 100 percent this spring after having major knee reconstruction in November.
  

• Aairon Savage is back at cornerback after missing last year with a torn ACL suffered in training camp. He seemed in good spirits and should make for a very good story this spring.

Now for some of the quotes of the night:

• Chizik, on why he closed practice to the fans and media this spring: "I think there's enough pressure on these guys already to deliver. We just feel like this is a deal where we don't want any outside or any extra pressure on these guys. We just want them to go out and practice and not worry about what anybody thinks or writes or hears."

• Quarterback Kodi Burns, on Gus Malzahn's offense compared to Tony Franklin's: "The biggest difference is tempo. We're really going to actually run that tempo."

• Quarterback Neil Caudle, on Malzahn as a teacher: "He's constantly coaching. If you run into him in the hallway, he'll coach you on something, so it helps a lot."

• Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, on how well offensive tackle Lee Ziemba moved just a few months after surgery: "I didn’t see any question marks whatsoever in terms of his ability to move around or keep going. I saw no limping or any hesitation."

• Savage, on his knee injury last August: "Just a bad dream, man, to sum it all up. It was just a bad dream. We worked so hard the offseason just to be in the position that we were in. For things to happen how they happened, it was hard.

• Quarterback Chris Todd, on how much his shoulder (now repaired through surgery) affected him last year: "I knew something was wrong all the time. There were throws that I could make my sophomore year of high school that I couldn't necessarily make all the time last year."

• Defensive end Antonio Coleman, on what it was like practicing without the usually boisterous duo of Sen'Derrick Marks and Tez Doolittle: "I try to keep it loud out there, but they're clowns, so it's quieter than it usually is when they were here."

• Trott, on what Dr. James Andrews did to repair his knee: "It was a complete ACL. They took out my patella and repaired my ACL using that tendon. Also, they had to stitch back up my MCL. I had a partial tear over there and they had to shave my meniscus back. So they got my knee pretty good."

• Trott, on learning to walk again: "I could not walk on it to save my life. It was almost a month. Finally they just took my crutches from me and said, 'You know, you're going to have to learn to walk if you want to go anywhere."

NIT third round: Baylor 74, Auburn 72

Auburn’s hopes of reaching the NIT semifinals for the first time in its history ended in a New York minute Tuesday night.

Rasheem Barrett’s 3-pointer at the horn drifted left and long, bouncing high off the rim and into the arms of a Baylor defender as the Bears cemented a thrilling 74-72 victory at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to advance to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals in New York City.

Baylor (23-14) will play against the winner of San Diego State and St. Mary’s at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.

“Any time you have a game you lose by two points, that hurts more than losing by 30,” said Barrett, a senior who scored a team-high 16 points in his final college game.

LaceDarius Dunn scored a game-high 19 points and Curtis Jerrells added 16 for the Bears, who won their first postseason game in 59 years last week and have reeled off victories in six of their last seven.

The loss ended a season in which Auburn (24-12) tied for the second most wins in school history and made the postseason for the first time in the Jeff Lebo era, ending a five-year drought.

“That’s why basketball is so hard in tournament play,” Lebo said. “Most teams leave the court with a loss and it’s hard. It’s not like a bowl game where half the teams win. So it’s always hard on the seniors because you always leave with that disappointment.”

Some Gene Chizik to tide you over

We're kind of short on time following Gene Chizik's pre-spring press conference because of the NIT quarterfinals taking place this evening at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, so here's an unedited video version of Chizik.

Enjoy.

Are you ready for some football?

I know, I know, cliche blog headline. But it's here, folks. It's finally here. After months and months of waiting to see how smoothly Gene Chizik's first few weeks on the field will actually go as the Tigers install their offensive and defensive schemes ... we still won't really know.

That's because practice is closed to fans and practically shut off to the media, save for three 25-minute sessions (one of which happens to be smack dab in the middle of tonight's NIT basketball game, which I'll be attending).

So will we get some material from this spring? Yes. Will we know everything they tell us is the truth. Well, no. But it's March. Hope spring eternal on the football field in March. Everybody's undefeated. So I wouldn't expect a much different tone to the stories that come out of the spring even if we were able to watch the practices. We'd just be able to add a little more color for our readers, which as far as I can tell has never submarined a football team's ability to win on the field, even if that's what every football coach in the country thinks will happen.

But I digress.

ANYWAY, I wrote a five questions story about the spring in today's paper that I can't find online, so here it is on the blog:

AUBURN, Ala. — One hundred and one days have passed since Gene Chizik was hired to lead Auburn’s football program. Now he finally gets to coach.

The Tigers begin three and a half weeks of spring practice tonight, at last a purely football phase for Chizik, who in the last three months has dedicated the majority of his time to recruiting, assembling a staff and winning over the hearts and minds of an initially-resistant Auburn nation.

The practices are closed to the public and, with the exception of three brief, 25-minute viewing periods, shut off to the media, meaning Chizik and his staff will privately go about installing its schemes and evaluate on the field for the first time the remaining talent from the Tommy Tuberville regime.

Here are five questions Auburn will try to answer before A-Day at Jordan-Hare Stadium on April 18:

1. Who will emerge as the leading candidate to play quarterback?

That’s the $64,000 question. Auburn’s biggest shortcoming last season becomes its biggest question mark this spring, with four candidates — Chris Todd, Kodi Burns, Neil Caudle and Barrett Trotter — vying for the job.

“It’s going to be wide open,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said four weeks ago. “Everybody’s starting new.”

Burns finished the season as the No. 1 quarterback, starting the final five games and flashing glimpses of his potential in an offense that showed little, if any, improvement after Tuberville fired Tony Franklin as offensive coordinator and handed the reins to tight ends coach Steve Ensminger.

Auburn hopes to have Todd back in the mix after the rising senior had surgery in December on his throwing shoulder to correct an injury that plagued him since he transferred from junior college.

Caudle, a rising junior who finished last season as the backup, and Trotter, who redshirted, should get equal reps, at least in the early going.

Malzahn would like to have a starter established by the end of spring, but he won’t force a decision.

“Ideally, that would be the best case scenario,” he said, “but at the same time you’ve got to have somebody that earns it, that separates himself from the rest of them.”

2. Who will be the offensive play-makers Malzahn needs to make his offense go?

A team already lacking at the skill positions lost its leading receiver (Rod Smith) and a three-year contributor at running back (Brad Lester) to graduation, but the Tigers have plenty of candidates who should be eager to get an opportunity in Malzahn’s fast-paced, wide-open offense.

Wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis, who figured to be a big part of Auburn’s plans last year before tearing his ACL on the opening kickoff of the first game, should be ready for the spring. Montez Billings, Tim Hawthorne and Quindarius Carr, who were nearly invisible last season as the Tigers’ offense sputtered, will also get a chance to make an impact at receiver.
In the backfield, Onterio McCalebb, a speedy transfer from Hargrave Military Academy, will be thrown into the mix, adding a new element to the shifty Mario Fannin and powerful Ben Tate.

3. Will there be staff harmony on the offensive side of the ball?

A clash of personalities doomed the Tigers last year, with Franklin and Tuberville’s group of long-time assistants butting heads about Auburn’s offensive philosophy.
That shouldn’t be a problem with the new staff. Chizik hand-picked Malzahn, who, unlike Franklin, had input with the hiring of his offensive assistants.

Running backs coach Curtis Luper, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor and offensive line coach Jeff Grimes all came aboard after being vetted by Malzahn and Chizik, which should mean last year’s drama shouldn’t be repeated.

4. How will Auburn cope with the early departures of defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks and cornerback Jerraud Powers to the NFL?

Marks’ absence, coupled with the graduation of tackle Tez Doolittle, leaves Auburn with a sizable hole up front, having to replace 60 tackles, 18 of which were for a loss.

Three players — rising senior Jake Ricks, junior Mike Blanc and sophomore Zach Clayton — played on the inside last year. Redshirts Derrick Lykes and Jomarcus Savage should be in the mix as well.

The Tigers are more prepared to replace Powers. Walt McFadden has locked down one cornerback spot and Aairon Savage is back after a knee injury cost him last season, although he might move to safety.

But Auburn has other options at corner, including Neiko Thorpe, last year’s nickelback, and D’Antoine Hood and Harry Adams, rising sophomores who were thrust into emergency action last season because of injuries.

5. Are there any more intriguing position battles than at kicker and punter?

Auburn’s special teams, or at least the players kicking the ball, will be scrutinized with a careful eye this spring.

Wes Byrum is the presumptive front-runner at place-kicker but, after a shaky sophomore season during which he missed eight of his 19 field goal attempts, is open to challengers. Walk-on Morgan Hull, who handled the kicking duties in the Iron Bowl because of a Byrum injury, is the chief competition.

Punter is a more intriguing situation. Clinton Durst finished 26th nationally in punting last year but may have lost his standing after briefly leaving the team this offseason because of a scholarship dispute.

Rising junior Ryan Shoemaker, who Durst beat out last fall, was a second-team All-SEC pick in 2007 and could take back his old job.

And finally, since we're getting prepared to watch some football, here are two items from The Onion, the best satirical news site out there in my opinion. First, a Hank Williams nod. Second, a football helmet-related disaster.

NCAA second round: Rutgers 80, Auburn 52

What an inglorious end to a fantastic season for the Auburn women's basketball team, which got crushed in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Rutgers on Monday.

Yes, second-seeded Auburn drew the short end of a stick by having to play on seventh-seeded Rutgers' court. But no homecourt advantage can account for the 28-point margin of victory.

ESPN analyst Kara Lawson pulled no punches in dissing the first No. 2 seed to lose in the tournament: "I'm just so thoroughly disappointed in Auburn's effort," she said, shortly after the game. "That's what you call about going into March like a lion and out like a lamb."

Rutgers (21-12) scored the first nine points to set the tone for what would be a thorough thumping. The Scarlet Knights led 22-4. That's a tough hole to dig out of.

Epiphanny Prince scored 27 points to win the battle of stars, out-shining Auburn's DeWanna Bonner, who had 17.

The Scarlet Knights simply out-played the Tigers, shooting 53.7 percent from the field.

Auburn missed 52 shots -- fifty-two! -- shooting 27.8 percent (20-for-72). It was 2-for-13 from 3-point range (15.4 percent).

Bonner was 5-for-15 from the field. Whitney Boddie 4-for-14 shooting. Sherell Hobbs was 4-for-15. Alli Smalley played 29 minutes and scored 4 points on 2-for-11 shooting. Nobody shot the ball well and, as the tournament proves year in and year out, one bad night will sink you.

The Tigers finished the season 30-4. Can't take anything away from them for that, but this certainly is a sour way to end things.

Baseball: Arkansas 12, Auburn 6

The Auburn baseball team went into this weekend’s series against No. 15 Arkansas knowing it would be a good barometer for where it stands in the SEC.

After a three-game sweep — punctuated by a 12-6 Razorbacks rout Sunday — the Tigers know they have some work to do.

Arkansas (16-4, 6-0 SEC) pounded out 17 hits and built leads of 8-1 and 11-2 at Plainsman Park to coast to its second sweep in as many weeks since SEC play began. It was the Razorbacks’ first-ever series sweep in Auburn.

“Any time you lose three games on a weekend, especially conference play, it’s very disappointing,” Tigers coach John Pawlowski said. “Arkansas came in here and they beat us in every phase of the game.”

Auburn dropped to 15-8 overall and 2-4 in the SEC.

Some notes and thoughts ...

• Arkansas jumped all over Auburn starter Paul Burnside (0-2), who gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Razorbacks scored four times in the first to put the Tigers in a deep hole. “I’ve told the guys before, it starts with pitching,” Pawlowski said. “Pitching is something that you build momentum off. ... It just put us behind the eight ball right out of the gate.”

• Burnside doesn't look quite right. It was my first time seeing him pitch this year, but he was off with his command, not surprising considering he's still getting back into the rhythm of pitching after missing last year with a broken collarbone. In five starts this year, the right-hander has a 6.53 ERA, with 14 walks in 20 2/3 innings. “You can’t fault his effort,” Pawlowski said. “I think his location is just not there. His stuff is pretty good. He just doesn’t have the command. And I think usually that’s the last piece of the puzzle.”

• Pawlowski said he might have to re-evaluate his third starter option after mid-week games against Samford and Troy this week. Dexter Price and Taylor Thompson are two pitchers he would consider.

• Not much of an offensive day until late for Auburn, which scored four runs in the eighth after it already trailed 12-2. Tony Caldwell was 3-for-4 and Joseph Sanders hit two doubles. "We know as a team that we can hit a lot better than we did," said left fielder Brian Fletcher, who hit a two-run double in the eighth.

• Auburn travels to Samford on Tuesday and Troy on Wednesday before returning home for a three-game series against Vanderbilt next weekend.

Baseball: Arkansas 10, Auburn 6

Auburn pitchers generally didn’t have trouble getting the first two outs of every inning Saturday afternoon. It was the third out that posed the biggest challenge and ultimately led to their demise.

No. 15 Arkansas scored every single one of its runs with two outs in a 10-6 win at Plainsman Park, pushing across five runs in the final two innings to secure its second victory in as many days against the Tigers.

Chase Leavitt and Scott Lyons had two hits and three RBIs apiece for the Razorbacks (15-4, 5-0 SEC), who will go for the series sweep Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT. Paul Burnside takes the mound for Auburn against Arkansas’ Drew Smyly.

“We’ve got to regroup,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said. “I told them that the way you get to the SEC tournament is you’ve got to avoid being swept, on the road or at home.”

Auburn (15-7, 2-3 SEC) let the game slip away in the final two innings, which included these miscues:

• A dropped pop-up by third baseman Joseph Sanders, who lost the ball in the sun.
• Four walks by reliever Austin Hubbard.
• A missed suicide squeeze sign by Bradley Ray, who lined into an easy inning-ending double play.

“The last two innings were not great innings for Auburn baseball, that’s for sure,” Pawlowski said. “But I told the kids that’s the difference sometimes. It’s those little things that we’ve got to get better at.”

Some other notes and thoughts ...

• Auburn continued to show a little power. Justin Hargett hit his first home run since a walk-off in the opener and Hunter Morris added a solo shot in the sixth, his fifth of the year. Auburn now has 48 home runs this season.

• It looked like the Tigers were in business when Sanders bounced a two-run single to left off Arkansas' lights-out reliever Stephen Richards to take a 6-5 lead. But all that momentum was lost in the next half inning.

• Tough outing for reliever Austin Hubbard, Auburn's most reliable reliever to date. The right-hander gave up four runs (three earned) in two innings, allowing four hits and walking four.

• Richards (4-0), who got the win after pitching the final 2 2/3 innings, has given up only one earned run in 16 innings this year.

• Starter Jon Luke Jacobs went five innings but threw a lot of pitches (102 to be exact). He struck out six but went deep into a lot of counts, walking four batters.

• Tigers pitchers walked nine batters and hit two more on the afternoon. “You give up 11 free bases to any team, let alone a team like Arkansas, in the SEC, it’s going to be tough,” Pawlowski said. “We certainly couldn’t overcome that today.”

Up next for Auburn men: Baylor

Auburn found out its next NIT opponent after Baylor ripped Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., this morning. Six players scored in double figures for the Bears, who improved to 22-14.

Auburn and Baylor will play at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Quick scouting report on Baylor, which won its first postseason game in 59 years last week (For a quick reference for how long ago that was, Harry S Truman was president back then).

The Bears are coached by Scott Drew, the son of Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, who brought us this great NCAA tournament memory. Baylor nearly sneaked into the NCAA tournament with a Big 12 tournament run, winning three games before falling short against Missouri 73-60 in the championship.

Baylor is led by guard Curtis Jerrells (16.1 ppg), the third all-time leading scorer in Bears history. LaceDarius Dunn (15.5 ppg), Kevin Rogers (12.4 ppg) and Tweety Carter (10.6) all average in double figures.

NCAA first round: Auburn 85, Lehigh 49

The Auburn women's basketball team's had no trouble in its NCAA tournament opener this afternoon. The Tigers got 26 points from DeWanna Bonner to easily win their first NCAA tournament game since 2004.

Auburn (30-3), the two seed in the Oklahoma City bracket, plays the winner of Rutgers and Virginia Commonwealth on Monday night. The game will be played on Rutgers' home court.

One other thing of note in a game that wasn't ever close. Whitney Boddie had nine assists, giving her 600 for her career, breaking the school record of 593 set by Renae Halbrooks from 1978-82.

Everybody got to play for Auburn. KeKe Carrier scored 11 points off the bench. Chantel Hilliard added 10.

None of Auburn's starters played more than 31 minutes, so the Tigers should be well rested come Round 2.

NIT second round: Auburn 75, Tulsa 55

Senior forward Korvotney Barber was a spectator for most of Auburn’s second-round NIT game Friday, saddled with foul trouble practically from the opening tip. His teammates made sure his career didn’t end on that note.

Rasheem Barrett scored 17 points and Auburn locked down on defense in a 74-55 win against Tulsa at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to cruise into the National Invitation Tournament’s third round.

Auburn forced 18 turnovers, had 12 steals and allowed the fewest points in its brief NIT history despite having Barber, one of its best defenders, in the game for only 13 minutes.

“We just play like a bunch of junkyard dogs,” Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said. “That’s what we do.”

The Tigers (24-11) tied the 1999-2000 squad for the second-most wins in school history and have won two NIT games in the same season for the first time.

Auburn hosts the winner of today’s game between Virginia Tech and Baylor on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Some thoughts ...

• Horribly officiated game. Just plain awful. It was a hodgepodge of officials from several difference conferences who really weren't in unison with what they were going to call. It resulted in players getting called for ticky-tack fouls on one possessions and then getting hammered with no call on the next.

• This was best exemplified with Vot, who had a case against each one of the four fouls he had called against him. He played just 13 minutes but scored nine points.

• Brendon Knox and Johnnie Lett, who returned from a severely sprained ankle that had kept him out since January, did a good job on Tulsa's seven-foot center Jerome Jordan, who finished with four points, 10 below his season average.

• Tulsa led the nation in 3-point defense, holding opponents to 27.3 percent shooting. Auburn went 8-for-21 (38.1 percent) from long range Friday.

• Nice well-rounded effort by Quantez Robertson, whose game has been peaking. The senior had six points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win. He also went 6-for-6 from the line. That's 11 straight for someone whose charity stripe troubles have been well documented.

