Hogs can't win two in a row at SEC Tournament - Robert Shields

[Robert Shields]

Hogs Can't Win Two in a Row at SEC Tournament

Robert Shields

Make no mistake, the win over Auburn on the road was a huge win for Stan Heath. Here's why: It insures this team of not going through the conference schedule without a road win as they did in the '03-'04 season.

Heath's record on the road in the SEC, three wins versus 24 losses, is quite unremarkable and hopefully forgettable for most fans. I guess we could add in the wins in Little Rock and count them as road games to boost the percentage since Frank and the UA like to claim the football visits to War Memorial are on the road.

So based on the last four years, you can understand how important the win at Auburn was and how precious wins on the road are to Heath's teams.

Heath needed at some point to find a win on the road to make up for the loss to LSU at home to make that 8-8 SEC record a possibility if the Hogs defend the home turf throughout the rest of the season, and it starts Wednesday night against Ole Miss. Heath has established a trend so far in the SEC, winning one and then losing one, and such a pace will land him around 8-8 in the regular season in the SEC.

The eight wins in SEC play will make the Hogs a 20 win team. Will that be enough to get the Hogs into the NCAA tournament? Probably not alone, and you can mark it down now what will determine the Hogs' fate of getting into the NCAA tournament is how it will perform on the road and in the SEC tournament.

The Hogs have to avoid a first-round loss in the SEC tournament. What will help is to find a way to make it as a top-four seed in the SEC tournament, which would give them a bye until Friday. A Thursday loss by the Hogs on the first day of the SEC tournament will mean the Hogs will be forgotten by the NCAA selection committee.

The SEC may only get four teams into the Big Dance, so if the Hogs can get a bye and then win just one, being one of those teams in the semifinals of the SEC tournament will make them a lock from the NCAA. Otherwise, you're nail biting like Houston Nutt on a fourth-and-one play.

Heath can pull off one win in the SEC tournament, but his odds start to go down drastically if he has to win two in a row – because it is on the road. This season very much hinges on how the team plays this week to set up where its team will land in the standings in the SEC West.



Heath Complaint

Fans' biggest gripe currently against Heath seems to be his lack of emotion on the sideline, not the fact he cannot win on the road. Fans want to see some dynamic personality on the sideline jumping the players and jumping the refs.

You had the biggest dynamic personality in the NCAA on the bench when you had Nolan Richardson as coach. Nolan always had the appearance of being on the verge of getting a technical and was always in the ref's ear. You also never knew with Nolan when he might even put on such a tirade and just leave the court. Many of you wanted a more mild-mannered coach on the sideline and now you have him.



East-West Shrine Game

I called for Houston Nutt's head most of last season. The end of the East-West Shrine game was eerily familiar to the Hogs' football season with a failed fourth-and-one attempt to win the game. Such plays against South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and LSU are what came to my mind from a season that was always on the brink of winning.



Mitch Mustain and Casey Dick

Let the debate begin with Mustain's recommitment to the Hogs. I withhold judgment until the team comes out of spring practice. If history is any indication with Nutt, Casey Dick is a lock as a starter in the season opener by the fact he has the starting experience. And in all fairness to Mustain, I cannot remember the last time a true freshman took the first snap of the season.

Nutt has a history of putting a premium on experience over talent. Dick proved to be a stable quarterback in his four appearances that ended the season, and with a better coaching job he would have been 4-0 as the starter and going to bowl game instead of 2-2. But his play caller found a way to lose the South Carolina and LSU games, both of which the Hogs should have won. But let the QB controversy rage and hopefully without the tarp in place.


Announced Attendance at BWA

Anyone notice that they stopped listing the attendance in the second or third paragraph of every basketball game story in the Democrat-Gazette? The PR machine for Heath continues to churn as it minimizes the worst attended season since the Hogs moved into Bud Walton Arena. I will be curious to see how many show up for an NIT game.




Send your pick who you think will start at QB to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

[Hogs4Ever]

I don't care how the coach acts short of Bobby Knight as long as he can win!

[sooie dog]

Heath never has won a SECT game and I would not expect that to change this year. 

[hogsanity]

The big difference i see this year in the BB team on the road is that they are not getting blown out.  They SHOULD be 3-0 on the road this year, but they found a way to lose 2 of them.  However, in past season you knew they would not even be in the road games ,much less in a position to win them. 

ROad life in the SEC is tough, as is home life this year, for everyone.  Did FLA think loss #1 would come at TN?  Did Ky think SC would come in a force them to make 2 miracle 3's to beat the gamecocks? 

[pfrg999]

Last play should have been a fake to Howard and a roll out pass to the Tight end... TD win the Game... Howard the MVP...

[pfrg999]

I didn't want a more mild mannered coach... I wanted our program back on top... I loved the coach in the ref's ear... Nolan got alot of calls for us...

[Oliverhogman]

Mild mannered or not.  I said it before and will say again.  He will make the NCAA this year.  Sit back and enjoy the ride.

