SEC report

Donovan looking foward

FAYETTEVILLE - Florida improved its winning streak to 17 games by defeating Tennessee and Kentucky on the road last week and stretching its lead in the SEC to three games over the Wildcats.

Florida (23-2, 12-0 SEC) picked up a first-place vote in the Associated Press poll after sweeping road games from the Volunteers and Wildcats in the same season for the first time since 1988 and the third time ever.

Florida Coach Billy Donovan is trying to get his team to put the big road victories behind them as quickly as possible.

“The next game up right now is all that really matters,” Donovan said during Monday’s SEC coaches teleconference.

He also said his players aren’t paying attention to talk of the Gators being in contention for a No. 1 seed to the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve got six games left to play and an SEC Tournament,” Donovan said. “There’s going to be a lot of ebbs and flows and changes, and we never talk about that stuff, in terms of a seed or things like that. It gives your team way too much to think about.”

A regular season SEC championship would be Florida’s second in a row and the sixth time the Gators have finished with the conference’s best record in 17 seasons under Donovan.

Bubble land

The SEC’s large collection of fringe NCAA Tournament contenders continue to vacillate on, and most currently off, the bubble.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi listed just three SEC teams making the NCAA Tournament field - No. 1 seed Florida, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 11 Tennessee - in his latest projection last week. He listed LSU and Missouri among his first four out and Ole Miss among his next four out.

Jerry Palm of CBSsports.

com included No. 1 seed Florida, No. 5 Kentucky, No.

10 Missouri - all strangely in the South region - and No. 12 Tennessee in his Monday projection. Palm included Tennessee among his final four teams to make the field.

Make it 81-3

John Calipari has an 81-3 record at Rupp Arena in his five years as Kentucky’s coach.

However, one of those losses was Saturday’s 69-59 defeat against streaking Florida.

“Florida deserved to win the game,” Calipari said in his postgame remarks.

“They were just a little too experienced for us.”

The loss also dropped Kentucky into a tie with Florida for the best SEC road record (24-15) over the past five seasons.

Up Dogs

Georgia has won four games in a row after suffering through a three-game losing streak. The Bulldogs, 8-4 in the SEC, played their way into sole possession of third place in the conference after Saturday’s 61-60 victory over Ole Miss.

“I don’t think we’re surprised we’ve had success,” said Georgia Coach Mark Fox, who suggested the team’s 6-6 nonconference record resulted from learning to play without departed star Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Georgia will take a four-game winning streak into Knoxville, Tenn., tonight after losing its three games prior to the streak.

“A big part of it was we lost Kenny Gaines and Juwan Parker, both of our two guards … and didn’t have them for a period of time, so our team was off the tracks there for a while,” Fox said. “We’re healthier now and we’re a team that needs to be whole.”Down Dogs

Mississippi State’s 92-82 loss at Auburn on Saturday marked the Bulldogs’ seventh consecutive loss, edging South Carolina’s six-game losing streak as the longest in the SEC this season.

Coach Rick Ray’s club will have to lose out to match its worst streak from last season, however, when the Bulldogs dropped 13 games in a row after opening with victories over South Carolina and at Georgia.

“I think once we get all the able bodies in here we’ll be just fine,” Ray said, referencing that Mississippi State is playing with eight scholarship players, five short of the maximum allowed by the NCAA.

Board punch

Arkansas, which has been outrebounded in nine of its 12 SEC games, ranks last in the SEC with a minus-7.4 rebounding margin in conference play.

The differential is a full rebound short of the No. 13 team, Texas A&M, which is being outrebounded by 6.4 per game.

The Razorbacks have been outrebounded by 10 or more in five games, including by 22 boards at Georgia and by 10 against LSU on Saturday.

Arkansas has beaten three teams on the boards: Florida (45-44), Auburn (38-36) and Alabama (42-38).

Sweeps and splits

Florida leads the SEC with two sweeps (Alabama, Tennessee) among the five SEC teams it plays twice, and the Gators still have the ability to sweep Auburn, South Carolina and Kentucky, teams they have already beaten once this year.

The only other SEC team with the potential to sweep five league series this season is Georgia. The Bulldogs’ last five games - at South Carolina, Missouri, at Arkansas, Mississippi State and at LSU - come against teams they have already beaten once.

Mississippi State has already split three series - with Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Auburn - and has been swept by Kentucky, leaving only Georgia, which won 75-55 in Starkville, Miss., on Feb. 12, as its only two-time opponent.

Arkansas has the possibility of sweeping two opponents - Kentucky and Alabama - after being swept by Missouri and splitting two games with LSU. The Razorbacks can avoid a sweep by Georgia on March 1.

No SEC can be swept in all five series, though Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee can still be swept by four opponents.

Honors

Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin was named SEC player of the week and South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell was named freshman of the week by the conference office.

Wilbekin averaged 22 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game and had no turnovers in Florida’s road victories over Tennessee and Kentucky last week. Wilbekin scored a career-high 21 points at Tennessee, then topped it with 23 points at Kentucky.

Thornwell, a 6-5 guard, averaged 20.5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in South Carolina’s victories over Vanderbilt and Alabama.

Stool position

Kentucky Coach John Calipari suggested during Monday’s SEC coaches teleconference that Vanderbilt could help alleviate the communication problems brought about by the benches being on the baselines at Memorial Gymnasium by relocating the benches to the lowered pits on the sidelines and giving the coaches a stool tosit on at court level.

“I think they could easily do that at Vanderbilt if they chose to,” Calipari said. “I think it would be a great solution.”

Texas A&M Coach Billy Kennedy was still fuming Monday over a late jump ball call that occurred on the far end of the court from him and led to Vanderbilt’s tying basket in an overtime loss.

Kennedy said he felt like he couldn’t have gotten a time out call to a referee in those closing seconds if he had wanted to.

Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings has developed a shrill whistle than be heard throughout the gym when his team is at the far end.

“I know Kevin can whistle louder than anybody else, so he can get his kids’ attention and most of us can’t,” Calipari said.

“He’s got a great whistle that can get his guys’ attention,” Kennedy said.

“I’ve got to work on one for the next time we play them there.”

Quotebook “Two tremendous challenges for our group, but also tremendous opportunities.” Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy on the Rebels’ games vs. Florida and Kentucky this week “They’re playing as well as anybody in the league.”

Tennessee Coach Cuonzo

Martin on playing Georgia tonight

By the numbers 19◊Alabama’s first-half points, an SEC low for the Tide, in its 67-66 loss at South Carolina 37◊Free throws made by Auburn in its 92-82 victory over Mississippi State, two shy of a school record 64◊Florida’s shooting percentage in the second half of its 69-59 victory at Kentucky on Saturday

Game of the week

KENTUCKY AT OLE MISS,

TODAY, 6 P.M., ESPN

The Rebels are currently off the proverbial NCAA Tournament “bubble” by most analysts, but the Rebels could help themselves with victories over Kentucky tonight and Florida on Saturday.

TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Kentucky at Ole Miss, 6 p.m.

Georgia at Tennessee, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES Auburn at Florida, 6 p.m.

Mississippi St. at LSU, 7 p.m.

Vanderbilt at Missouri, 7 p.m.

South Carolina at Arkansas, 8 p.m. THURSDAY’S GAME Alabama at Texas A&M, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAME Florida at Ole Miss, 11 a.m.