• DeWayne Reed had a big night as well, finishing with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals. He also had five turnovers.

• One more win and Auburn is headed to New York City for the NIT semifinals, which would be a nice consolation prize after the team narrowly missed out on making the NCAA tournament. “These country boys haven’t been to New York,” Lebo joked. “That’d be a nice treat for them. We’ve still got some work to do.”

NIT first round: Auburn 87, UT-Martin 82

If Auburn was disappointed by its NCAA tournament snub, it didn’t show it Wednesday night.

The Tigers hung on for an 87-82 victory against UT-Martin in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, the team’s first postseason win in six years.

DeWayne Reed and Quantez Robertson both set career highs, finishing with 23 and 19 points, respectively, as Auburn (23-11) overcame Sunday’s disappointment of being left out of the NCAA tournament’s field of 65.

“The kids practiced their tails off Monday. Didn’t say a word about it,” said Auburn coach Jeff Lebo, who thought his team had a good case to make the NCAA bracket after winning nine of 11 to finish the regular season. “I’m just proud of them. It’s been a heck of a ride.”

The Tigers, who are the top seed in their bracket, advance to the NIT’s second round on Friday at 8 p.m. EDT, when they will host Tulsa.

Some thoughts on the game ...

• Oh boy, is UT-Martin's Lester Hudson a player. He got off to a slow start but made up for it in a 33-point effort, going 12-for-24 from the floor. He was driving, pulling up for jumpers and hitting bombs from long range. It didn't look like there was a weakness in his game.

• Lebo was impressed with Hudson, Part I: “He’s special. You can see why NBA people love him. He doesn’t just score. He can pass. His IQ is very high. He was really good tonight, really kept them in the game with how he played.”

• Lebo was impressed with Hudson, Part II: "That was as good as I’ve seen in a long time."

• Lebo was impressed with Hudson, Part III: "I know (Stephen) Curry is pretty good, but if he’s better than that, I’d like to see him."

• In summary, Lebo was impressed with Hudson, who added 12 points and seven assists.

• Back to Auburn, which made a season-high 14 3-pointers. Reed had five. Robertson, Rasheem Barrett, Lucas Hargrove and Frankie Sullivan each added two.

• Free throws nearly derailed the Tigers down the stretch. They went 21-for-35 from the line (60%) after shooting them pretty well during their hot streak at the end of the season.

• Tez was spectacular offensively after being the exact opposite of that all season. It was the first time he reached double figures in points since December and just the fourth time all season. He made more than one 3-pointer for just the second time this year. And his season-long Kryptonite, the free throw line, was no problem. He canned all five of his free ones Wednesday.

• Tez admitted that he knows the clock is winding down on his college career: "I think that’s what motivated us today," he said. "It could have been our last game."

Auburn women a No. 2 seed in NCAA tourney

The Auburn women’s team received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play 15th-seeded Lehigh in the first round Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.

It is the highest seed Auburn (29-3) has received since getting a No. 2 seed in 1990.

If the Tigers win, they’ll play the winner of No. 7 Rutgers and No. 10 Virginia Commonwealth, creating the possibility that Auburn could play the lower-seeded Scarlet Knights on their home floor.

Auburn is in the Oklahoma City bracket, which features Oklahoma as the No. 1 seed and North Carolina as the No. 3.

(UPDATE) We got to speak with Nell Fortner and a few players after the selection show. Here's what they had to say:

FORTNER

On the team's No. 2 seed
"I was hoping we’d get a 1, but I knew we wouldn’t be lower than a 2. I’m pleased with where we’re heading out. The NCAA Tournament is a tough tournament, but I feel like we’re road tested, fell like we tough-game tested. These players are hungry. I’m looking forward to getting it going."

On the possibility of playing a de factor road game against Rutgers in the second round
"If we’re fortunate enough to get there – we’ve got to get past Lehigh – but every game is tough. There won’t be any easy games. When you go on somebody’s home floor, it’s going to be a tough game, there’s no question. But we’ll be prepared to play."

Are you happy UConn is on the other side of the bracket?
"I think anybody would say, `Yeah.' Absolutely. You don’t really want to meet them to the very last game."

On the region, which features Oklahoma, North Carolina and Pittsburgh
"It’s a tough road, there’s no question, but there are no easy roads. That’s how the tournament works."

WHITNEY BODDIE, point guard

On holding out hope for a No. 1 seed
"We were trying to be realistic. We really didn’t get a lot of respect all year long and we lost the championship game of the SEC. Honestly, we really didn’t care one way or another. One seed, two seed, it’s all the same. You’ve got to play. If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to play one of those teams one way or another."

On potentially playing Rutgers on its home court
"It’s a home game for them, but we like winning on another person’s home court. You know, shut ’em up. Shut the crowd up. That’s cool."

DeWANNA BONNER, forward

On not getting a one seed
"I knew we were going to be either a one or a two seed. Seeding doesn’t really matter any more. You’ve just got to go out there and play because anybody can get beat in the NCAA tournament."

On not having UConn on your side of the bracket
"We were prepared to play them. It’s always a good team. We’ll just try to match up with them in the Final Four."

Any pressure as an All-American to perform well in the tournament?
No, because we have a great team. I don’t have to worry about taking everything on my shoulders because we have a great point guard, great shooters and everything. Of course, it’s what you want to do is step up. This is my last NCAA tournament. It’s my second NCAA tournament. We really didn’t go far in the first one so I just want to make my impressions right now"

On playing on other teams' home courts in the postseason
"Nothing new. We just left the SEC tournament and obviously Tennessee has the home-court advantage almost at the game. We just had our little group of fans and they had this whole big arena, so it’s not even about the fans right now. We’ve just got to go out and play hard"

Auburn nabs No. 1 seed in NIT

Auburn got a decent consolation prize after not making the NCAA tournament. The Tigers are a No. 1 seed in the NIT and will host Tennessee-Martin in the first round Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST.

If the Tigers win, they'll play the winner of Northwestern and Tulsa.

The other half of the bracket features Baylor vs. Georgetown and Duquesne vs. Virginia Tech.

"We are happy to be playing right now," Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said. "It is a good reward for our kids to be playing at this time of the year. We are playing UT-Martin, a team from the OVC and I certainly know about the OVC after coaching in that league. Tennessee-Martin has a terrific player, an NBA player, in Lester Hudson."

Here's a link to the whole bracket.

Tickets go on sale Monday morning online at auburntigers.com and at the Auburn Athletic Department Ticket Office. Reserved seats are $15. General admission is $10. Students and those 18-and-under can get in for $5.

Lebo reacts to NCAA snub

As soon as he saw Tennessee go on the board as a nine seed during Sunday's NCAA selection show, Jeff Lebo knew his team wasn't in good shape.

"The kids didn’t know it, but I knew that we were going to be in trouble at that point," Auburn's coach said. "You kind of knew where the league stood in the eyes of the people making the decisions when I saw that."

Auburn didn't make the NCAA tournament field Sunday and, while disappointed, looked forward to a likely high seed in the National Invitation Tournament. The NIT bracket will be announced on ESPNU starting at 9 p.m. EST.

"Our team’s disappointed," Lebo said. "But I told them that I didn’t want it to diminish the year that they had. There’s not a whole lot you can say to them. They were disappointed. They were hurt. But they made a heck of a run here at the end and it put them in a position to get in."

Auburn went 22-11 this year with a 10-6 record in the SEC. No eligible SEC team with 10 conference wins had ever been left out since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1991.

Some other thoughts on selection day ...

• Lebo and the players openly admitted that they were disappointed, which brings into question how motivated they will be for a first-round NIT game that will happen this week. "I told them we’ll hurt for the rest of today and then we’ll not talk about it anymore and we’ll focus on tomorrow and see what it brings and move forward.," Lebo said.

• Mississippi State's win in the SEC title game earned it an automatic bid and lessened Auburn's chances of making it. Lebo had a chuckle went pointing out that the committee likes to stress body of work when teams earning automatic bids after winning four games in a conference tournament counters that argument. "So that’s what’s ironic about the whole tournament, the whole setup, "he said. "That’s just the way it is. That’s what makes it exciting. That’s what makes it heartbreaking."

• He was very surprised by the low seeds of the conference's top two seeds. LSU was an eight seed. Tennessee was a nine.

• Predictably, Lebo is in favor of expanding the tournament. "You look at the teams that have been on the bubble, I think a lot of teams if they get the right draw can go to the Sweet Sixteen," he said. "There are too many good basketball teams out there in my opinion. ... I’d like to see it expanded just to have the kids experience being in an NCAA tournament."
  

• Auburn's non-conference schedule was a major factor against it getting an at-large bid, but Lebo said a lot of that was out of the team's control. George Washington, Missouri State and Virginia are three teams that looked like formidable challenges when the Tigers scheduled them. "People think you just go out and schedule people," Lebo said. "You’ve just got to schedule good teams. Well, it’s hard to get some teams to play you home and home. You don’t just call up, ‘All right, North Carolina, let’s play home and home.’ That’s hard to do. Easy to play, hard to do."

• SEC commissioner Mike Slive was the chair of the selection committee and Lebo, as usual, will ask questions about what his team needs to do to get selected in future years.

Running Selection Sunday post

It's all come down to today. We at the War Eagle Extra will once again be blogging throughout the day as the NCAA tournament selection process comes to a close, so check back for periodic updates, including during the selection show, which starts at 6 p.m. EST and is televised on CBS.

Mississippi State got the SEC's automatic berth by beating Tennessee today, so that leaves two at-large berths for seven teams to compete for, according to the experts.

Let's look at each individually, in the order that ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who is rarely wrong, projects them to finish. You could make a case for or against pretty much any team on this list, so it will be interesting to see it play out:

LAST TWO IN

• Maryland (20-13, RPI: 54, SOS: 22, 4-8 vs. RPI top 50, 8-11 vs. RPI top 100, L12: 6-6) The Terps finished under .500 in the ACC (7-9) but have more marquee wins than anybody on this list, having beaten Michigan State, North Carolina and, just recently, Wake Forest. They also have a non-conference win against Michigan, another team destined for the tournament. Maryland stumbled in its season finale with a road loss to a terrible Virginia team, but it made up for it by winning two games in the ACC tournament and playing Duke to the wire. If the committee is looking for teams that can compete with the nation's elite. it would have to put the Terps in.
  

• Creighton (26-7, RPI: 40, SOS: 111, 2-2 vs. RPI top 50, 9-5 vs. RPI top 100, L12: 11-1) The Blue Jays did themselves a terrible disservice by bowing out of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in the semifinals after tying for the best record in the league during the regular season. They finished the season hot, though, winning 11 straight prior to that loss. Like most mid-majors, though, the question is if this team did enough in its non-conference schedule. Creighton beat Dayton and Illinois State for its two wins against teams in the RPI top 50 and was 9-5 against the top 100. Plus, there's this stat, courtesy of ESPN: Only six teams have won 26 games in a season and been left out of the NCAA field.
  

FIRST TEAMS OUT

• Saint Mary's (24-6, RPI: 48, SOS: 159, 2-3 vs. RPI top 50, 3-4 vs. RPI top 100, L12: 8-4) The Gaels' case really comes down to the health of guard Patty Mills, who broke his hand earlier this year and only returned a few games ago. The school went as far as to schedule a last-second game against Eastern Washington to prove to the committee that Mills is back and healthy. He scored 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting in a 20-point win against Eastern Washington, but left some doubts to his health status. St. Mary's is 20-3 in games Mills played in this year, with a valuable win against fellow bubble team San Diego State. The Gaels did lose to Gonzaga three times, though, including an ugly 83-58 rout in the West Coast Conference finals with Mills in the lineup.

• Penn State (22-11, RPI: 70, SOS: 119, 6-9 vs. RPI top 50, 7-10 vs. RPI top 100, L12: 6-6) Apparently, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, despite shaky resumes, are considered to be in to the tournament, leaving the Nittany Lions out on an island as the Big Ten's straggler. Penn State would be the Big Ten's eighth team if it were to make the field. Remember, the committee does not take into account conference affiliation. It compares the teams straight up and does require that conferences get a certain number of teams in the field. Pros: Penn State went 10-8 in a deep Big Ten and had six wins over top-50 RPI teams. Cons: in the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Nittany Lioins didn't play anyone. Their non-conference SOS is 313, with their best win coming against Mount St. Mary's (RPI: 118).
  

• Arizona (19-13, RPI: 62, SOS: 36, 6-10 vs. RPI top 50, 8-12 vs. RPI top 100, L12: 7-5) The Wildcats' nations'-best 24-year run of NCAA tournament appearances is in serious jeopardy. 'Zona has a bunch of good wins at home (Kansas, Washington, UCLA, USC and San Diego State) and a neutral site victory against Gonzaga. But on the road, the 'Cats were just 2-9. And if the committee weighs how a team is playing heading into the tournament, it doesn't bode well for this team, which lost five of its last six coming down the stretch.
  

• San Diego State (21-9, RPI: 35, SOS: 35, 2-6 vs. RPI top 50, 7-9 vs. RPI to 100, L12: 8-4) The Aztecs came oh-so-close to just making it official in the Mountain West championship game against Utah, a game it lost by two. They have a good RPI and strength of schedule, but are lacking in quality wins, with just two against the RPI top 50 (Utah and BYU). Their non-conference schedule was a little light, though, ranking 89th. None of those wins came against teams in the RPI top 100.
  

• Auburn (21-11, RPI 62, SOS: 59, 2-4 vs. RPI top 50, 6-10 vs. RPI top 100, L12: 9-3) And finally the Tigers, a team where subjectivity will have to play a big role if they are to get invited. On paper, the team doesn't look good, lacking in quality wins and with relatively a relatively low RPI and SOS. Fifteen of Auburn's 21 Division I victories have come against teams ranked outside of the RPI top 100 and the three chances it had at beating quality teams in non-conference action -- Dayton, Northern Iowa and Xavier -- all ended up as losses. But that was early. This was an entirely different team down the stretch, when it reeled off nine wins in 10 games. For the Tigers to make the tournament, they're going to need the committee to go with its gut and select a team that can make some noise in the tournament because it is playing so well (Of the ESPN panelists, Digger Phelps seems to be making this argument the loudest). Remember, it's a 10-person committee that makes this decision, so there is bound to be debate and many different viewpoints. I'm sure the Tigers will be given a long, hard look for the tournament. It's a long shot, but it's a shot, which is more than Auburn could have asked for two months ago.

I'll continue to update through the day and through the selection show. Auburn coach Jeff Lebo and a few players will be available for comment afterward, so I'll get their reactions to however this plays out up here as fast as I can.

Also, not to put negative thoughts out there, but the NIT bracket announcement will take place on ESPNU at 9 p.m. EST.

(UPDATE 2:28 p.m.) One at-large team just got its hopes extinguished. Mississippi State finished off its improbably SEC run by beating Tennessee in the tournament championship game, earning an automatic berth into the Big Dance. That lowers the number of at-large bids remaining to two according to the experts, making the seven teams vying for one of them sweat a little bit more. Auburn fans have to be upset about this. Tennessee, which couldn't miss Saturday, shot 29 percent from the field today, going 8-for-27 from 3-point range. Twisting the knife a little more is the fact that the Tigers beat Mississippi State TWICE this year, at home by 15 and on the road by 18. Maybe the committee takes that into account, since the Bulldogs appear to be a pretty good team. Then again, maybe not, since they weren't NCAA-bound if not for this late run. What is for sure is that one fewer berth is available for at-large teams, which is awful news for teams like Auburn.

(UPDATE 4:43 p.m.) We're 15 minutes from the selection show and things are looking good. Lunardi, who as we've mentioned before is usually correct, is now not even considering Auburn as one of his six at-large finalists for the final two spots.

Tigers fans can hold out hope, but come showtime, you don't want to see any of these teams go up on the board: Maryland, Creighton, Saint Mary's, Penn State, Arizona or San Diego State. I'd also question the legitimacy of these teams that Lunardi has as part of his last four in: Wisconsin and Minnesota.

5:02: I forgot how much they draw this show out. They've got to go through the 1 seeds first and then discuss them. Louisville's the overall top seed in the Midwest. Then CBS has to introduce the bracket and how it works, as if anybody watching this doesn't have a clue.

5:03: Your other 1 seeds: Pittsburgh in the East, North Carolina in the South and UConn in the West. That last one is kind of surprising. I thought Memphis and it's 20-something game winning streak would have earned a top spot.

5:04: Just so you know, that's three 1 seeds out of the Big East, which is a lot. I know that conference is pretty good and pretty top-heavy this year, but I think it might be getting a little too much respect right now.

5:07: CBS just showed camera shots of nine different schools it will be going to for reactions. Auburn was not one of them. All of them appear to be safe tournament picks, so I'm guessing we're not going to see any sad reaction shots.

5:09: Morehead State and two local Columbus kids -- Steven Peterson and Terrance Hill -- gets the play-in game against Alabama State. It's nice to make the field, but a slap in the face to have to play in the play-in game. I'd suggest the NCAA get rid of it altogether.

5:11: Arizona is in and Lunardi is wrong on one of his picks. The Wildcats make it 25 straight years in the tournament in what is kind of a shocker. Bad news for Auburn that 'Zona is in. Really, the Tigers can only hope to get one final spot.

5:12: Your full Midwest region:

• 1. Louisville vs. 16. Alabama State/Morehead State
• 8. Ohio State vs. 9. Siena
• 5. Utah vs. 12. Arizona
• 4. Wake Forest vs. 13. Cleveland State
• 3. Kansas vs. 14. North Dakota State
• 6. West Virginia vs. 11. Dayton
• 7. Boston College vs. 10 USC
• 2. Michigan State vs. 15. Robert Morris

5:16: First thoughts: That's a tough bracket. USC was a conference tournament champion. Ohio State almost was. Michigan State and Kansas were regular season conference champions. And Wake Forest was ranked No. 1 at one point. Louisville should be ticked.

5:21: On to the West region

• 1. UConn vs. 16. Chattanooga
• 8. BYU vs. 9. Texas A&M
• 5. Purdue vs. 12. Northern Iowa
• 4. Washington vs. 13. Mississippi State
• 3. Missouri vs. 14. Cornell
• 6. Marquette vs. 11.Utah State
  
• 7. California vs. 10. Maryland
  
• 2. Memphis vs. 15. Cal State Northridge

Maryland's another bubble team that just made it. That's pretty much it for Auburn. If Minnesota and Wisconsin make it, it's over. That is, if it isn't already.