[othermac]

Hogs Can't Win Two in a Row at SEC Tournament

Robert Shields

Make no mistake, the win over Auburn on the road was a huge win for Stan Heath. Here's why: It insures this team of not going through the conference schedule without a road win as they did in the '03-'04 season.

Heath's record on the road in the SEC, three wins versus 24 losses, is quite unremarkable and hopefully forgettable for most fans. I guess we could add in the wins in Little Rock and count them as road games to boost the percentage since Frank and the UA like to claim the football visits to War Memorial are on the road.

So based on the last four years, you can understand how important the win at Auburn was and how precious wins on the road are to Heath's teams.

Heath needed at some point to find a win on the road to make up for the loss to LSU at home to make that 8-8 SEC record a possibility if the Hogs defend the home turf throughout the rest of the season, and it starts Wednesday night against Ole Miss. Heath has established a trend so far in the SEC, winning one and then losing one, and such a pace will land him around 8-8 in the regular season in the SEC.

The eight wins in SEC play will make the Hogs a 20 win team. Will that be enough to get the Hogs into the NCAA tournament? Probably not alone, and you can mark it down now what will determine the Hogs' fate of getting into the NCAA tournament is how it will perform on the road and in the SEC tournament.

The Hogs have to avoid a first-round loss in the SEC tournament. What will help is to find a way to make it as a top-four seed in the SEC tournament, which would give them a bye until Friday. A Thursday loss by the Hogs on the first day of the SEC tournament will mean the Hogs will be forgotten by the NCAA selection committee.

The SEC may only get four teams into the Big Dance, so if the Hogs can get a bye and then win just one, being one of those teams in the semifinals of the SEC tournament will make them a lock from the NCAA. Otherwise, you're nail biting like Houston Nutt on a fourth-and-one play.

Heath can pull off one win in the SEC tournament, but his odds start to go down drastically if he has to win two in a row – because it is on the road. This season very much hinges on how the team plays this week to set up where its team will land in the standings in the SEC West.



Heath Complaint

Fans' biggest gripe currently against Heath seems to be his lack of emotion on the sideline, not the fact he cannot win on the road. Fans want to see some dynamic personality on the sideline jumping the players and jumping the refs.

You had the biggest dynamic personality in the NCAA on the bench when you had Nolan Richardson as coach. Nolan always had the appearance of being on the verge of getting a technical and was always in the ref's ear. You also never knew with Nolan when he might even put on such a tirade and just leave the court. Many of you wanted a more mild-mannered coach on the sideline and now you have him.



East-West Shrine Game

I called for Houston Nutt's head most of last season. The end of the East-West Shrine game was eerily familiar to the Hogs' football season with a failed fourth-and-one attempt to win the game. Such plays against South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and LSU are what came to my mind from a season that was always on the brink of winning.



Mitch Mustain and Casey Dick

Let the debate begin with Mustain's recommitment to the Hogs. I withhold judgment until the team comes out of spring practice. If history is any indication with Nutt, Casey Dick is a lock as a starter in the season opener by the fact he has the starting experience. And in all fairness to Mustain, I cannot remember the last time a true freshman took the first snap of the season.

Nutt has a history of putting a premium on experience over talent. Dick proved to be a stable quarterback in his four appearances that ended the season, and with a better coaching job he would have been 4-0 as the starter and going to bowl game instead of 2-2. But his play caller found a way to lose the South Carolina and LSU games, both of which the Hogs should have won. But let the QB controversy rage and hopefully without the tarp in place.


Announced Attendance at BWA

Anyone notice that they stopped listing the attendance in the second or third paragraph of every basketball game story in the Democrat-Gazette? The PR machine for Heath continues to churn as it minimizes the worst attended season since the Hogs moved into Bud Walton Arena. I will be curious to see how many show up for an NIT game.




Send your pick who you think will start at QB to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

shields is over the top as usual, stan will post a winning record in the conference as our team IS getting better, and we will make the ncaa tourney. and as long as he is pointing out differences between stan and nolan, how about their interviews, we dont have to listen to nolan beating his chest proclaiming how he is the best thing to ever happen to the u of a anymore, that's almost enough to justify stan's tenure. (i said almost)
and i was dont blame nutt one bit for giving the ball one last time to his senior running back that didn't get near the reps that the kid thought he was going to get his last year, i thought it was a good way close out his career even if he didnt score,at least he got the chance, and shields in typical darksider fashion, is criticizing nutt for being loyal to his player.

[silvertip]

I didn't want a more mild mannered coach... I wanted our program back on top... I loved the coach in the ref's ear... Nolan got alot of calls for us...

Nolan also generated a lot of ill will for the program. I'm not convinced he got us anymore favorable calls than any other coach would.

[Ugly Uncle]

I do think Nolan was a master at working the refs, Silver.  I sat behind the bench for many of those games.  However, you are right...Nolan gave the university a black eye and made us look worse in the end, than he ever made us look good in the 90's.  IMHO

[silvertip]

No way SEC gets only 4 NCAAT invites. Despite everyone here trying to convince each other that the SEC is so "down", SEC is still ranked #4 in RPI. Typically, that equals 6 NCAAT teams, maybe 5 at the worst.