John Adams: SEC East now a basketball division
The biggest upset of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament hasn’t been Wisconsin over defending national champion Villanova or Xavier over No. 1 seed Arizona. The biggest upset: Three SEC teams making the Elite Eight.
Other than Kentucky, the SEC is supposed to be jettisoned from the tournament the first weekend. Yet South Carolina and Florida also were still dribbling a week later. And South Carolina defeated basketball powerhouse Duke on its way to the Final Four.
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Of the millions of brackets composed by fans, I can’t imagine anyone predicting South Carolina over Duke. Surely, more brackets had Duke winning the national championship than South Carolina winning one game.
Three SEC teams in the Elite Eight and five in the tournament constitute high ground for the SEC. And it also helps prove that the SEC East is now better at basketball than football.
For more evidence, check the coaches.
Starting closest to home, the resume of Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes is better than UT football coach Butch Jones’. Jones has won at three different programs, but Barnes took 16 of 17 Texas teams to the NCAA tournament.
Here’s a look at the rest of the East:
Vanderbilt: Basketball coach Bryce Drew led the Commodores to the NCAA tournament in his first season and has won 68.8 percent of his games, including five seasons worth at Valparaiso. Commodores football coach Derek Mason hasn’t had a winning season in three years.
Which one would you hire?
South Carolina: Basketball coach Frank Martin or football coach Will Muschamp? Is elaboration necessary?
Missouri: New basketball coach Cuonzo Martin has won 20 or more games six times in nine seasons and taken two programs to the NCAA tournament. Barry Odom went 4-8 in his first football season at Missouri.
And the coach making $3 million a year isn’t Odom.
Kentucky: Basketball coach John Calipari soon will earn $8 million per year to oversee the Wildcats’ basketball dynasty. Football coach Mark Stoops has a 19-30 record at Kentucky.
Georgia: Kirby Smart just completed his first season as a head coach, and Mark Fox was roundly criticized for not making the NCAA tournament, though he has won 62.5 percent of his games in eight seasons at Georgia and five at Nevada.
But Fox didn’t lose to Vanderbilt this school year.
Florida: Football coach Jim McElwain has won 63.1 percent of his games in five seasons (three at Colorado State and two at Florida). He also has won the East twice when the division was at a low ebb.
Florida basketball coach Mike White has averaged 24 victories per season and won 70.1 percent of his games in two seasons at Florida and four at Louisiana Tech.
Put both on the open market, and who do you think would be the hotter commodity?
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @johnadamsKNS
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