5:23: The TV guys and I are in agreement: this looks like a UConn-Memphis region final in the making. I'm not crazy about Purdue and Washington. Yes, Missouri won the Big 12 conference tournament, but it didn't take down the top teams. Baylor and Oklahoma State did that work for them. And Marquette isn't the same without Dominic James.

5:28: The East is up next:

• 1. Pittsburgh vs. 16. East Tennessee State
• 8. Oklahoma State vs. 9. Tennessee
• 5. Florida State vs. 12 Wisconsin
• 4. Xavier vs. 13. Portland State
• 3. Villanova vs. 14. American
• 6. UCLA vs. 11. VCU
  
• 7. Texas vs. 10. Minnesota
  
• 2. Duke vs. Binghamton
  

Wisconsin and Minnesota were two teams on the bubble that just got in. I think you can officially close the book on Auburn now. One bracket to go.

5:29: Seth Davis and I must be sharing brain waves. I like Florida State as a sleeper in this bracket. Pittsburgh's a tough out. Duke is Duke, but the Blue Devils haven't been that good in the tournament lately. And you know they don't want to play VCU in the third round (remember the game a couple years ago?). I think this one is Pittsburgh's to lose, though. That is one tough team, even if it did bow out of the Big East tournament early. They should be well-rested in that case.

5:37: And finally, the South:

• 1. North Carolina vs. 16. Radford
• 8. LSU vs. 9. Butler
• 5. Illinois vs. 12. Western Kentucky
• 4. Gonzaga vs. 13. Akron
• 3. Syracuse vs. 14. Stephen F. Austin
• 6. Arizona State vs. 11. Temple
• 7. Clemson vs. 10. Michigan
• 2. Oklahoma vs. 15. Morgan State

Wow. What a slap in the face to the SEC. Conference champ LSU gets an eighth seed. Eight! I guess it really was a down year for the SEC.

5:43: Based on the seedings, we can figure out who the last two teams in were. They were on the 12 line, since Western Kentucky and Northern Iowa were automatic bids. That means the last two in were Wisconsin and Arizona.

Wisconsin (full disclosure, my alma mater) really wasn't in anybody's discussion as being right on the bubble, but a loss to Ohio State in its only Big Ten tournament game really dropped the Badgers down. UW was 18-12 with an RPI of 45, a SOS of 20, a 4-10 record vs. the RPI top 50 and a 9-11 record against the top 100. Bo Ryan's crew played a tough non-conference schedule with games against UConn, Texas and Marquette, but it lost all of those games. Its best non-conference win was a nail-biter against Virginia Tech.

Arizona is a bigger question mark. Yes, the Wildcats beat Gonzaga and Kansas in the non-conference portion of the schedule, but they didn't beat anybody of significance on the road, finishing with a 2-9 record. That should matter. 'Zona's other significant numbers: 19-13, RPI of 36, SOS of 40, 6-10 vs. RPI top 50, 8-12 vs. top 100. BUT, it lost five of its last six games coming down the stretch. If Auburn fans have any quibbling to do, it's with that fact right there.

5:45: SEC commissioner and selection committee chairman Mike Slive is up next. Some SEC fans probably think he has some 'splainin' to do.

5:47: Another something of note: Dayton was one of the final four teams in. Imagine if Auburn hadn't lost to the Flyers in overtime back in November. You know, the game where Dayton was 0-for-24 from 3-point range. That's going to sting for a while.

5:56: Slive speaks. The finer points:

• Louisville winning the Big East tournament clinched the No. 1 overall seed.
• The top two lines were fairly consistent but not decided until today.
• He rattled off several teams with injuries that affected their seasons, but Auburn and Rasheem Barrett's groin problem got no mention.
• "We look at teams. We don't look at labels. It's not about mid-major teams or major teams. It's about teams."
• Message that was delivered: "It was your entire body of work." It favored teams that played away and won games early. "Those kind of wins will make a difference." There's Auburn's non-pick in a nutshell.
• On the bubble teams: "It's not a team against another team, but a group of teams." Don't know exactly what that means. Strange interview there.

5:57: All right, that's a wrap here. I'm heading in to get some comments about Auburn's non-selection. The NIT bids are announced starting at 9 p.m. EST, and the Tigers should have a great chance to grab a No. 1 seed. I'll update when the info moves.

Saturday Bubble(s) watch (updated 8:05 p.m.)

We're back for another fun day of bubble watching. Things are certainly getting interesting.

First, I'd like to thank Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins (pictured) of The Wire for being today's Bubble Watch representative. If anybody knows the feeling of being an outcast who longs to be on the inside, it's poor Bubs.

I've moved this post back above the running LIVE blog of the Tennessee-Auburn game that just finished up. Give it a read anyway. It's interesting to back through a game just to see how the momentum shifts.

In the meantime, Joe Lunardi, who I am basing all of this off of, has revised bracket once again. Lunardi is projecting that there are SEVEN teams competing for THREE remaining at-large spots.

Here again are probably more numbers than you would ever want to know, but the figures in parentheses after the team name are the following (record against Division I opponents, RPI, strength of schedule, record vs. RPI top 50, record vs. RPI top 100, record in last 12 games)

Here's how things look right now (and remember, this is just a projection):

(UPDATE 12:42 p.m.) One bullet dodged. Tulsa got hammered by Memphis, keeping the Conference USA's automatic bid in safe hands. That probably also ends the Golden Hurricane's chances at making the Big Dance.

(UPDATE 2:05 p.m.) This is an interesting development. Mississippi State just took it to No. 1-seeded LSU in the SEC tournament to reach the championship game. The Bulldogs are not an at-large candidate for the NCAA tournament, but if they win tomorrow, that means they would get an automatic berth. If you're an Auburn fan, you can look at this two ways. 1) the path to get an automatic bid by winning the tournament just got a little easier. Obviously you'd rather want to play a team you've been handily twice than one that you split with during the regular season. But 2) this is another team that could potentially steal one of the four remaining berths out there. Auburn could very well play itself into an at-large bid by winning today, but still have to beat Mississippi State because the Bulldogs could end up taking away a berth at the last second. Just when you think you have this tournament bubble thing figured out, something like this happens.

(UPDATE 4:39 p.m.) I wrote this in the Auburn-Tennessee LIVE blog post, but I'll paste it here as well. What does the loss mean NCAA tournament-wise for Auburn? Well, it's not good. Basically, the Tigers have to hope the selection committee looks specifically at how they played down the stretch and hope that is more impressive than what Penn State or Creighton or Saint Mary's has accomplished for a full season. They also have to hope nobody else steals a bid. That means Mississippi State, Baylor, USC, Maryland, Duquesne and San Diego State ALL HAVE TO LOSE. You can't do anything if a team wins its conference tournament. If it is still an at-large candidate, then Auburn is at least in the picture. I'm still not liking the Tigers' chances, though.

(UPDATE 4:45 p.m.) Lunardi posted another update at 5 p.m. EST, before Auburn's loss. Tulsa, Florida, UNLV and New Mexico are off the board, leaving eight teams competing for four spots.

(UPDATE 5 p.m.) This is not bubble related, but it is hilarious. Here are the mascots involved, Big Blue and Pistol Pete. Just picture it in your head. Honestly, that's $100 well spent if that is indeed what happened.

(UPDATE 5:13 p.m) Maryland just lost to Duke, keeping them firmly in the bubble area. You've still got to like the Terps' chances, with wins against North Carolina, Michigan State and Wake Forest this year. They've also lost to Morgan State and a Virginia team that Auburn beat. Bottom line, though, a win against Duke would have locked up a bid for the Terps. Now they have to sweat it out.

(UPDATE 6:50 p.m.) Temple is in the tournament with an A-10 championship victory against Duquesne. Not a real blow here. One of these teams was going to get in regardless, and the Owls had a better at-large resume, so it's better for Auburn that they won.

(UPDATE 7:14 p.m.) Devastating news for Auburn. Southern California just knocked off Arizona State to win the Pac-10 and get an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. That knocks down the number of at-large bids to three, so competition is tight. This might be the game that officially knocks the Tigers out of contention.

(UPDATE 7:18 p.m) Mizzou holds on to eliminate upstart Baylor. San Diego State can still grab an auto bid. So can Mississippi State tomorrow.

(UPDATE 8:04 p.m.) San Diego State came up just short against Utah in the MWC final, meaning the Aztecs are still in the at-large pool. According to Lunardi, they're now on the outside looking in, after the expert said on TV just now that he would swap the Aztecs with Saint Mary's if they didn't win today's game. This is pretty much the last significant bubble game tonight, so Auburn fans came go to sleep tonight with hopes of Tennessee handling Mississippi State in the SEC championship tomorrow and for the selection committee to probably pull a shocker and put the Tigers. It's not looking good, but the committee has surprised people in the past. Heck, even Lunardi gets them wrong every now and then. He even missed Auburn making the field in 2003. So there's a glimmer of hope out there.

AUTO BIDS

• Southern California (20-12, 52, 23, 4-8, 8-10, 7-5)
  

LUNARDI'S LAST THREE IN

• Creighton (26-7, 42, 110, 2-2, 9-5, 11-1)
  
• Maryland (19-13, 62, 30, 3-8, 7-11, 6-6)
• Saint Mary's (23-6, 48, 152, 2-3, 3-4, 7-5)

NEXT TEAMS OUT

• Penn State (22-10, 67, 120, 6-10, 7-11, 7-5)
  
• Arizona (19-13, 59, 31, 5-9, 8-12, 7-5)
• San Diego State (20-9, 37, 48, 1-6, 6-9, 9-3)
• Auburn (20-11, 65, 65, 2-6, 5-10, 9-3)
  

THE NIT WILL BE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU

• New Mexico (21-11, 66, 82, 3-4, 7-8, 9-3)
  
• UNLV (21-10, 63, 87, 4-5, 9-8, 6-6)
  
• Florida (23-9, 46, 94, 2-6, 8-8, 6-6)
  
• Tulsa (22-10, 64, 126, 2-7, 5-7, 9-3)
  

Auburn-Tennessee LIVE blog

Back by popular demand (or again, because I have nothing better to do this afternoon), I'll be LIVE blogging today's Tennessee-Auburn game from the comforts of my couch, or possibly my recliner if I want to spruce things up. The world is my oyster.

So check back throughout the game to get updates.

First of all, O-A News gadfly Andrew "Gribbs" Gribble of the always entertaining and informative Fourth and Blog informs us that Auburn is wearing orange uniforms for the game, meaning Tennessee can't possibly be wearing orange. Are the Tigers trying to get a psychological edge? That Jeff Lebo is a crafty one. Imagine what that would look like on TV. I don't think Auburn keep stats for what its record is based on uniform color, but if someone knows, let me know and I'll post it.

2:24: Today's keys ...

• Keep the score low: Auburn thrives in that kind of game. I don't know if it wants to run with the Vols.
• Control the defensive glass: Tennessee thrives on putbacks. Auburn has to limit those today.
• Make some 3's: The Florida game was rare that Auburn won and didn't shoot the 3 that well. The Tigers will need to make some 3's to win this game.

2:27: Someone please tell the Raycom announcers how to say Kor-VOT-ney Barber's name. It's not Kor-VORT-ney Barber. That's been driving me nuts.

2:29: Gribbs tells us that Auburn took the court to virtually no applause. Tennessee's ovation was loud by comparison. Looks like another pro-opponent crowd. Didn't seem to bother the Tigers yesterday.

2:30: This is either a reflection of the economy or that Kentucky is not involved in the tournament anymore, but Gribbs tells us the St. Pete Forum is about half full. Auburn's going with the same starting lineup again: Barber, Rasheem "Pull-up Jumper" Barrett, DeWayne "Speed" Reed, Tay "With the Tray" Waller and Quantez "Get that 3-pointer outta here" Robertson.

2:33: Waller with a 3 on his first shot. That's always a good sign.

2:34: Three 3-pointers taken. Three 3-pointers made Tennessee up 6-3. This could be high-scoring.

2:35: Ooh, Wayne Chism dunk. But Barber answers with a dunk. This is the most intriguing matchup on the day for me.

2:36: Here's a picture from Gribbs on press row. It's good to see young reporters trying to bring back the fedora look. All he needs is a white slip of paper that says "Press." Also, a cigar that is always lit and a cup of scotch at the ready.


2:39: 12-10 Auburn at the first TV timeout. Waller and Barber both have six points. Tennessee has four turnovers.

2:41: For no reason, here's a picture of Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl (I believe that is his daughter on his lap). This photo was apparently taken from the future, when everyone will wear shiny jumpsuits. I'm guessing in the year 2038.


2:43: Waller hits another 3. He's 3-for-4 from long range, already a better shooting night than yesterday.

2:44: Auburn is shooting 60 percent so far. Tennessee is at 57.1. This probably is not going to be a low-scoring game.

2:45: Tennessee center Brian Williams looks like an offensive lineman out there. He's 6-10, 267 pounds. Ridiculous. On a crucial note, Chism just got his second foul with 13 minutes left and had to go to the bench. J.P. Prince also has two fouls. Those are the Vols' two best players.

2:48: Tez with the turnover. He's absolutely no threat to shoot, so defenses don't have to respect that. That's got to limit his options with the ball. Auburn's up 16-15 at the 12-minute TV timeout.

2:49: Vols are shooting 66 percent (6-9). Lebo can't be happy about that.

2:52: Alley oop dunk by Tyler Smith gives Tennessee its first lead. Lucas Hargrove answers right back to tie it up again.

2:53: Nice pick and roll by Barrett and Vot, who converted a layup while getting fouled. He missed the free throw, so Auburn trails 21-20.

2:54: Notable stat: Barrett and Reed have only taken one shot apiece. Neither has scored.

2:55: Tough couple of possessions for Brendon Knox, who missed a gimme dunk and traveled. Kind of strange that Lebo is playing him and Lebo at the same time, but I guess he wants to protect the glass. That's assuming Tennessee starts missing any shots. The Vols are 9-for-15 but have 9 turnovers.

2:57: Barber and Chism both have 10 points. This is a heavyweight bout.

2:58: Strange sequence with Waller getting the steal and turning it over for a Tennessee dunk. Thought the refs could have called a foul in there somewhere. Vols have their biggest lead at 30-22 at the 8-minute TV timeout.

2:59: Luke Brietzke of Anniston Star fame informs us that the refs did miss a foul call on Waller's turnover and probably could have called a foul that led to Hargrove's travel.

3:01: Apparently, nobody wants a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Michigan State just lost to Ohio State and North Carolina lost to Florida State.

3:02: Another Chism 3 puts Tennessee up 11. He's got 13 points. Vols are 6-for-10 from 3-point range.

3:03: Vot's mini hook snaps a 3-minute scoring drought for Auburn, but Chism answers with another 3, his fourth of the game, to make it a 12-point game.

3:04: Chism, by the way, is shooting 31 percent from 3-point range this year. He's 4-for-7 today.

3:06: Tennessee simply isn't missing right now. Vols are 15-for-23 from the floor (65.2 percent). They lead 40-29 at the 4-minute TV timeout.

3:09: Smith dunk puts Tennessee up 13. That matches the largest deficit it has faced during its streak of nine wins in 10 games. The Tigers were down 13 to Bama.

3:10: Eight straight points for Speed Reed, who is heating up. He's hit two 3's.

3:11: Tough break for Hargrove, who played good D on Cameron Tatum, forcing him into a bad shot. But Tatum got the rebound and drew a foul on Hargove to get a three-point play. 47-36 Tennessee.

3:13: That's the score as we go to the half. Pearl says of Chism's 3-point shooting, sometimes you've just got to let them play. That's good justification for letting a 6-9 guy shooting 3's. Also, he's making all of them.

3:15: Brietzke reports that Vot hurt his forearm going up for a rebound on the final shot of the half, holding it in obvious pain as he left the court.

3:16: For no reason, here's another photo of Pearl, who, if you couldn't tell, I think is a pretty good coach:


3:17: Relevant halftime stats ...

• FG%: Tennessee 60% (18-30), Auburn 44.1% (15-34)
• 3-pointers: Tennessee 7-12, Auburn 5-16
• Rebounds: Tennessee 18, Auburn 12
• Assists: Tennessee 12, Auburn 7
• Free throws: Tennessee 4-5, Auburn 1-5

3:19: Your Auburn individual stats:

• Barber: 14 points, 7-8 FG, 3 rebounds
• Waller: 9 points, 3-6 3-point
• Reed: 8 points, 2-5 3-point
• Barrett: 0 points, 0-for-1
• Bench: 5 points, 2-for-7, 4 rebounds

3:20: Your Tennessee individual stats:

• Chism: 16 points, 6-10 FG, 4-7 3-point
• Scotty Hopson: 8 points, 3-5 FG
• Bobby Maze: 8 points, 3-3 FG
• Smith: 8 points, 3-5 FG
• Bench: 7 points, 9 rebounds

3:27: That break in the action was brought to you by Dove bars, the unofficial halftime sponsor of the War Eagle Extra. I think I was going through withdrawal by not being at the even, where there's normally an endless supply. ANYWAY, Auburn's got to make some big defensive adjustments in the second half. I can't imagine Tennessee's hot shooting was all a result of the Tigers' defense (I think the Vols are just in a zone), but Auburn has to start getting in their faces on some of these 3-point attempts, even if that opens up something a little closer.

3:30: Auburn's also got to get Rasheem going. It's bad enough that Tez is no threat to score the ball. To have two-thirds of the players on your court not be an offensive option is too much.

3:31: Brietzke informs us that the 47 points Tennessee scored were the most Auburn has allowed in the first half all season. The Tigers gave up 46 to Ole Miss, which, as you remember, took Auburn behind the woodshed in Oxford.

3:33: THAT would be a prime example of what Auburn cannot do. Wide open 3 by Smith. Drano. Twelve-point game again.

3:34: Barrett's on the board with a 3-pointer. Like I said, he has to get going for the Tigers to get back in this thing.

3:35: Gribbs with an injury update on Vot. He keeps holding his left forearm/elbow. Looks like that will be a nagging thing this half.

3:36: A Frankie Sullivan 3-pointer gets Auburn within seven. He's up to five points now. Another guy that it would be nice to see get going.

3:37: Two offensive rebounds this possession. Announcers and Gribbs think that ball went off Tennessee.

