FAYETTEVILLE -- Why was Kentucky's Malik Monk giggling on the bench near the end of the Wildcats' 88-66 loss at Florida on Saturday?
Kentucky fans didn't like it, especially as it came in the Wildcats' worst-ever loss as a top 10 team, and a game in which Monk struggled with 4-of-14 shooting and scored a season-low 11 points.
It turns out Monk, the Bentonville High School graduate who turned 19 on Saturday, couldn't resist reacting to a "Happy Birthday" serenade by Florida fans.
"When I heard about it, I got on him," Kentucky Coach John Calipari said. "What they had done is they were singing 'Happy Birthday' to him because it was his birthday."
Calipari said he lightened up some when he was told why Monk was smiling with his hand, and later a towel, over his mouth.
"But I said to him, 'Do you understand you're at Kentucky and the camera is always on, and the mic is always on,?' " Calipari said. "That was a lesson for him."
Calipari said on Monday's SEC coaches teleconference that assistant coach Joel Justus, who was sitting near Monk, described the dialogue between Monk and guard Isaiah Briscoe moments before the fans broke out into song.
Justus said the two guards "were going nuts about how bad they had played, like, 'Can't believe this. You and I are better than this. What in the heck?' " according to Calipari.
Calipari said he would probably bring Monk to today's media outing to explain the situation.
Tourney talk
Arkansas managed to stay on the right side of ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi's his latest NCAA Tournament projection Monday, but the Razorbacks fell on the wrong side of CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm's predictions.
The Razorbacks were a No. 9 seed for Lunardi, joining three other SEC teams: No. 3 seed Kentucky, No. 3 seed Florida and No. 5 seed South Carolina. Lunardi listed Tennessee, the No. 35 team on the latest Ratings Percentage Index, among his first four teams out of the tourney.
Palm put Arkansas among his first four out, while seeding Kentucky as a No. 4 and both Florida and South Carolina as No. 6s.
'It stung'
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson repeated the line "It stung" twice to emphasize the disappointment of the Razorbacks' 83-78 loss at Missouri on Saturday.
"I just thought we dug a hole," Anderson said. "We dug a hole like we've done in quite a few games on the road."
The Tigers (6-16, 1-9 SEC) won their conference game and ended a 13-game losing streak.
Anderson added the Razorbacks didn't capitalize on their height advantage in the lane and let a lethargic offense bother their defense.
"I just think we have some lulls," Anderson said. "Obviously when you don't score sometimes, you're defense is not as good as it's got to be, as it needs to be.
"I think we've got to somehow correct that. It seems like when we don't score, the tempo, it kind of goes to the favor of the other team. So we've got to change that narrative. How do you do that? When you're not scoring, you don't let the other team score. That's got to be a big key."
'Super' lessons
Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes and Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland both made references to Sunday's Super Bowl when discussing the Bulldogs' rally from a 19-point deficit to defeat Tennessee 64-59 on Saturday.
The Volunteers led 12-0 to open the game and were ahead by 17 points in the second half before Mississippi State rallied.
"We've got to learn how momentum swings. ... You saw it yesterday in the Super Bowl, how momentum can turn so quickly," Barnes said, referencing New England's rally from a 28-3 deficit to beat Atlanta 34-28 in overtime in the Super Bowl.
"We talked about it after the game about the lesson learned and never quitting, never giving up, even when things look bad and things are going the wrong way," Howland said. "I will have to admit I've never seen it more exemplified than last night in the Super Bowl, watching New England down 28-3 on the biggest stage of all, coming back and getting a win in overtime was incredible."
Solo lead
South Carolina has a 9-1 SEC record, a game clear of Florida and Kentucky, with eight games remaining in the regular season.
"I'm sure the guys that are new think they're part of the reason they're there," Gamecocks Coach Frank Martin said. "The guys that have been through it, they respect the journey. It gives them a sense of accomplishment.
But then again, we were in a pretty good place last year. ... The returning players understand, based on experience, there's a lot of basketball left to be played and a lot of hard games to be played."
Gators gather
Florida Coach Mike White said he held a two-hour team meeting after the Gators lost back-to-back games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt two weeks ago. Florida has won four in a row by an average margin of 32 points since the meeting.
"I think our guys have re-committed to each other," White said. "We're getting back to basics. Defending and rebounding at the level of which we're capable, the level of which we've shown at different times during the season."
Rubbing it in
Texas A&M freshman Robert Williams scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting and had 6 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in his home state as the Aggies won at LSU 85-73 on Saturday.
"I went in and I told my teammates, 'I need this win. This is my hometown,' " Williams, a native of Vivian, La., said on the SEC Network.
Top players
Florida guard Chris Chiozza was selected as the SEC player of the week and Auburn guard Jared Harper was chosen as the league's freshman of the week Monday.
Chiozza, a junior from Memphis, averaged 7.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists in victories over Missouri and No. 8 Kentucky last week. He had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists off the bench against Missouri to post the fourth triple-double ever by a Florida player. It marked the nation's first triple-double by a reserve since Chris Lowe of UMass did it against LaSalle on March 5, 2008.
Harper, 5-10, 165 pounds, averaged 17.5 points and made 7 of 10 three-pointers in games against Tennessee and Alabama.
Down Dawgs
Georgia is 2-5 in games this season decided by six points or less or in overtime, including gut-punch road setbacks at South Carolina, Florida and Kentucky, the top three teams in the SEC.
Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs blew a 14-point first half lead and a pair of two-point leads in the final minute at Kentucky before falling 90-81 in overtime. On Saturday, South Carolina stemmed Georgia's rally from a 69-60 deficit to survive 77-75 in Columbia, S.C.
"We've had a difficult stretch and hopefully we can maintain a determined course," Georgia Coach Mark Fox said.
Georgia is the only SEC school that will play Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina, the top three teams in the conference, twice during the regular season.
"Our kids understand we've got one of the hardest schedules, but also that brings us great opportunity," Fox said.
The Bulldogs also suffered a controversial 63-62 loss at Texas A&M on Jan. 21, when a clock malfunction denied Georgia a shot at winning in the closing seconds.
"Mark's team has got as many bad bounces this year as any team I've seen," Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes said.
Doh!
Vanderbilt Coach Bryce Drew was asked a question meant for Florida Coach Mike White about winning four games in a row on Monday after Drew's stint on the SEC teleconference pushed slightly over the allotted time.
"This is Bryce. I think you mean Mike," Drew said. "We'll take the four-game winning streak though."
Tip-ins
• Mississippi State senior guard I.J. Ready (Little Rock Parkview) received an MRI after suffering a back injury he suffered in practice last Friday. Bulldogs Coach Ben Howland said the test showed Ready did not have structural damage. Ready has been sidelined by a number of ailments during his career, including a calf injury two weeks ago.
• Arkansas had been 5-0 in games decided by five or fewer points prior to Saturday's 83-78 loss at Missouri.
• Ole Miss, which won its first game against Tennessee 80-69 on Jan. 17 despite shooting 1 of 14 from three-point range, faces the Volunteers on the road Wednesday.
Sports on 02/07/2017