3:38: Barrett's heating up. (Say that in an NBA Jam voice and it's funnier.) Two straight 3's get Auburn within six. A Maze basket puts Tennessee up 55-47 with 15:49 to go, though.

3:40: I didn't think Geico could come up with a more annoying commercial than the Gecko, but the bug-eyed stack of money staring at people as a techno version of Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" plays in the background has surpassed it. Good job, guys.

3:41: Barber with a layup and gets a third foul on Willliams. Auburn within six.

3:42: And he made the free throw to make it a five-point game. Auburn is 2-for-6 from the line today.

3:43: Nice hustle play by Speed Reed to save the ball from out of bounds. Leads to a foul on Tennessee when Waller was shooting a 3.

3:44: Brietzke thinks Chism is a lot like Chris Webber. The comparison will be complete if he calls too many timeouts in the final minute. Luke offers the following description: "Big man with outside shots. Headband. Aloofness." I think we can all agree C-Webb was aloof. Or at the very least temperamental.

3:46: Hargrove's up to four fouls. Bad news for Auburn.

3:49: Tennessee's already in the bonus with 12:48 to play. That's a long time to shoot free throws. Vols up 65-54.

3:50: Waller 3 and an over-the-back call on Tennessee gives Auburn a chance to whittle this lead. Announcer just said Waller's range is "unfathomable."

3:51: Seriously, announcers, it's Kor-VOT-ney. Kor-VOT-ney. Not Kor-VORT-ney. It's not like he's Auburn's best player or anything.

3:52: 65-57 Vols with 11:52 to play.

3:55: Barber layup cuts the lead to 6. He's got 23 in the game on 11-for-13 shooting. Talk about elevating your game.

3:56: Ten minutes left and both teams are in the bonus. This does not bod well for the Tigers.

3:57: Big swing right there. Sullivan misses a wide open 3 and Prince answers with a basket while getting fouled. The free throw makes it 70-61 Vols.

3:58: Nobody hustles more than Sullivan, who just dove into the base of the media table going after a loose ball. No wonder Lebo likes him so much.

3:59: Wow, extreme continuation call on a Prince basket. It looked like he took two or three steps after that foul. Lebo looks shocked. He missed the free throw, keeping the score at 74-65.

4:02: Steal by Reed, but Sullivan missed a layup on the fastbreak. Auburn needs those kind of baskets. The Tigers trail by 10.

4:04: 76-66 Vols with 6:48 left. Tennessee has "cooled off" to 58 percent shooting.

4:08: Tennessee by 12 with 5:30 left. Auburn has to make its move soon.

4:09: Lucky rebound by Chism after a teammate bricked a 3 so bad it fell right into his arms. he made 1 of 2 from the line to make it an 11-point game.

4:10: Waller with an off-balance (and therefore typical) 3 gets the Tigers within 8. He's got 17 points and has made five 3-pointers.

4:12: Just checked the rebounding margin. Tennessee's up 37-23. Ouch.

4:15: Auburn just played great defense for 35 seconds and then Reed hoisted up a step-back 3 about five seconds into the Tigers' next possession and missed. Not a great shot.

4:18: Eight-point game, 2:37 left.

4:19: Tennessee's only a 67.5 percent free throw shooting team. This could get interesting. Smith hits 1 of 2 to make it a nine-point game.

4: 20: A Chism dunk might just do it. It's an 11-point lead with 2:07 to play. Auburn has to be perfect and hope the Vols mess up from here on out.

4:21: Another Chism dunk gives him 25. Reed with a quick layup cuts the lead to 9 with 1:46 left.

4:22: Smith up to 21 points after 1 of 2 from the line. 10-point lead.

4:24: Auburn foul with 1:11 left, still down 11. The Tigers are done, barring a miracle.

4:26: This one's just about over. 92-81 Tennessee. That's the most points Auburn has allowed this year.

4:27: Aaaaaaaaaaand ... it's over. 94-85 Vols. That's all she wrote.

4:28: Tough loss for Auburn, but Tennessee was really on its game. The Vols finished the game shooting 57 percent.

4:29: Pertinent team stats ...

• FG%: Tennessee 57.6% (34-59), Auburn 45.9% (31-69)
• 3-pointers: Tennessee 9-19, Auburn 10-30
• Rebounds: Tennessee 39, Auburn 26

4:30: Pearl, who looks like he could double as a cast member of the Sopranos, stumped for Auburn, saying the selection committee needs to look long and hard at Auburn. Class move on his part.

4:33: Final Auburn individual stats ...

• Barber: 24 points, 11-14 FG, 10 rebounds
• Barrett: 18 points, 8-9 FT
• Waller: 17 points, 5-10 3-point, 6 rebounds
• Reed: 14 points, 6-15 FT, 8 assists
• Sullivan: 9 points, 4-12 FG, 1-7 3-point

4:34: Final Tennessee individual stats (talk about balance) ...

• Chism: 27 points, 10-16 FG, 4-8 3-point, 9 rebounds (game MVP in my book)
• Smith: 23 points, 8-15 FG
• Maze: 13 points
• Hopson: 10 points
• Tatum: 11 points
• Prince: 9 points

4:37: What does this mean NCAA tournament-wise for Auburn? Well, it's not good. Basically, the Tigers have to hope the selection committee looks specifically at how they played down the stretch and hope that is more impressive than what Penn State or Creighton or Saint Mary's has accomplished for a full season. They also have to hope nobody else steals a bid. That means Mississippi State, Baylor, USC, Maryland, Duquesne and San Diego State all have to lose. You can't do anything if a team wins its conference tournament. If it is still an at-large candidate, then Auburn is at least in the picture. I'm still not liking the Tigers' chances, though.

Lunardi: Auburn the second team out right now

The Atlantic 10 has thrown a wrench into the hopes of bubble teams across the country, with NCAA tournament locks Xavier and Dayton losing in the semifinals. That means Temple or Duquesne will get the automatic berth.

That leaves 12 teams vying for four final at-large spots, and look who's finally getting close: your Auburn Tigers.

This is ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi's latest projection, which has Auburn as high as it has ever been.

LUNARDI'S LAST FOUR IN

• San Diego State
• Creighton
• Maryland
• Penn State

LUNARDI'S FIRST TEAMS OUT

• Arizona
• Auburn
• St. Mary's
• New Mexico
• UNLV
• Florida
• USC
• Tulsa

That may not look like great news, but it is. Creighton is done playing. So is Penn State, which got pounded by Purdue today. Arizona is sitting idly by watching games as well.

That means Auburn has the perfect opportunity to move up with a win against Tennessee tomorrow in a game everybody will be watching nationally. A win, and I would have to think Auburn would move into one of those remaining four spots. I mean, that would give the Tigers 10 wins in their last 11 games, and certainly make them a viable candidate to be in the Top 25. Can you keep a Top 25 team out of the NCAA tournament? Has this happened? (Note: I think a ranked UNLV team got left out once, but that had to do with some shenanigans noted humanitarian Isaiah Rider pulled late in the season.)

There are some things to watch though. Namely, the bid thieves who could still win their conference tournaments. Be wary of what these teams do tomorrow:

• Baylor: Is in the Big 12 title game after upsetting Kansas and Texas on back-to-back days. Will play NCAA lock Missouri in the championship. Auburn fans should pull hard for Missouri.
• Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane have a tall task to get the Conference USA's auto bid, going up against No. 3 Memphis. But it will get that opportunity. (Strangely, Auburn fans have to root for the "Tigers" in each of those matchups. Coincidence? I think not.)
• Southern California: The Trojans just finished beating UCLA and can now get the Pac-10's automatic berth with a win against Arizona State tomorrow night. As an at-large candidate, the Trojans are a fringe bubble team at best.
  

FINAL: Auburn 61, Florida 58

You are looking LIVE ... at your television set, just like I am from Auburn, sitting comfortably on my couch to bring you tonight's running blog post of the Auburn-Florida game.

I guess this makes me a blogger tonight instead of a reporter, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I can guarantee you that I am neither a) in my underwear or b) in my mother's basement.

I'll be updating all night, hopefully getting bits of info from some of my colleagues fortunate enough to be in Tampa covering the event. Anniston Star beat hack Luke Brietzke informs me it is a very pro-Gator crowd, not surprising since Gainesville is about a 2-hour drive from Tampa.

Keep refreshing the page throughout the night for updates during the game, and feel free to post a comment or e-mail me at abitter@ledger-enquirer.com is you want. Send some good insight on the game and I'll throw it up here on the blog.

8:55: No surprises in the starting lineup for Auburn tonight: Korvotney Barber, DeWayne Reed, Rasheem Barrett, Quantez Robertson and Tay Waller. Why mess up a good thing if you're going strong, right?

8:56: I'd also like to thank Taco Bell for being the unofficial sponsor of tonight's pre-game meal in my living room. It might not be the best food, but I'd like to see you come up with 50 different combinations of meat, cheese and lettuce.

8:59: I'm glad this just about it for Auburn on Raycom. I've been watching all these tournament games in HD all day -- every single conference -- and then I get to the SEC and it's fuzzy and dark. I know, I'm a TV snob.

9:01: Waller missed his first 3, by the way, which is usually the kiss of death for his night.

9:02: Nervous start for Auburn. Barber's trying to settle everyone down. Doesn't look like it's working. Auburn's already 0-for-4 from the field with a few turnovers after nearly four minutes.

9:03: Tay "with the deuce" Waller gets Auburn on the board. Still down 5-2 at the first TV timeout. I wonder if this will at all resemble the first meeting the teams had, which was a rock fight by the very definition. They combined to go 10-for-50 from 3-point range in that game.

9:05: Announcers just said Auburn is 17-1 when out-rebounding its opponents; 2-8 when it loses the battle on the boards. that's a pretty definitive stat.

9:09: Florida is 3-for-3 from 3-point range. That's a bad sign.

9:11: Make that 4-for-4. Uh-oh.

9:12: Frankie Sullivan drains Auburn's first 3. Still can't figure out how he was left off of the SEC All-Freshman team. The kid is not afraid to take a big shot at any time.

9:13: Florida 16, Auburn 13, 10:56 first half. Gators have seven rebounds, Tigers have three.

9:14: Lucas Hargrove with the foul. Jeff Lebo is not pleased, according to Brietzke. Lebo and Hargrove are one of the more entertaining duos to watch during a basketball game. At least four or five times a game, Hargrove will do something that will force Lebo to give him a disbelieving look. And at least once a game, Hargrove will make some ridiculously athletic play that brings the house down. It happens all the time. We'll be sure to point it out if it happens tonight. Right now, the official tally is Lebo bewildered moments 1, Hargrove highlight reel plays 0.

9:18: Walter Hodge with a 3. Florida's 5-for-7 from outside. You have to wonder if having already played in that cavernous arena helped them tonight.

9:19: Nick Calathes charge but the basket counts. Why is that a rule again? Shouldn't it be one or the other. Nice hustle play by Sullivan to draw the foul, by the way.

9:20: Sullivan with a ridiculous runner to get Auburn within 23-17. That's seven points for the freshman, who clearly isn't intimidated on the big stage.

9:21: Just as a post that, he launches an air ball 3 from the corner. Florida 25-17 as we head to another TV timeout.

9:23: Just checked Joe Lunardi's latest update. He's got Ohio State as a lock after beating the fighting Badgers of Wisconsin. That leaves five at-large spots left. It's getting pretty tight now.

9:28: They are letting them play, it appears. It seemed like there were a few fouls the last time down the floor that didn't get called. Florida's up 27-22 at another TV timeout.

9:31: Gotta say, Aubie and the Gator mascot are probably the top two seeds if there were to be a mascot tournament. I guess Uga would be in there too. Those three would definitely have a first-round bye.

9:33: Ooooh, spin move by Sullivan for a layup and then a block at the other end. He's all over the court tonight. He's going to be a great player for Auburn the next couple years.

9:34: TV guys just made mention that this is the first time they've seen Auburn this year, because the Tigers haven't been on television that much this year. I blame the SEC for not getting a better TV deal. I can't turn on the tube mid-week without seeing the ACC, Big Ten or Big East on TV.

9:36: Lucas with a deep 3 that doesn't go, but Sullivan gets a put-back to give him 11 points and get Auburn within 29-28.

9:37: And that's where we are at the half. 29-28 Florida. Halftime interview with Billy Donovan just said he think the Gators playing last night gave them a little advantage early on, since they were used to the environment and shooting conditions. You could also make the argument that having to play two games in two days could catch up to Florida in the second half.

9:38: Relevant halftime numbers: Florida 37.9% FG, Auburn 40.7%. Florida 5-13 on 3-pointers, Auburn 2-for-10. Florida 16 rebounds, Auburn 13. Alex Tyus has 12 points and six rebounds for the Gators, all from in close. Sullivan is pacing the Tigers with 11 points, three rebounds and a block.

9:40: Other halftime totals: Auburn's starting lineup had 12 first-half points. The bench had 16. The starters were 5-for-17 from the field. The bench was 6-for-10. The starters were 0-for-5 from 3-point range. The bench was 2-for-5. It's good that the bench is producing, but Auburn has to get more out of its starters if it hopes to pull this one out.

9:48: I've written it before, but it bears repeating. The loser of this game WILL NOT make the NCAA tournament. There's just no way. That's not saying that the winner is in necessarily, but it is basically an elimination game.

9:53: Lebo just confirmed to the courtside reporter that his team was anxious to start out and needed to settle down. No big breaking news there.

9:54: Florida just got about four offensive rebounds to get a layup. Auburn can't have any of that. It needs to lock down the defensive glass.

9:55: Tyus up to 16 points after a baby hook. Vot's having a tough time handling him on the post.

9:56: Tez stops a 6-0 Florida run with a nice three-point play in which he made the free throw and everything. He was 0-for-6 from the FT line the first time these teams met.

9:58: Barber with a stickback on his signature play, snagging a rebound and getting it back up before the defense knows what him them. Apparently he has some sort of anti-gravity attribute that allows his to get back to the ground quicker to make a second leap before anyone else. It's 35-33 Florida with 16:09 left.

10:00: And what would have been my deadline (11 p.m. EST) passes. In that respect, I'm kind of glad I'm not frantically writing at courtside right now. On the other hand, the free food they provide at these things is one of the highlights. The ACC used to hand out free Dove bars. And you wonder why sportswriters are fat and out of shape. They're providing an endless supply of ice cream confections for God's sake! You wouldn't be able to resist either.

10:03: Sullivan air balls another 3. Auburn's still down two and has not led yet tonight.

10:05: The TV scoreboard just incorrectly gave Florida credit for an Auburn basket. Wait, they just fixed it. Auburn down three with 13:25 to play.

10:07: Announcers just said Vot gets quiet double-doubles. Maybe that's why he was second team All-SEC. He just canned two free throw to get Auburn within 1. The Tigers are 7-for-8 from the line tonight.

10:08: Big momentum shift. Sullivan's layup is waved off by an offensive foul, even though a) it was a terrible call, with Calathes under the basket and b) it should have counted because released it before contact, just like earlier. The announcers pretty much said the refs blew that call. Lebo, by the way, was bug-eyed after that call.

10:09: And if you had 10:09 p.m. for your "Lebo will be described as a Dean Smith disciple" pool, you've just won.

10:11: At the 12-minute TV timeout, it's still Florida 39, Auburn 38. First one to 55 points win this thing.

10:13: Lucas just made 1-of-2 from the line to tie things up. Auburn still hasn't led.

10:14: Lucas just threw one into the seventh row of the crowd. Lebo did not look pleased. "Guess whether or not Jeff's mad at Lucas," is the Google chat from Luke. I'm going with ... yes. Final answer.

10:17: Two missed layups on the fastbreak and Auburn STILL has not led in this game. That's the Tigers' 11th chance to take the lead in this game. They're 0-for-11.

10:18: Waller 3 from the corner gives Auburn a 45-44 lead. That's Waller's first 3. He's 1-for-5 from long range. Timeout with 7:50 left.

10:20: O-A News correspondent Andrew "Gribbs" Gribble in a shameless bid to get on the blog informs us that Waller's 3 silenced the crowd. "An odd scene for a conf tourney," he Google chatted.

10:21: 47-46 Auburn after another Waller 3 with 7:08 to play. Tim Brando goes to commercial by saying Waller is lathered up. I haven't the slightest clue what that means, but I'm going to guess it's good.

10:24: Tez misses the front end of a 1-and-1. Can't afford that.

10:25: Vot tip-in and a Hargrove layup gives Auburn a five-point lead with 6:34 left. I've consulted with Gribbs about whether that would be a Zombie Nation momentum shifting moment and I'm waiting for a response. I think it qualifies.

10:27: Gribbs' response: "Definitely." Glad we cleared that up.

10:29: Hargrove with a runner pushes the lead back to five before Tyus gets a putback and gets a foul on Barber. Florida gets within two with the free throw. 4:11 to play.

10:30: Calathes must missed a 3 that would have been the rare Reverse Zombie Nation. Instead Auburn still lead 53-51 with 3:46 left. Brietzke, hoping to get another mention, informs us that Calathes has been "awful" the last four games. He's 3-for-13 tonight and 1-for-6 from 3-point range. Luke also correctly points out that Calathes was the difference in the first game, scoring 17 points and making three late free throws to seal the win. Hat tip to the Anniston Star there.

10:34: Rasheem makes 1-of-2 from the line to make it a three-point game.

10:35: Calathes has finished with 11, 5, 11 and 5 points his last four games, by the way.

10:36: Hargrove just nailed a 3 when Lebo was trying to get a timeout. Good thing he didn't. 57-53 Auburn with 1:51 left. Waller at the free throw line.

10:37: Syracuse is playing in overtime, by the way. Some basketball higher power has a cruel sense of humor.

10:39: Settle in folks. 58-55 Auburn with 1:33 left and the teams have a combined five timeouts remaining.

10:40: Sullivan has to heave up a prayer at the shot clock buzzer. Still a three-point play with a minute to go.

10:41: Auburn avoids getting fouled, Speed Reed drives and dishes to Vot for the dunk! What a clutch play. Donovan wanted the foul, and probably should considering how the Tigers shoot free throws. Big play for Auburn to get free from the defenders and get the basket. Five-point game with 25 seconds left.

10:42: Hodge rattles in a 3-pointer that must have hit the rim six times. 60-58 Auburn with 14.2 seconds to play. Onions shot on his part.

10:44: Sullivan hits the first free throw to make it a three-point game with 13.4 seconds to go. Florida calls a TO to ice him.

10:46: No good on the second.

10:46: Tez with the block on a game-tying 3! Auburn wins 61-58. "This is one of the great blocked shots that we have ever seen with the game on the line in the SEC tournament," Brandon exclaims, lessening the compliment with every word of his statement.

10:48: Tez's final line: 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 big block.

10:49: What does this mean? Well, that should wrap things up for Florida's NCAA hopes. Auburn's not in yet, but it's still in the discussion, which is all it can ask for at this point. Big game against Tennessee tomorrow. Tip-off is 3:15 p.m. EST.

10:50: Lebo was pleased with his defense throughout, seemed very proud to single out Tez. "I think really we've been ignored the whole time," Lebo said. "You can't ignore what we've done. You can't ignore how we've played."

10:53: Let's recap tonight's leaders:

• Sullivan: 12 points, 3 rebounds
• Barber: 12 points, 10 rebounds (another double-double, shocking!)
• Hargrove: 11 points, 5 rebounds
• Waller: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2-for-7 3-pointers

10:55: Some other relevant numbers:

• FG%: Florida 36.1% (22-61), Auburn 445 (22-50)
• 3-point: Florida 8-for-25, Auburn 6-for-20
• Rebounds: Florida 36, Auburn 33
• Blocks: Auburn 6, Florida 2
• Free throws: Auburn 11-18, Florida 6-10
• Calathes: 3-for-13, 11 points, 1-for-6 3-point

10:59: That's pretty much a wrap from my end. This was so much fun, I'll do it again tomorrow for the Tennessee game. See ya then.

Friday's bubble watch (Updated 11:02 p.m.)

As promised, the running bubble watch post will resume today. ESPN's Joe Lunardi came out with his latest Bracketology update.

He has elevated Minnesota and Michigan to lock status. Rhode Island, Kansas State, Providence, Northwestern, Niagara, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Nevada are out of consideration.

That leaves 20 teams competing for six remaining at-large spots.

These are probably more numbers than you would ever want to know, but the figures in parentheses after the team name are the following (record against Division I opponents, RPI, strength of schedule, record vs. RPI top 50, record vs. RPI top 100, record in last 12 games)

(UPDATE 1:04 p.m.) Poor Virginia Tech. Every year the Hokies get right to the cusp of the NCAA tournament, and every year it seems like they come up just short of beating North Carolina in the ACC tournament to get over the hump. Today, they lost 79-76 in a game that went down the final seconds. Had they won, it would have been the Hokies' second victory against the No. 1 team in the country this year (how many bubble teams could have said that?). But, like last year, Virginia Tech couldn't quite do it, leaving it on the bad side of the bubble right now.

(UPDATE 1:11 p.m.) Minnesota just lost to Michigan State, the Big Ten's No. 1 seed, 64-56. Not a terrible loss for the Gophers, who were competitive. This shouldn't do anything to affect their "lock" status.

(UPDATE 2:08 p.m.) You can knock Kentucky out the tournament discussion after the Wildcats lost 67-58 to LSU, the SEC West's top seed. The Wildcats were terrible down the stretch and were hanging their hats on two wins against Tennessee and one against Florida. that's not going to cut it this year. I'm dropping them out of consideration.

(UPDATE 3:44 p.m.) Big bubble win by Ohio State, which knocked off Wisconsin 61-57 in the second round of the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes were on the very good side of the bubble, listed as Lunardi's first team into the tournament of the teams in doubt. The Badgers, with a SOS of 16, appear to be solidly in, so beating a team like that is a definite boon for the Buckeyes.

(UPDATE 4:31 p.m.) Uh-oh, South Carolina. That was not what you needed to do today, losing to Mississippi State 82-68 in your only SEC tournament game. The Gamecocks have a mediocre RPI (49), a bad strength of schedule (96) and only one win against the RPI's top 50, and that was against Florida, a team that barely qualifies in that regard. If the SEC keeps up this pace, it might be a two-bid league. Has that ever happened for one of the big-six conferences? We'll check it out.

(UPDATE 4:59 p.m.) To answer my question above, yes, one of the big-six conferences has been limited to two NCAA bids before (we're talking post 1985, when the tournament was expanded to 64 teams). The Pac-10 only got two in 1986, '87 and '88. The other power conferences have had down years, but not that down. The ACC and Big 12 have never had fewer than four berths since 1985. The Big Ten (2004) and Big East (1993) both bottomed out at three. As for the SEC, it has had five or more every year since 1997. It was a three-bid league once: in 1990. So yes, it's rare, but conferences do have down cycles like the SEC is having this year.

(UPDATE 7:41 p.m.) The bubble takes another hit, as Temple knocks of Xavier in the A-10 semifinals. The Minutemen are a tournament lock, so the Owls making the finals is not a good thing for Auburn. In fact, Tigers fans had better hope hard that Dayton, another tourney lock, beat Duquesne in the other semifinal and beats Temple in the championship, so the Owls don't steal an automatic bid. As it stands, they're making a pretty strong case for an at-large berth. In other action, Tulsa knocked off UAB in what was a de facto elimination game. I'm dropping the Blazers from consideration. The Golden Hurricane still might have to be Memphis in the C-USA championship, no small task. Also, don't know if anyone is paying attention, but Maryland is beating Wake Forest, another bad sign for bubble teams.

(UPDATE 8:20 p.m.) The 6 o'clock games were not kind for teams like Auburn. First, Maryland pulled off another impressive win against Wake Forest. That gives the Terps wins this year against North Carolina (RPI: 3), Michigan State (4) and Wake Forest (10). And people wonder why Auburn doesn't get much consideration. It doesn't have anything close to those kind of wins on its resume. Making matters worse, Baylor is a potential bid thief in the Big 12 after knocking off Texas in the semifinals. The Bears have beaten Nebraska, Kansas and now Texas to get on the cusp of the automatic bid, ala Georgia last year. They'll get either Oklahoma State or Missouri in tomorrow's championship.

(UPDATE 9:25 p.m.) Lunardi has Ohio State as a lock now, leaving five at-large spots open. Miami, South Carolina, UAB and Kentucky are now out of consideration. He also put Maryland into the tournament for the time being. I've changed things below to reflect that.

(UPDATE 11:02 p.m.) Well, what happened while I was live blogging? Florida appears to be on the outs. Auburn is still alive. San Diego State improved its resume with a win against BYU. Penn State lost to Purdue by 14, weakening its case. But the worst news is that Duquesne beat Dayton, meaning either Duquesne or Temple will get the Atlantic 10's automatic bid, reducing the number of up-for-grabs at-large bids to four. Auburn had better not rest on its laurels.

LOCKS

• Ohio State (21-9, 35, 35, 5-9, 10-10, 8-4): Michigan State's up next, although the Buckeyes might have already done enough to get in
• Another spot is reserved for whoever wins the Atlantic 10 tournament: either Temple or Duquesne.
  

LUNARDI'S LAST FOUR IN

• Penn State (22-10, 67, 120, 6-8, 7-9, 7-5): Bad loss to Purdue doesn't bode well for the Nittany Lions
  
• San Diego State (20-8, 37, 48, 1-5, 6-8, 9-3): Can get auto bid by winning in the MWC championship tomorrow
  
• Creighton (26-7, 42, 110, 2-2, 9-5, 11-1): Blue Jays are done playing, hoping other teams fade away
• Maryland (19-12, 62, 30, 4-7, 5-10, 6-6): Terps get either Duke or Boston College in the ACC semis

FIRST TEAMS OUT (in order)

• New Mexico (21-11, 66, 82, 3-4, 7-8, 7-5): Loss to Wyoming late last night puts Lobos on a perilous perch as last team in with no games left to play
  
• Florida (22-10, 46, 94, 2-6, 8-9, 6-6): You've got to think that finishes off the Gators
  
• Arizona (19-13, 59, 31, 5-9, 8-12, 7-5): Wildcats did themselves no favors by losing to Arizona State early in the Pac-10 tournament
• UNLV (21-10, 63, 87, 4-5, 9-8, 6-6)
• Temple (20-11, 40, 39, 2-5, 5-8, 9-3): Owls crept closer to that automatic berth out of the A-10
• Saint Mary's (23-6, 48, 152, 2-3, 3-4, 7-5)
• Davidson (25-7, 69, 165 , 1-4 , 3-3, 8-4): Praying the committee weighs Stephen Curry's injury heavily
• Auburn (21-10, 65, 65, 3-5, 6-9, 10-2): Another RPI top-50 win; the Tigers can get another tomorrow against Tennessee
  
• Tulsa (22-9, 62, 126,3-6, 4-6, 10-2): No. 3 Memphis is up next; good luck
• Virginia Tech (18-14, 56, 24, 2-9, 6-12, 4-8): Hokies probably won't make it again, despite a strong effort against No. 1 North Carolina
• Southern California (19-12, 52, 23, 3-8 , 4-7, 6-6)

STICK A FORK IN 'EM

• Kentucky (19-13, 79, 62, 4-6, 8-11, 4-8): Awful finish, poor SEC tournament showing should end the Wildcats' 17-year run in the NCAAs
• UAB (22-11, 44, 79, 0-5, 2-11, 9-3): Blazers probably didn't do enough to warrant at-large consideration.
• South Carolina (21-9, 49, 96, 1-5, 7-7, 8-4): Not a great time to go one-and-done in the SEC tournament
• Miami (17-12, 61, 28, 2-7, 6-10, 4-8)
  

Bubble watch is back!

Because it's important for some Auburn fans and because I don't really have anything better to do today, I'll be posting updates of fringe NCAA tournament teams again.

Just from yesterday, you can eliminate Miami, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Georgetown, Kansas State and Rhode Island from consideration. Although probably not completely done, Providence is a real long shot at this point.

That leaves 21 teams trying to grab eight spots, and Michigan and Minnesota probably wrapped up two of those yesterday. Like I said before, it's getting tight.

On to today's games to watch ...

• Minnesota vs. Michigan State, 12 p.m. EST: Gophers might have punched their ticket yesterday, but a win against the Spartans would remove all doubt. MSU is playing for a one seed now that UConn, Pitt, Kansas and Oklahoma all stumbled.

• Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina, 12 p.m. EST: Hokies need this one and got some good news. UNC guard Ty Lawson will not play because of a toe injury. That opens things up for Virginia Tech to steal a marquee win.

• Kentucky vs. LSU, 1 p.m. EST: Wildcats absolutely need this to stay in contention for a tournament spot, but a win doesn't guarantee them that they'll get in.

• Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m. EST: Both teams had first-round byes (the results of the 11-team setup). Although the Badgers are assumed to be heading to the tournament, the Buckeyes have a similar resume. Wisconsin has a 38 RPI, four wins against the RPI top-50 and a strength of schedule of 15. OSU has a 37 RPI, five wins against the RPI top-50 and a strength of schedule of 34.

• Mississippi State vs. South Carolina, 3:15 p.m. EST: Gamecocks have to win to stay in consideration for an at-large bid. It's always nice to add a victory against a team that's won 20 games.

• UAB vs. Tulsa, 6:30 p.m. EST: A bubble elimination game! The loser's out. The winner gets a chance to punch its ticket by probably having to play Memphis in the C-USA title game. Good luck.

• Michigan vs. Illinois, 6:30 p.m. EST: The Wolverines have split with the Illini this year. While they're already probably into the tournament thanks to a 28-point clobbering of Iowa yesterday, a win here would make it all but official.

• Temple vs. Xavier, 6:30 p.m. EST: A big game for bubble watchers, since Xavier will be in the tournament regardless of what happens. Temple's got a pretty good resume, but a win against the A-10's top team would help it a lot come selection Sunday.

• Maryland vs. Wake Forest, 7 p.m. EST: Gary Williams always seems to be on the bubble with his teams, but he's played his way into the tournament before. Maryland only lost by two to Wake in the teams' only matchup this year.

• San Diego State vs. BYU, 9 p.m. EST: I don't really understand Aztecs' strong candidacy too much (RPI 43, SOS: 57, top 50: 1-5, top 100: 4-7), but the experts claim San Diego State is right in there. It probably needs to win this game, though.

• Penn State vs. Purdue, 9 p.m. EST: The Nittany Lions beat a JV team in Indiana on Thursday, which I doubt will impress anyone. If they beat the No. 24 Boilermakers, that would open some eyes.

• Florida vs. Auburn, 9:45 p.m. EST: And who could forget the whole reason I bothered to put this list up on the blog. After days of waiting, the Tigers finally get their shot. I think it's safe to say the loser of this game is out of contention. the winner probably still hasn't done enough to get in, but certainly makes its case a lot stronger. I think I'm going to try live blogging this game from couch (note: not in my underwear and not in my mother's basement). So tune in later and feel free to comment.

• Eastern Washington vs. St. Mary's, 10 p.m. EST: Ahh, the game St. Mary's scheduled at the last second so it could nab another win and maybe impress the tournament committee now that guard Patty Mills is back. I'm sure everyone will be tuning in to a West Coast game that starts at 10 p.m.

• USC vs. UCLA, 11:30 p.m. EST : The Trojans have to win this to stay in consideration, I think.

Bubble update: Friday at 12:41 a.m.

This will be a running thread that keeps tabs on how the other bubble teams fare in their conference tournaments.

I'll use ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi's projections as a baseline (the man is almost never wrong, after all). I've updated the records and RPIs of the respective teams. Remember, there are only eight remaining at-large spots up for grabs, according to the expert.

I've crossed off teams at the bottom who I think are done after poor showings in their conference tournaments. That leaves 24 still in contention.

(UPDATE 2:01 p.m.) Kentucky wins, keeping its rather slim hopes alive. I moved Providence out of the Stick A Fork in 'Em category. I don't like the Friars' chances, but I don't think they are completely out of consideration yet.

(UPDATE 3:36 p.m.): Michigan looks like it locked up a bid with a 73-45 beatdown of Iowa in the Big Ten tournament. The Wolverines have non-conference wins against Duke and UCLA, something most bubble teams are lacking. Temple kept its hopes alive with a win against St. Joseph's. Not it get the A-10's top seed Xavier in the next round. A win there would be a nice addition to the Owls' resume.

(UPDATE 3:59 p.m.) Big news for bubble teams: Arizona just finished losing to Arizona State. Lunardi had the Wildcats as the last team into the NCAAs. While this does not necessarily mean they are out, it certainly opens the door for teams to play their way past them.

(UPDATE 4:20 p.m.) Another one bites the dust. Kansas State lost to Texas 61-58 in the Big 12 quarterfinals. The Wildcats have a terrible RPI and needed a couple wins to make the field. I'm dropping them from the list of candidates.

(UPDATE 4:54 p.m.) UAB just barely stayed alive, beating a .500 Southern Miss team in overtime after hitting a late basket to send the game to an extra session. The Blazers are walking a fine line, with ZERO wins against the RPI top 50 and just two against the top 100. They're probably going to have to beat Memphis in the C-USA championship to get in (that would give them an automatic berth anyway).

(UPDATE 6:08 p.m.) Penn State knocked off the rec ball team that Indiana has been trotting out all year. That certainly doesn't get the Nittany Lions in the tournament, but losing that game would have definitely knocked them out.

(UPDATE 6:32 p.m.) Big bubble shake-up out in the Mountain West following UNLV's 71-57 loss to San Diego State. The Rebels were a team Lunardi had in the tournament entering the day. It will be interesting to see how much they drop after losing to a team Lunardi had as the first team out of the field. You've got to think at least temporarily, this puts San Diego State in.

(UPDATE 7:30 p.m.) Rhode Island lost to Duquesne, sticking a fork in the Rams' hopes. I'm going to put them in the appropriate category of not having a chance. Things have changed in the last few minutes, but Memphis is struggling with Tulane. Bubble teams DO NOT want Memphis to lose that game under any circumstances.

(UPDATE 7:56 p.m.) Maryland survived a first-round ACC clash with N.C. State and will get a shot at Wake Forest tomorrow. You never know what you're going to get from the Terps, who have marquee wins against Michigan State and North Carolina this year, along with a loss to Morgan State. There's also that 7-9 regular season ACC record that's holding them back.

(UPDATE 10:09 p.m.) Good and bad news for Auburn as the late games start finishing up. Bad news: Southern Cal kept its tournament hopes alive with a win against California. Good news: Bubble teams around the country averted disaster when Utah, the MWC's top seed, narrowly avoided a quarterfinal upset against TCU. The Utes are a tournament lock right now with an RPI of 11, so if they would have lost, one of the eight up-for-grabs at-large spots would have automatically gone to the MWC champion.

(UPDATE 10:52 p.m.) Florida beats Arkansas and will play Auburn in the second round of the tournament. This is probably good for the Tigers, who can basically end the Gators' hopes for an NCAA tournament bid while improving their own chances with a win tomorrow. Plus, the better the opponent, the better the win will look on the resume. Of course, it makes winning three games in three days that much more difficult.

(UPDATE 12:41 a.m.) Hopefully you saw part of that Syracuse-UConn six-overtime thriller, which might have been one of the most entertaining basketball games I've ever seen. Anyway, last update of the night (make that morning), and it's a significant one. Steve Rushin's favorite team, New Mexico, lost to Wyoming in the MWC quarterfinals, a damaging loss for a team that was one of Lunardi's last eight teams into the tournament. Does this knock the Lobos out? Again, not necessarily, but it gives a bunch of teams the chance to make an impression while New Mexico sits around idly.

LUNARDI'S LAST EIGHT IN (entering Thursday)

• Ohio State 20-9, RPI 34: Opportunity to knock off a tournament team in Wisconsin
  
• UNLV 21-10, RPI 56: Now at the mercy of the committee after quarterfinal exit in Mountain West
  
• Michigan 20-12, RPI 42: Probably punched its ticket after 28-point drubbing of Iowa
  
• Minnesota 20-9, RPI 41: Might have locked up a spot with win against Northwestern; Michigan State up next
• New Mexico 21-11, RPI 58: Lobos have to sit and wait now after losing to Wyoming
  
• South Carolina 21-8, RPI 49: Mississippi State up next for Gamecocks
  
• Penn State 21-10, RPI 66: Will have to do more than beat Indiana to impress the committee; Purdue's up next
  
• Arizona 19-13, RPI 54: Loss to state rival ASU means 'Zona will have to root hard against some of the other teams below
  

LUNARDI'S NEXT TEAMS OUT (IN ORDER)

• San Diego State 20-8, RPI 43: Chance to really make itself heard from with game against MWC's top seed, BYU, on Friday
  
• Creighton 26-7, RPI 39: Blue Jays' season is done, have to hope some teams lose
  
• Florida 22-9, RPI 48: Still alive after win against Arkansas, has to beat Auburn to be considered
  
• Davidson 25-7, RPI 69: Same thing as Creighton
  
• Maryland 19-12, RPI 67: Win against Wake would make a lot of people take notice
  

STAYIN' ALIVE

• Temple 20-11, RPI 36: Topped St. Joseph's to reach 20 wins; gets Xavier next in important matchup
  
• Virginia Tech 18-13, RPI 63: Ended recent slide with 65-47 win against Miami in ACC tournament; No. 1 North Carolina up next for Hokies in must-win
• Kentucky 20-12, RPI 79: Win against Ole Miss still won't get 'Cats into the tourney
• Tulsa 22-9, RPI 62: Easily beat Rice in the C-USA tourney, but it will need more than that
• UAB 22-10, RPI 44: Tulsa is up next in what is probably an elimination game
• Southern Cal 19-12, RPI 61: Stayed in contention by beating Cal, will play either UCLA or Washington State

HASN'T PLAYED YET

• Auburn 21-10, RPI 64: After idle Thursday, gets another shot at the Gators

SLIP SLIDING

• Providence 19-13, RPI 71: Lost to Louisville, the Big East's top seed, in a game it needed to win

ALL DONE PLAYING, NOW JUST WAITING

• Niagara 26-8, RPI 51: Has to hope a lot of things fall exactly the right way, and even that might not be enough
  

PUT A FORK IN 'EM

• Miami 17-12, RPI 52: Needed an ACC tournament run; instead, got waxed by Virginia Tech
• Notre Dame 17-13, RPI 73: Borderline candidate is out after short Big East tourney stay
• Georgetown 16-14, RPI 59: Good strength of schedule, nothing else does in Hoyas
• Northwestern 17-13, RPI 70: Ousted in first round of Big Ten by Minnesota
• Kansas State 21-11, RPI 77: Needed to beat Texas in the Big 12 tourney to keep hopes alive but lost by three
• Rhode Island 22-10, RPI 65: Bowed out of A-10 quarters to Duquesne

Let the bubble watch begin

All the major conference tournaments gets into full swing today, so we at the War Eagle Extra will be keeping tabs on the teams on the bubble from the comfort of the couch this afternoon.

I wrote at length about Auburn's NCAA tournament chances today in the paper (spoiler: the Tigers are still long shots) and even put together a chart of the bubble teams that is difficult to read on the Internet (stupid tabs).

The bottom line is, Auburn has to win some games this weekend and hope a lot of other bubble teams don't do anything impressive.

Notre Dame already helped the Tigers, bowing out in the second round of the Big East tournament to West Virginia and pretty much closing its case as an at-large candidate.

While Auburn enjoys a rare first-round bye at the SEC tournament today, here are some other games that are going to have an impact on its NCAA candidacy:

• Providence vs. Louisville, 12 p.m. EST: Friars need this win against a team many are saying could be a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs.

• Northwestern vs. Minnesota, 12 p.m. EST: Both are bubble teams, but Minnesota has the better resume. Auburn's best hope is that the Wildcats knock off the Gophers and then lose to Michigan State in the second round. That scenario would weaken Minnesota's case and probably not do enough to get the Wildcats in.

• Miami vs. Virginia Tech, 12 p.m. EST: Hokies have lost six of seven. 'Canes have a sub-.500 ACC record. The loser is in the NIT. The winner gets North Carolina, which it will probably have to beat to make the NCAAs.

• Ole Miss vs. Kentucky, 1 p.m. EST: Rebels can put the final nail in the Wildcats coffin this afternoon.

• Rice vs.Tulsa, 1 p.m. EST: Anything short of winning the Conference USA tournament (and in doing so, somehow beating Memphis) probably won't get the Golden Hurricane in the four-letter tournament.

• Iowa vs. Michigan, 2:30 p.m. EST: The Wolverines are pretty much in if they can get past a 15-16 Iowa team (they have wins against Duke and UCLA that look pretty good). Lose, and they open up a big set of what-ifs.

• St. Joseph's vs. Temple, 2:30 p.m. EST: At 19-11, the Owls can't afford to lose this one. Not in the Atlantic 10.

• Arizona vs. Arizona State, 3 p.m. EST: Wildcats lost four straight late in the year to drop down to the bubble. A win against No. 23 Arizona State would look mighty good right now.

• Texas vs. Kansas State, 3 p.m. EST: Six Big 12 teams are likely headed to the tournament. The Wildcats need to keep winning to make it seven.

• Southern Miss vs. UAB, 3:30 p.m. EST: Blazers don't have any marquee wins. Like Tulsa, they probably have to win the C-USA tournament.

• Indiana vs. Penn State, 5 p.m. EST: Beating a a 6-24 Indiana team won't do anything to get the Nittany Lions into the field. Losing would definitely knock them out, thought. That's a dangerous kind of game to play.

• UNLV vs. San Diego State, 5:30 p.m. EST: One of these teams will watch its bubble pop this evening.

• N.C. State vs. Maryland, 7 p.m. EST: You never know what you're going to get out of the Terps. They're capable of winning the ACC tournament but just as likely to lose by 20 in the first round. If gambling were legal, I would never wager money on this team.

• Southern California vs. California, 9 p.m. EST: Trojans have to win and keep winning. They haven't done much to impress the committee during the regular season.

• Arkansas vs. Florida, 9:45 p.m. EST: Must-win for the Gators, whose candidacy for the NCAA tournament I still find perplexing. Not a great RPI, not a great record vs. the RPI top 50 and not playing great basketball right now. Auburn gets the winner of this game.

• Wyoming vs. New Mexico, 11:30 p.m. EST: Lobos are in the tournament right now in Joe Lunardi's projection. They won't be if they lose to the Cowboys tonight.

Bad bubble news for Auburn

If you're a bubble team, this is exactly what you don't want to see happen. Cleveland State knocked off Butler in the Horizon League tournament championship.

Why does this matter? Well, Butler was a lock to make the tournament before and Cleveland State wasn't. The Vikings getting in basically steals a bid from an at-large team right on the cusp of the tournament, and there's nothing merit-wise you can do to change it.

Auburn's margin for error just got a lot smaller.

Also, I saw this by SI.com's Seth Davis:

On the flip side, who could be this year's Air Force '06?

Well, I'm pretty sure it won't be Air Force, considering the Falcons were winless in the Mountain West. But if you recall, very few experts even considered having Air Force in the field that year, yet the committee, in a blatant act of sentimentality, gave the Falcons an at-large bid. (After this happened, the committee subtly changed its mission from finding the "most deserving" teams for at-large bids to the "best" 34.)

So if you're looking for a shock this weekend, look out for Auburn. At a time when just about every bubble team has been stringing together embarrassing losses, the Tigers were winning eight of their last nine games, including road wins at Mississippi State and Alabama and home wins over Tennessee and LSU. Auburn is ranked 64th in the RPI and went 5-7 on the road. If they win two games in the SEC tournament, things could get really interesting.

That's really the first time I've heard someone cite some sort of precedent for letting in a team with a lot of wins whose RPI numbers don't quite add up. By the way, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi missed that Air Force team on his picks that year.

Auburn's players react to pro day

We talked to quite a few Auburn football players on the heels of the school's pro day Tuesday. Here's what they had to say:


JERRAUD POWERS

• On how the day's events went: "I think it went well. I think I improved on my 40 a lot. I think a lot of guys were surprised with my 40 time. I ran pretty good at the combine, but the main thing people were worried about was, was he going to do a lot here today at the workout, and I just wanted to show them that I’m a competitor and I believed I could improve and everything. So I think I did everything but the bench, and I think it did well. I think I left on a good note and a lot of scouts told me I did a great job and they were impressed. So I’ll just take it from there."

• On how was this different from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last month? "It was more relaxing. I’ll tell you that. The combine, we was like naked everywhere we went, and coaches just taking notes here and there. But the combine, the only difference was out here we had four DBs and at the combine it was like 30, so every time you took a rep, you weren’t tired at all. Out here it was a more conditioning type thing. Other than that, the drills were the same. It’s just a different environment. It was more relaxing. That’s why I was just out there having fun, trying to do my best."

• Powers is working out in Los Angeles at a place called Elite Athletics. He was shocked by how consistently warm it was out there and missed the down-home cooking of Alabama.

• On his draft status: "After today, I think a lot of scouts saw I improved a lot. Going into today, I was more of a third-round or fifth-round guy, but who knows? I might have sneaked up into that second round after today, but I’m not going to worry about that. Wherever I get drafted, it will be a blessing. If I go second, if I go seventh round, it’d be a blessing either way. Because I know once I get on a team and get it going, I’ll be fine."

• Powers didn't have any second thoughts about leaving for the pros a year early and says the coaching change had no factor in his decision. "I didn’t believe my status as a corner was going to change from year to year," he said.

SEN'DERRICK MARKS

• Marks wasn't in the most talkative mood afterward, probably because he's been hampered by a hamstring injury suffered at the NFL Combine. It limited him Tuesday, when he opted out of doing the 40 and vertical leap. "I was expecting for my hamstring to hold up and maybe I can go out and put up the numbers I knew I could put up, but I did pretty good," he said.

• On how badly the injury affected him: "Knocked a lot of my numbers off about two seconds, but it's OK. I'm gonna go get my hamstring right and have another workout."

• Marks hopes to schedule some individual workouts with teams once his hammy is back at full strength. He's projected as a second-round pick right now, although that could be up in the air considering his injury status.

• He's working out in Atlanta.

TYRONNE GREEN

• Another player who was injured (quad) and didn't participate in all the drills. Green deferred to his combine numbers in the 40 and bench press and clearly was laboring with his leg during agility drills.

• Afterward, he did some extensive one-on-one work with different teams. "They were pushing me. Wanted to see what I could do and if I could handle being a little tired. I’ve been out a little bit with my quad so I haven’t really been able to work out and move. It was the first day I actually did some moving, trying to push it and giving them a look. I pushed through it and made it through."

• On what he's been hearing: "I definitely think teams are interested. They like my film. They like the way I move. They like my feet. I think I’ve been helping myself throughout the whole process."

• He's been training in Phoenix, Arizona with Brett Fisher.

• On his plans the next month: "More so working to get in shape, shape. When your training for all this stuff, it’s mostly drills. You’re not necessarily in good running shape. It’s time to really hit it hard in the weight room and conditioning and get ready for wherever I may get drafted and get ready for camp."

TEZ DOOLITTLE

• Tez was by far in the best shape of his life. He's says he's 285, up five pounds from his playing weight last year, but he's a svelte, fit 285. Not flabby.

• Kind of a weird moment afterward when a Raiders scout asked Doolittle to pose without his shirt so he could take a picture of his front and back. I guess when you're investing millions of dollars into draft picks, you've got to turn over every stone.

• Tez also had a tweaked hamstring, but he battled through it. He benched 225 pounds 22 times, although that was down from what he said he's been doing (30 or so). He was happiest with his 4.92 time in the 40.
  

• He continues to have the most inspiring comeback story of anyone out there, blowing out his Achilles' before the 2007 season, his career all but over before the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility, during which he grabbed a starting job. Now, he might just get drafted. "I never thought I'd be here," he said.
  

• On his workout regimen: "I've been working my tail off, day and night I was trying to come in about 290, but I was five pounds short, 285. All these guys were probably happy about that, because most of the teams don't like 315-pound linemen, they like fast, quick 285, 290."

• He's working out in Roswell, Ga., with Tony Bellani. NFLers like Takeo Spikes and Jamal Lewis also work out there.

• He's heard he might get drafted in the late fourth or early fifth round. Again, amazing.

BRAD LESTER

• Lester was so anxious leading in to the workouts, he threw up three times. "I was so nervous because I knew how much today could help me potentially get drafted," he said.

• Lester ripped off 18 reps on the bench, tops among the skill players. He said he was doing 22 or 23 during practices. That drop-off seems common for these guys. It's tough to do a drill with 100 sets of eyes focused on your every move and people yelling at you to keep your form perfect. "For a lot of guys, it's tough, bu t I came in with the mindset that once I start my drills, block everybody out and just focus on myself and just do the best that I can," he said.

• He doesn't care where he goes in the draft. Just that he does. "It doesn't matter to me," he said. "I could go first, second, seventh round. Just as long as someone picks me up, I'm happy."

• He's working out in New Jersey with Joe DeFranco, along with USC linebacker Brian Cushing and Syracuse fullback Tony Fiametta.

Some other notes from the day ...

• All 32 NFL teams had scouts at the festivities. Like I said, no stone left unturned.

• Former quarterback Brandon Cox came back to toss some passes to a long list of receivers. “It was just good old times having Cox out here throwing to me,” wide receiver Rod Smith said. “He was one of the major reasons I had a good career here at Auburn.”

• Smith hopes to get a shot at the NFL. Hey, it worked for him when he was a walk-on at Auburn. “The NFL Draft’s a crazy thing,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen. Maybe I can be one of those surprise guys.”

• Wide receiver James Swinton put up some great numbers, running the second fastest 40 time (4.39) and finishing first in the vertical jump (42 inches) and broad jump. Makes you wonder why he never broke out at Auburn.

• Running back Tristan Davis had the fastest 40 time of the day, clocking in at 4.38 seconds. He said he's finally fully healthy after finding -- and correcting -- another problem with his feet in the last few months.

• Former LB Steve Gandy worked out for scouts. He retired in 2007 after sustaining multiple concussions.

• Two players who were not there: Tray Blackmon and Robert Dunn. Dunn was on the original list of participants.

We've got numbers from Auburn's pro day

We just wrapped up Auburn's football pro day not too long ago. It was a long day. Basically like watching gym class for four hours.

Who had good days? Jerraud Powers backed up a solid NFL Combine performance, impressing with a good 40 time and working out with a few teams' scouts individually afterward.

Tez Doolittle looked like he was in the best shape of his life. He agreed. He could be a mid-round pick in the draft if he keeps it up.

James Swinton was a workout wonder, running a 4.39 40-yard dash and registering a 42-inch vertical leap. Merrill Johnson put up some freakish numbers, the most impressive of which was his vertical jump: 40 inches. Brad Lester benched 225 a total of 18 times. Pretty good for a running back.

Tyronne Green and Sen'Derrick Marks were both hampered by injuries. Green hurt his quad at the combine and gutted through a few drills. Marks has been dealing with a tweaked hamstring all offseason. Both sounded like they would have liked another shot at some of the drills when fully healthy. I don't know if that's going to happen.

I took some video, which I'm not sure will look too good. I had to shoot it from pretty far away, so I don't know how detailed it will be. Anyway, I'll try to get that up here later. I'll also have comments from all the participants we interviewed.

In the meantime, here are the unofficial times and numbers the players put up today, courtesy of Auburn sports information (N/A means the player did not participate in the drill):

Measurables (height, weight)

• Tristan Davis, 5-9, 212
• Tez Doolittle, 6-2, 285
• Chris Evans, 5-11, 222
• Steve Gandy, 6-0, 218
• Tyronne Green, 6-2, 308
• Ryan Hastie, 5-11, 239
• Merrill Johnson, 5-11, 206
• Brad Lester, 5-9, 190
• Sen’Derrick Marks, 6-1, 301
• Charles Olatunji, 6-1, 194
• Jerraud Powers, 5-9, 187
• Robert Shiver, 6-1, 233
• Rod Smith, 6-0, 200
• James Swinton, 5-11, 174
• Cooper Wallace, 6-3, 254
  

40-yard dash (seconds)

• Davis 4.38
• Swinton 4.39
• Powers 4.44
• Lester 4.48
• Johnson 4.60
• Olatunji 4.62
• Smith 4.63
• Gandy 4.65
• Shiver 4.74
• Hastie 4.85
• Doolittle 4.92
• Evans 4.95
• Green N/A
• Marks N/A
• Wallace N/A

Vertical jump (inches)

• Swinton 42.0
• Johnson 40.0
• Lester 38.5
• Olatunji 37.5
• Powers 35.0
  
• Hastie 34.5
• Smith 33.0
• Gandy 31.5
• Davis 31.0
• Shiver 30.5
• Doolittle 29.5
• Evans 29.5
• Green 28.5
  
• Marks N/A
  
• Wallace N/A

Broad jump (feet-inches)

• Olatunji 11-1.5
• Swinton 10-11
  
• Johnson 10-5.5
• Lester 10-4
• Powers 10-3
• Smith 10-3
• Davis 9-9
• Shiver 9-9
• Gandy 9-6
• Hastie 9-5
• Evans 9-2
• Doolittle 8-8
• Green 8-6
• Wallace N/A

Bench press (reps at 225 pounds)

• Doolittle 22
• Davis 18
• Lester 18
• Hastie 17
• Johnson 17
• Marks 16
• Evans 14
• Gandy 14
• Olatunji 14
• Shiver 13
• Swinton 8
• Smith 6
• Green N/A
• Powers N/A
• Wallace N/A

Barber makes second-team All-SEC

The SEC released its all-conference teams Tuesday, as voted by the coaches. Auburn's Korvotney Barber made the second team, which means he didn't finish in the top-eight of the voting (apparently, the SEC allows eight players to be on the court at a time instead of the usual five).

Senior Quantez Robertson made the all-defensive team. Kind of surprised Frankie Sullivan didn't get any love for the all-freshman team.

Anyway, here are the teams:

First Team All-SEC

* Nick Calathes, Florida – G, 6-6, 194, So., Casselberry, Fla.

* Jodie Meeks, Kentucky – 6-4, 208, Jr., Norcross, Ga.

Patrick Patterson, Kentucky – 6-9, 235, So., Huntington, W.Va.

Tasmin Mitchell, LSU – F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Denham Springs, La.

* Marcus Thornton, LSU – G, 6-4, 205, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.

Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State – F/C, 6-9, 210, Jr., Brownsville, Tenn.

* Devan Downey, South Carolina – G, 5-9, 175, Jr., Chester, S.C.

* Tyler Smith, Tennessee – F, 6-7, 215, Jr., Pulaski, Tenn.

Second Team All-SEC

Alonzo Gee, Alabama – G, 6-6, 219, Sr., Riviera Beach, Fla.

Michael Washington, Arkansas – F, 6-9, 239, Jr., McGehee, Ark.

Korvotney Barber, Auburn – F, 6-7, 225, Sr., Manchester, Ga.

^ Garrett Temple, LSU – G, 6-6, 190, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.

David Huertas, Ole Miss – G, 6-5, 200, Jr., Humacao, Puerto Rico

Terrico White, Ole Miss – G, 6-5, 211, Fr,. Memphis, Tenn.

^ Dominique Archie, South Carolina – F, 6-7, 200, Jr., Augusta, Ga.

^ Zam Fredrick, South Carolina – G, 6-0, 203, Sr., St. Matthews, S.C.

Wayne Chism, Tennessee – F, 609, 242, Jr., Jackson, Tenn.

A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt – C, 6-11, 250, So., Sydney, Australia

SEC All-Freshman Team

* JaMychal Green, Alabama – F, 6-9, 220, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.

Courtney Fortson, Arkansas – G, 5-11, 180, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.

Erving Walker, Florida – 5-8, 161, Fr., New York, N.Y.

Trey Thompkins, Georgia – F, 6-8, 245, Fr., Lithonia, Ga.

* Terrico White, Ole Miss – G, 6-5, 211, Fr,. Memphis, Tenn.

* Dee Bost, Mississippi State – G, 6-2, 170, Fr., Concord, N.C.

Scotty Hopson, Tennessee – G, 6-7, 185, Fr., Hopkinsville, Ky.

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt – G/F, 6-7, 210, Fr., Norrkoping, Sweden

SEC All-Defensive Team

^ Quantez Robertson, Auburn – G, 6-3, 200, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio

Garrett Temple, LSU – G, 6-6, 190, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.

Chris Johnson, LSU – C, 6-11, 210, Sr., Montross, Va.

* Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State – F/C, 6-9, 210, Jr., Brownsville, Tenn.

^ Dominique Archie, South Carolina – F, 6-7, 200, Jr., Augusta, Ga.

Devan Downey, South Carolina – G, 5-9, 175, Jr., Chester, S.C.

SEC Coach of the Year: Trent Johnson, LSU

SEC Player of the Year: Marcus Thornton, LSU

SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Justin Knox, Alabama

SEC Freshman of the Year: Terrico White, Ole Miss

SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Brandis Raley-Ross, South Carolina

SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State

* Unanimous selection

^ Ties are not broken

Rejoice, Auburn fans! Lunardi considering the Tigers

Is Joe Lunardi starting to come around? Auburn has made "ALSO CONSIDERED" group on his latest Bracketology scroll, a small, but notable, advancement in the Tigers' at-large candidacy for the NCAA tournament.

A couple things to keep in mind:

• While Lunardi in no way has any influence over the NCAA tournament selection process, his word regarding the bracket is pretty much taken as gospel. He never misses. (Well, 10 times in the last decade or so, but still.) So the fact that he's saying this really does nothing to help Auburn, but it is reflective of what the committee might be considering. Make sense?

• Two, Auburn still has a long way to go. Think about it. Lunardi lists his first four teams who missed the tournament, THEN another four, THEN a group of teams (in no particular order, I would surmise) who are after that. Auburn is in that third group, which includes 14 teams.

So what does this mean? Well, Auburn still has some work to do in the SEC tournament, but we all knew that. However, the Tigers are at least now being considered, which is a bunch better than what the case was last week.

Barber honored by SEC

Hey all, the SEC just handed out its conference player of the week award and forward Korvotney Barber took it after averaging 14.5 points and 17.0 rebounds in the Tigers’ victories against Alabama and LSU last week.

The senior finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds in a 69-53 rout of No. 12 LSU in what might have been his final game at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Barber is the only player to average a double-double in league play, with 12.8 points and 11.3 rebounds.

On the bubble watch front, Auburn can start some scoreboard watching this week as the smaller conferences finish up their tournaments. The Tigers had better hope for all chalk in these things. No Cinderellas allowed.

That means teams like Gonzaga, Memphis, Xavier and Butler -- all of which are going to be at-large selections for the tournament -- need to win their conference tournaments so somebody else doesn't steal an automatic bid.

Already, Creighton and Davidson lost early in their tournaments during championship week, making their NCAA fate very unsure. Nevertheless, they don't have resumes that approach those first four, which are locks to make the field regardless of what happens this week.

Today's game of note:

St. Mary's vs. Gonzaga, West Coast Conference finals, 9 p.m. EST: The Bulldogs (25-5) are ranked 14th in the country, so they're going to make the tournament no matter how this game turns out. St. Mary's (25-5, 10-4 WCC) doesn't have that same luxury. The Gaels could pull the upset. Aussie guard Patty Mills is back after missing five weeks with a broken hand. On the at-large front, the school even went as far as to add another game before selection Sunday, scheduling a matchup with Eastern Washington on March 13 just last week. It sounds shady, but apparently NCAA rules allow a teams under the 30-game threshold during the regular season to add a game.

Schlabach: Auburn a "fringe" bubble team at best

Auburn has crept its way onto the bubble, just like everyone expected, but things still aren't looking all too great right now for at-large consideration to the NCAA tournament.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach updated his Bubble Watch tonight. Here's what he had to say about Auburn:

Auburn [21-10 (10-6), RPI: 64, SOS: 69] The Tigers are probably still a fringe bubble candidate at best, but their 8-1 finish in the regular season at least gets them in the discussion heading into the SEC tournament. Auburn has two RPI top-50 victories, beating Tennessee 78-77 at home on Feb. 7 and LSU 69-53 at home on Saturday. The Tigers are 2-5 against RPI top-50 foes and 5-9 against the top 100. The Tigers did absolutely nothing during their non-conference season -- their best victory came against RPI No. 106 Virginia (their next-best non-SEC win came against No. 204 George Washington). Auburn has a first-round bye in the SEC tournament and plays the Arkansas/Florida winner in Friday's quarterfinals. It probably needs at least two wins in Tampa to have a chance on Selection Sunday.

That's certainly better news than last week, when Auburn wasn't even mentioned in that space. But it lays out a pretty grim picture for the Tigers in the upcoming week.

On another note, Northern Iowa topped Illinois State in overtime to grab the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic berth to the Big Dance. The Panthers beat Auburn 67-61 back in November in the Chicago Invitational. If Auburn doesn't get in to the NCAAs, it's going to look back at that weekend -- which also featured an overtime loss to Dayton (RPI: 23) when the Flyers went 0-for-24 on 3-pointers -- and grit its teeth.

SEC women's tournament final: Vanderbilt 61, Auburn 54

Auburn's decade-long drought against Vanderbilt continued Sunday, and it might cost the Tigers a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers (29-3) lost by seven to the Commodores (24-8) in the SEC tournament championship in North Little Rock, Ark., the 15th straight game they've lost to their nemesis from Nashville, a streak that dates back to 2000.

It was Vanderbilt's sixth SEC tournament championship and its second in three years.

We at the War Eagle Extra had a great view from my new recliner. The 'Dores did an incredible job defensively, holding Auburn to a season-low 54 points. The Tigers' previous low was 58 points in a loss at Georgia. They were averaging 77.8 points a game this year.

The Commodores used a variety of defenses to stymie SEC Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner, who finished with a season-low nine points, just the third time she hasn't reached double digits this season.

Other key stats:

3-point shooting

• Auburn: 0-for-7
• Vanderbilt: 10-for-28

Star power

• Bonner: 4-for-11, 9 points
• Vanderbilt's Christina Wirth: 8-for-19, 20 points

What does this mean big picture? Well, Auburn probably lost its shot at a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. There seem to be two locks right now for a top seed in the tourney:

• UConn: the Big East tournament is a mere formality. The Huskies would be a 0 seed if possible.
  
• Maryland: the Terps have won 12 straight and took their first ACC tournament title in 20 years on Sunday.
  

Other contenders include:

• Oklahoma (27-3): the Sooners are the top seed in next week's Big 12 tournament and have the best RPI in the country.
  
• Stanford (26-4): the Cardinal enters next week's Pac-10 tournament as the No. 1 seed.
• Baylor (24-5): would probably need to knock off Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament to be considered.
• Louisville (28-3): probably isn't going to knock off UConn in the Big East tournament, but stranger things have happened.

You have to figure the winner of the Big 12 will get a top seed. Stanford can probably do the same by winning the Pac-10 tournament.

I can't imagine Auburn falling any lower than a 2 seed. It's just a matter of where the Tigers will end up. But by being a No. 2, they very well could end up in a bracket with UConn, which is something every team in the tournament wants to avoid.

Auburn has some time to sit on pins and needles. The women's bracket will not be unveiled until Monday, March 16. It will be televised live on ESPN starting at 7 p.m. EST.

Tigers' unique NCAA case not unprecedented

OK, I've done some research today to see just how many teams from the big-six conferences have reached double digit league wins and not made the NCAA tournament.

Here's what I came up with. This list is since the NCAA expanded the field to 64 teams in 1985:

ACC

• None

Big East

• 1991-92 — Villanova 11-7 Big East (14-15 overall)
• 1993-94 — Villanova 10-8 Big East (20-12 overall)
• 1996-97 — Pittsburgh 10-8 Big East (18-15 overall)
• 1996-97 — West Virginia 11-7 Big East (21-10 overall)
• 2006-07 — Syracuse 10-6 Big East (24-11 overall)

Big Ten

• 2002-03 — Michigan 10-6 Big Ten (17-13 overall)
• 2007-08 — Ohio State 10-8 Big Ten (24-13 overall)

Big 12 (since conference was formed in 1996-97)

• 1998-99 — Nebraska 10-6 Big 12 (20-13 overall)
• 2003-04 — Colorado 10-6 Big 12 (18-11 overall)
• 2006-07 — Kansas State 10-6 Big 12 (23-12 overall)

Pac-10

• 1985-86 — California 11-7 Pac-10 (19-10 overall)
• 1986-87 — Washington 10-8 Pac-10 (20-15 overall)
• 1986-87 — California 10-8 Pac-10 (20-15 overall)
• 1986-87 — Oregon State 10-8 Pac-10 (19-11 overall)
• 1987-88 — Stanford 11-7 Pac-10 (21-12 overall)
• 1987-88 — Oregon 10-8, Pac-10 (16-14 overall)
• 1988-89 — California 10-8 Pac-10 (20-13 overall)
• 1989-90 — Oregon 10-8 Pac-10 (15-14 overall)
• 1992-93 — Arizona State 11-7 Pac-10 (18-10 overall)
• 1993-94 — Stanford 10-8 Pac-10 (17-11 overall)
• 1993-94 — Arizona State 10-8 Pac-10 (15-13 overall)
• 1994-95 — Washington State 10-8 Pac-10 (18-12 overall)
• 1996-97 — Washington 10-8 Pac-10 (17-11 overall)
• 1999-00 — Arizona State 10-8 Pac-10 (19-13 overall)
• 2005-06 — Stanford 11-7 Pac-10 (16-14 overall)
• 2006-07 — Stanford 10-8 Pac-10 (18-3 overall)

SEC

• 1985-86 — Florida 10-8 SEC (19-14 overall)
• 1989-90 — Tennessee 10-8 SEC (16-14 overall)
  

Now, keep in mind that many of these examples are not exactly the same. The SEC plays a 16-game schedule this year, and most of the team listed played 18-game league schedules. Also note that most of the time, the team in question did not have very many overall wins.

However, there are two great examples in this group that compare well to Auburn's situation this year, and they both come from the 2006-07 season. The teams: Syracuse and Kansas State.

(Keep in mind Auburn's current numbers: 20-10 Division I record, RPI: 64, SOS: 69, 2-5 vs. RPI top-50.)

Kansas State was 22-11 heading into the postseason, with an RPI of 64, a strength of schedule of 79 and a 2-5 record against the RPI top-50. Plus, that was a particularly down year for the Big 12, which ranked fifth in overall conference RPI and got only three teams into the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse had a 22-10 record heading into the postseason, with an RPI of 46, a strength of schedule of 51 and a 3-6 record against teams in the RPI top-50. The Orange was similar to the Tigers in that it was playing excellent basketball at the end of the year, with six wins in its final eight regular season games. One of those wins was against No. 10 Georgetown. The 'Cuse also made the Big East tournament quarterfinals.

But like Kansas State, Syracuse might have been a victim of its relatively weak conference, which ranked sixth in overall RPI that year (though the Big East still got six of its 16 teams in the Big Dance). Coach Jim Boeheim, as you might imagine, was not pleased at the time.

What does it all mean? Well, who knows, really. Obviously, every year is different, with upset automatic qualifiers from the smaller conferences deciding the fate of teams on the bubble more than anything.

What this does show is that Auburn's situation, while not common, is also not unprecedented.

Katz: Auburn a curious case

It seems the Auburn men's basketball team at least has people talking. Here's the latest from ESPN's Andy Katz (a fellow Wisconsin alum, so he must be good):

Say hello to Auburn's candidacy as an at-large team and a threat to win the SEC tournament. Auburn beat LSU on Saturday to improve to 21-10 overall, 10-6 in the SEC, holding LSU to a season-low 53 points. Auburn has won eight of nine games (six of them by double digits), and is also the only SEC team with wins over both Tennessee and LSU. The negative on the Tigers is their best non-conference win is at Virginia by two. If the committee wants to slice the Tigers apart, they'll find they were an SEC team only, and the question will be: Is that enough?

The Tigers certainly are a unique case. I'm trying to go back and see what kind of precedent there is for not letting a 10-win team from a major conference into the tournament. We'll see what turns up.

Women's hoops: Auburn 78, Tennessee 58

A strong second half lifted top-seeded Auburn (29-2) to a 20-point victory against fifth-seeded Tennessee this evening in the SEC tournament semifinals in North Little Rock, Ark.

We at the War Eagle Extra were at the men's game this afternoon, but followed along on the Internet as the women took the court.

Some highlights:

• The Tigers outscored the Lady Vols 52-27 in the second half after going into the break down by five.

• Auburn shot 57 percent (16-for-28) in the second half after a 36 percent mark (9-for-25) in the first.

• Tennessee shot 26 percent after the break (10-for-38) and was 3-for-16 from 3-point range in the game.

• DeWanna Bonner scored 26 points, Whitney Boddie added 19 and Sherell Hobbs 16 in a a senior onslaught.

• Auburn advances to Sunday's championship game, where it will face the winner of second-seeded Vanderbilt and third-seeded LSU, which is the late game.
  

• The championship game starts at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be televised by ESPN2. A win would pretty much guarantee Auburn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
  

Men's hoops: Auburn 69, No. 12 LSU 53

Auburn made its case on the court for earning an NCAA tournament bid with a thorough thrashing of No. 12 LSU at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.

Jeff Lebo made his case afterward, too.

The Auburn coach openly stumped for his Tigers (21-10, 10-6 SEC) to at the very least be in consideration for the NCAA tournament.

“The way we’re playing right now … I don’t think you can ignore that,” said Lebo, whose team has won eight of nine. “I’m not one toot our own horn, but I’ve got to for these kids. To say that we’re not even in the mix is a complete slap in the face to our kids and to the Southeastern Conference.”

The words came after a week during which bracket experts like ESPN's Joe Lunardi and CollegeRPI.com's Jerry Palm were openly dismissive about Auburn's chances, citing the team's low RPI (72 entering Saturday) and lack of marquee wins.

The Tigers have won 21 games for just the sixth time in school history. They reached 10 SEC wins for the first time since the school's 1999 SEC championship season.

Since the SEC expanded to 12 schools in 1991, no eligible team has won 10 league games and not been invited to the NCAA tournament.

“Everybody talks about Kentucky and Florida and some other teams in this league being on the bubble,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said. “You don’t ever hear Auburn’s name in the mix. I’ve been through my share of teams and my share of experiences — that’s an NCAA tournament-caliber team.”

Some thoughts and notes on the game ...

• Weird offensive game for Auburn, which went 2-for-16 from 3-point range. The Tigers beat LSU at its own game down low, holding a 42-20 scoring advantage in the paint and 45-37 rebounding edge. "If you would have told me we were 2 of 16 and we’d win by 16, I would have said you’re insane," Lebo said.

• Korvotney Barber was a beast down low. He finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds and was pretty much Auburn's only offensive option early in the game. That's 11 double-doubles for Vot this season. Quite a way to (possibly) finish your career at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

• Rasheem Barrett added 12 points, DeWayne Reed 11 and Tay Waller 9. Barrett also had nine rebounds.

• Marcus Thornton was the real deal, scoring 23 points. He'd be my choice for conference player of the year if I had a vote. But he didn't get much help. Tasmin Mitchell finished with a season-low five points on 1-for-10 shooting. LSU shot 32.1 percent as a team and scored a season-worst 53 points.

• Auburn has won eight of nine. Few teams in the country have been that hot. Thanks to Auburn sports information, we have these four teams from the big-six conferences (streaks are as of 7 p.m.):

North Carolina has won 12 of 13

Louisville has won 7 of 8

Pittsburgh has won 10 of 11

Washington has won 8 of 9

And now for the Debbie Downer portion of this blog post. I still don't think Auburn will make the NCAAs unless it wins the SEC tournament. The Tigers' RPI is still pretty low (62 is the latest projection according to CollegeRPI.com) and they still have only two wins against top-50 RPI teams. Compare that to the other bubble teams and it doesn't stack up well. (Northwestern, a borderline bubble team out of the Big Ten, for instance, has six wins against the RPI top-50).

So no, I don't think the Tigers will make the tournament unless they win the SEC next week. But I would agree with Lebo that you have to at least bring Auburn into the discussion at this point, even if it is a token admission.

Tennessee up next for Auburn women

The Lady Vols will get another shot at the No. 6 Tigers tomorrow in the SEC tournament after knocking off Florida 71-67 on Friday. Game time is 6:30 p.m. EST from North Little Rock, Ark. It will be televised on Fox Sports South.

Auburn (28-2) beat Tennessee 82-68 before a school record crowd of 12,067 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in January.

Tennessee (22-9) has "struggled" this year because it's pretty young, but I wouldn't ever get too comfortable against a Pat Summitt-coached team. The Lady Vols are kind of like the killer in a horror flick. It's best not to assume he/she is dead. (Also, never go skinny dipping or walk outside to investigate a strange noise.)

Remember, a 10-loss Tennessee team once won a national championship. Would you write off the two-time defending national champs? Didn't think so.

Things to watch tomorrow:

• The free throw disparity or lack thereof: Summitt was ticked off that the Lady Vols didn't get to the line more often against the Tigers in the first time. The numbers back up her displeasure. Auburn went 24-for-29 from the line in the first game. Tennessee was just 10-for-13. You think a Summitt-coached team is going to shoot 16 fewer free throws than its opponent in the SEC tournament? Dream on.

• The Shekinna Stricklen-DeWanna Bonner battle: I'm not sure if these two will be guarding each other, but they put on a scoring showcase in the first meeting. Stricklen finishing with 26 points and Bonner with a career-high 35.

• The Angie Bjorklund factor: Bjorklund was a no-show in the first meeting, scoring three points on 1-for-7 shooting. Her season average is 11.5 points and she's making 40.8 percent of her 3-pointers. Plus, she's coming in hot, having just scored 25 points against Florida after going 6-for-10 from 3-point range.

• The fatigue factor: Tennessee will be playing its third game in three days. Although Auburn's game against Ole Miss today was closer than expected, tomorrow will still be just game No. 2 for the Tigers. Don't underestimate (or even misunderestimate) the role fatigue plays in these conference tournaments.

Bonner sets scoring mark in SEC tourney win

Auburn's SEC tournament opener was closer than it would have hopes, but the top-seeded Tigers (28-2) still put away Ole Miss 71-65 to advance to the second round, where they will play either No. 4 Florida or No. 5 Tennessee.

DeWanna Bonner led the way and made a little history too. The senior scored 32 points, passing Becky Jackson as the school's all-time scoring leader with an 15-foot jumper during the second half. Bonner now has 2,084 career points.

I watched on TV as the game got tense near the end. Ole Miss used a 17-4 run to get within three in the final minute. Whitney Boddie made a fadeaway baseline jumper and Bonner sank two free throws to put the game away.

“There’s no lead safe enough in the SEC tournament,” Fortner said on TV afterward.

Some stats:

• Bonner: 12-19, 32 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks
• Boddie: 15 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
• Alli Smalley: 10 points

Auburn got only five points out of Sherell Hobbs, who was 1-for-9 from the field and five points out of its bench. The Tigers also only went 3-for-11 from 3-point range. Still, they never trailed.

Sean Goff led Ole Miss (17-14) with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting.

Auburn's game tomorrow starts at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Auburn women set for SEC tournament run

The postseason is finally here for the Auburn women's basketball team, which opens SEC tournament as the No. 1 seed against ninth-seeded Ole Miss today at 1 p.m. EST. in North Little Rock, Ark. Like me, you can watch the game on Fox Sports South.

Had a couple items in today's paper leading up to the tournament:

The Tigers' four seniors -- DeWanna Bonner, Whitney Boddie, Sherell Hobbs and Trevesha Jackson -- have led the way all season, fulfilling the goal they set to accomplish when they all signed on at Auburn four years ago.

Auburn (27-2) is playing for a lot more than the SEC tournament championship, including a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament in a couple weeks. Here are a few more things to watch this weekend.

I'll update again after the game.

Oku ends drama, signs with Tennessee

The David Oku saga finally came to an end Thursday night when the Midwest City, Okla. (or is it Lincoln, Neb.?) running back signed with the team he originally committed to in the beginning -- Tennessee. Rivals.com had the scoop.

Oku, ranked by Rivals as the No. 1 all-purpose running back in last year's recruiting class (remember back when that was all the rage?), originally committed to Tennessee in October but back off that pledge after Phil Fulmer resigned. Auburn, which he visited three times, came into the picture in January, along with Syracuse. Then, in a bizarre turn, he switched high schools with just weeks left in his senior year, possibly because of a girl. And now he stayed true to his initial pledge.

Whew! Anybody else glad that's over?

Honestly, when Auburn got four-star running back Dontae Aycock to sign in the 11th hour of the recruiting season, I thought Oku might be a longshot to come to the Plains. Just in their 2009 class, Aycock, fellow freshman Brandon Jacobs, Hargrave Military School transfer Onterrio McCalebb and Gulf Coast Community College athlete Demond Washington should all get a look at running back for the Tigers. That's a crowded backfield.

Auburn still not close to going to the Big Dance

I feel obligated to put up this post just based on some of the message board rumblings after Auburn's four-point win against Alabama last night.

Put simply, Auburn IS NOT an NCAA tournament team now and, unless the Tigers win the SEC tournament and receive and automatic berth to the Big Dance, nothing is going to change that.

I know. I know. Hater in the house. But it's not me. The experts think so too.

Mobile scribe Evan Woodbery posts bracket expert Jerry Palm's thoughts on the subject, and they're not pretty.

O-A News wordsmith Andrew "Gribbs" Gribble spent two hours of his morning waiting for ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi to slam Auburn. Lunardi obliged.

Let's break down why Auburn doesn't have much of a shot by refuting some arguments out there:

Auburn is one of the hottest teams in the SEC, having won seven of eight.

Has anyone actually looked at that teams the Tigers have beaten? Yes, Auburn has turned its season around with a great run, but it has beaten ONE NCAA team during its streak -- Tennessee. Arkansas and Georgia won't make the postseason. Ole Miss and Mississippi State are likely NIT-bound. Bottom line: beating a streak of lower-tiered teams does not make an impact on the selection committee.

If Auburn can beat Kentucky or Florida in the conference tournament, it can take their place as one of the teams to make the NCAAs from the SEC.

It is important to remember that the selection committee DOES NOT award a certain number of bids to a conference. So, the argument that Auburn can take Florida or Kentucky's NCAA spot by beating either one of them in the SEC tournament is false. Auburn can look better than those two teams in a direct comparison, but it does not mean the Tigers have a better chance because the SEC should get 'X' number of teams.

Auburn has a certain intangible that doesn't show up in computer rankings like the RPI, which is too influential in the selection process.

Actually, they're an excellent way to take bias out of the process. It's tough to compare teams from difference conferences, some small, some big. It's hard to remove the prejudices that we have in our minds of how good certain teams are. For instance, Kentucky. If you beat Kentucky on a normal year, that win would carry a lot of weight. This year? That's really not the case. The Wildcats might have the name that makes people take notice, but they are a very borderline NCAA tournament candidate.

In that vein, Auburn's numbers do not stack up well with some other teams. I'll cite Lunardi, who nails the bracket pretty much dead on every year (plus, the man has a PhD in Bracketology, and I'm not going to argue with a doctor).

Here are Auburn's numbers in the main categories the selection group will look at:

RPI: 78, SOS: 80, Last 12: 8-4, vs. RPI top-50: 1-5, Good wins: Tennessee, Bad losses: Mercer (RPI 180)

(Note: the RPI numbers are courtesy of ESPN's duplicate formula, SOS is strength of schedule)

Now, the only thing Auburn really has going in its favor is an 8-4 record in its last 12, which the Tigers can improve by going deep into the SEC tournament. Keep in mind that the lowest RPI of an at-large team to ever make the field was 74.

Here are the resumes of the first four teams on the outside looking in, according to Lunardi:

• Florida: RPI: 50, SOS: 99, Last 12: 6-6, vs. RPI top 50: 2-6
• Michigan: RPI: 49, SOS: 10, Last 12: 5-7, vs. RPI top 50: 5-9
• Minnesota: RPI: 39, SOS: 53, Last 12: 5-7, vs. RPI top 50: 4-6 (0 losses to RPI 100+)
• San Diego State: RPI: 46, SOS: 56, Last 12: 7-5, vs. RPI top 50: 1-5

And the next four:

• Cincinnati: RPI: 53, SOS: 19, Last 12: 7-5, vs. RPI top 50: 4-9
• Maryland: RPI: 52, SOS: 26, Last 12: 6-6, vs. RPI top 50: 4-9 (two of those wins against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 8 Michigan State)
• Texas A&M: RPI: 34, SOS: 38, Last 12: 6-6, vs. RPI top 50: 4-5
• Kansas State: RPI: 74, SOS: 92, Last 12: 9-3, vs. RPI top 50: 3-5

Lunardi also considered the following teams: New Mexico, Notre Dame, Tulsa, Rhode Island, UAB, Temple, Saint Mary's, Niagara, Georgetown, Southern California, George Mason and Nevada.

That's 20 teams and Auburn still isn't in the conversation, nor should it, when you look at the numbers. With only a couple games left, that's way too much ground for the Tigers to make up, even if they beat LSU and a pair of top teams in the SEC tournament. They'll have to win it all to make the Big Dance, which is entirely possible the way they've been playing and when you consider how wide open the conference is. Just ask Georgia last year.

A more reasonable goal is to host an NIT game, which is a very real possibility. Considering the state of the program entering the year and the disappointing first half of the season, that's also an admirable accomplishment.

Men's hoops: Auburn 77, Alabama 73

Auburn won't be doing much at the SEC tournament a week from Thursday. That's because it just sewed up the No. 2 seed in the SEC West and subsequent first-round bye with a win against Alabama at Coleman Coliseum on Tuesday.

Again, I was not allowed to travel to this one (darn these East Coast deadlines of ours), but I tuned in on TV to watch the Tigers on national TV for the first time this year.

Very impressive win. Auburn (20-10, 9-6 SEC) trailed by as many as 13 in the first half but wasn't overwhelmed, slowly but surely getting itself back in the game before grabbing the lead midway through the second half.

The Tigers toughed it out down the stretch, Quantez Robertson of all people made two clutch free throws. Korvotney Barber made a huge tip-in to give Auburn a two-point lead. And after a defensive stop, freshman guard Frankie Sullivan made a tough drive to the basket, hopping past a defender and putting the ball in off the backboard with 11.1 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 77-73 lead.

It held up, giving Auburn its first 20-win season since the 2002-03 season. It's the ninth time in school history that the Tigers have reached 20 wins.

The ESPN announcer whose name escapes me said that the Tigers were one of the two or three toughest teams he's seen on TV this year. They certainly showed some of that mental toughness Tuesday.

Your leaders:

• Barber: 13 points, 16 rebounds
• Rasheem Barrett: 15 points
• DeWayne Reed: 13 points
• Lucas Hargrove: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
• Sullivan: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 ONIONS! drive

Some other notes and thoughts ...

• Free throws changed the game, and Auburn was actually the beneficiary. The Tigers went 8-for-12. Not great. But not terrible. Alabama went 15-for-29. Ouch.

• Alonzo Gee was a beast (17 points and 8 rebounds) everywhere but at the line, where he was 3-for-9.

• Alabama (16-13, 6-9 SEC) was 34-6 all-time against Auburn in Coleman Coliseum, making the Tigers' win all the more impressive.

• Who will Auburn play in the SEC tournament (its first game is Friday at 9:45 p.m. EST)? The winner of the West No. 6 vs. the East No. 3. That's Arkansas for sure. Out of the East, it's wide open. It could be any one of four teams, including South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida. If the tournament started today, it would be Kentucky.

• That's seven wins in eight games for the Tigers, who I'd say aren't in the NCAA tournament picture yet, but certainly are making things interesting. If they beat LSU at home on Saturday -- a marquee win that is certainly lacking from their resume -- they're going to force our hand to start at least bringing them up in conversation for the four-letter tournament. (Be advised that that would still mean a bare minimum of two wins in the SEC tournament.) Remember, the NCAA tournament committee takes into account how a team is playing at the end of the season. Other than LSU, nobody is playing better in the SEC than Auburn right now.

Bonner, Fortner nab SEC honors

The SEC’s top team took its two highest individual honors Tuesday.

Auburn’s DeWanna Bonner was named SEC Player of the Year and Nell Fortner the conference Coach of the Year, just two days after the Tigers wrapped their first SEC regular season championship in 20 years.

Senior guard Whitney Boddie also made the All-SEC first team.Bonner, the preseason pick as Player of the Year, didn’t disappoint. The 6-foot-4 senior finished the season averaging a conference-best 20.9 points per game to go with 8.6 rebounds.

She is Auburn’s first Player of the Year selection since Lauretta Freeman won in 1993. It’s the fifth time a Tiger has won the award. The others were Vickie Orr (1988) and two-time winner Carolyn Jones (1990-91).

Fortner led the Tigers to a 27-2 record in her fifth season on the Plains, claiming Auburn’s first regular season conference title since 1989.

Joe Ciampi is the only other Auburn coach to win the award, claiming it in 1985, ’88 and ’89.

Boddie, the national leader in assists (8.1 per game), joined Bonner on the first team. She is third on the Tigers’ all-time assists list with 569, just 24 shy of the school record.

“She’s the head that makes the body go,” Fortner said. “I think it’s very obvious, especially if you followed us last year and saw us with and without her.”

It’s the first time Auburn has had two first-team selections since 1999.

Tigers, Tide to tangle in Tuscaloosa

Big men's basketball game in Tuscaloosa tonight between two teams that are playing as well as any team in the SEC not named LSU right now. I wrote about it here in the newspaper.

A sampling:

It’s been a little less than two months since Auburn and Alabama last met on a basketball court, but the teams might have a hard time recognizing each other when they meet tonight in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The Tigers and Crimson Tide, who play at Coleman Coliseum at 9 p.m. on ESPN, have both turned around their seasons since Auburn cruised to a 14-point victory in the teams’ first meeting in mid-January.

Once destined for the same mediocre SEC finish it has had the last five seasons, Auburn (19-10, 8-6) is instead on the cusp of its first postseason bid in coach Jeff Lebo’s five years, having won six of its last seven.

Following a rocky start to conference play during which it lost two key ingredients — star guard Ronald Steele to injury and coach Mike Gottfried to resignation — Alabama (16-12, 6-8) has shown some pride under interim coach Philip Pearson, going 4-5 in the last month and a half and winning its last three games.

About that postseason bid for Auburn, make sure to check out the latest NIT-ology, which has the Tigers as a No. 5 seed and getting closer to actually hosting a first-round game.

As for NCAA aspirations, I've made my stance known on here. Auburn is a loooooongshot to make the four-letter tournament. I'm talking "have to win the SEC tournament and get the automatic bid" longshot.

Look at the latest Bracketology on ESPN and it ain't pretty for the SEC. Florida isn't in the Big Dance and Kentucky is on the cusp of falling out. It should make the conference tournament all the more cutthroat.

Speaking of which, Auburn (19-10, 8-6 SEC) can sow up the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament with a win in either of its last two games.

Mississippi State (7-7 SEC) and Alabama (6-8) can still earn the second spot and get the first-round bye.

The Bulldogs need to win out and hope the Tigers lose both of their games, because Auburn holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The only way the Crimson Tide would be the No. 2 seed is if it can tie Auburn and not have Mississippi State in the mix. That would require to Alabama wins, two Auburn losses and two Mississippi State losses. Using the third tiebreaker (head-to-head and divisional record for Auburn and Alabama would be identical), the Crimson Tide would win out by virtue of its win against division-leading LSU.

It makes your head spin thinking about it. Bottom line, though: Auburn can get where it wants to by taking care of its own business this week.

Coleman named to Lombardi watch list

Antonio Coleman was one of 48 players named to the 2009 Rotary Lombardi Award preliminary watch list.

Coleman was a first-team All-SEC selection by the league's media and coaches last year after finishing with a team-high six quarterback sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss. He has 30 career tackles for a loss and 14.5 sacks, needing one to crack Auburn's all-time top-10 list.

He opted to return for his senior season at Auburn in early January.

The Lombardi Award is limited to defensive linemen and players who line up within five yards of the line of scrimmage.

Perry takes high school coaching job in Mobile

Jimmy Perry, who spent the last five seasons as Auburn’s director of football operations, has accepted the head coaching position at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile, Ala.

Perry, 51, had been at Auburn since 2000, serving as the Tigers’ director of high school relations until 2004.

“I wanted to be a head coach again, and the opportunity to coach at St. Paul’s will not only allow me to do that, but to also make a meaningful impact on young men’s lives,” Perry said in a press release from Auburn.

Perry spent 21 years as a high school football coach prior to coming to Auburn. He served as head coach and athletic director at Robert E. Lee High in Montgomery from 1995-2000, finishing as the 6A state runner-up in 1999 and advancing to the state quarterfinals on two other occasions.

Women's hoops: Auburn 94, Arkansas 57

Auburn left no doubt Sunday who the best team in the SEC is. The No. 7 Tigers crushed -- and I mean crushed -- Arkansas 94-57 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Sunday to clinch their first outright SEC regular season title in 20 years.

The 37-point drubbing was Auburn's most lopsided SEC victory this season.

“We wanted to come out here and put our foot down and not only win the SEC, but also make a point. We don’t get a whole lot of respect. We’re trying to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. We’re trying to show teams we’re for real.”

The game was never in question. Auburn scored an SEC-high 54 points in the first half without the benefit of a 3-pointer, shooting 52 percent and committing no turnover to go into the break ahead by 22.

The real show was saved for later, though. Head coach Nell Fortner removed her four seniors form the game one-by-one.

“That was tight,” Boddie said. “I only cry once a year and I think I did today.”

After the game, orange and blue balloons fell from the rafters as Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" played on the speakers. The players threw rolls of toilet paper into the crowd with the intention of heading directly to Toomer's Corner.

“It was very emotional,” Fortner said. “They accomplished what we set out to accomplish … in one area. Now it’s on to the next.”

Some other notes and thoughts ...

• The seniors carried the day. DeWanna Bonner scored a game-high 25 points. Sherell Hobbs added 17. Boddie was her usual self, with 10 points and eight rebounds. And Trevesha Jackson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

• The day was almost ruined when Bonner had her right knee rolled into by an Arkansas player in a collision on the fastbreak. A pall was cast across the BEMC, the quietest I've heard that place. She got up and was able to walk off the court, returning a few minutes later as Auburn nation let out a collective sigh of relief.

• Everybody got in on the fun. Chantel Hilliard, who was wearing a knee brace after a scary-looking injury last week, finished with 11 points. KeKe Carrier added seven points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.

• Auburn clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s SEC tournament in North Little Rock, Ark. The Tigers receive a first-round bye and will play the winner of eighth-seeded Arkansas and ninth-seeded Ole Miss on Friday at 1 p.m. EST.

• The Tigers might have to win the thing if they want a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Only unbeaten UConn is a lock for a top seed right now. "I think the conference tournament are going to have a lot to do with what happens," Fortner said.