That was the dream you had back in March of 2017. This is what it was supposed to be. A packed house. A hungry team. A win that clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It all happened here.
It was a hell of a road to get here and not the way anyone thought it would occur. A team that was picked fifth in the SEC as a bubble team with Michael Porter Jr. just finished fifth in the SEC and is an NCAA lock without him. And without Blake Harris and CJ Roberts and Terrence Phillips.
He's not going to win it, but Cuonzo Martin is the SEC Coach of the Year. In the words of Jonny Gomes
As I wrote, maybe there's more ahead. I don't know. If they get hot and they get efforts like today from Jeremiah Tilmon and Jontay Porter, anything's possible. Today, I don't care. It doesn't matter. This is an NCAA Tournament team. And that's so much more than any of us could have asked for 12 months ago.
Tilmon and Porter were fantastic. Easily the best they've ever been together. Kassius Robertson made plays and held them together. Jordan Barnett hit shots and played the defense that Cuonzo has been begging him to play (Martin said after the game if he defends that way he'll play in the NBA). Kevin Puryear has been a rock who took a lesser role and didn't bitch. Jordan Geist has done more than he's capable of doing.
And that's pretty much your entire team. And they're going to the NCAA Tournament. For the first time in five years.
It's been too long since you've watched the tournament with interest. It's been too long since I've covered it. It's been too long since they've played in it. Let's do this. March is fun again.
It was a hell of a road to get here and not the way anyone thought it would occur. A team that was picked fifth in the SEC as a bubble team with Michael Porter Jr. just finished fifth in the SEC and is an NCAA lock without him. And without Blake Harris and CJ Roberts and Terrence Phillips.
He's not going to win it, but Cuonzo Martin is the SEC Coach of the Year. In the words of Jonny Gomes
As I wrote, maybe there's more ahead. I don't know. If they get hot and they get efforts like today from Jeremiah Tilmon and Jontay Porter, anything's possible. Today, I don't care. It doesn't matter. This is an NCAA Tournament team. And that's so much more than any of us could have asked for 12 months ago.
Tilmon and Porter were fantastic. Easily the best they've ever been together. Kassius Robertson made plays and held them together. Jordan Barnett hit shots and played the defense that Cuonzo has been begging him to play (Martin said after the game if he defends that way he'll play in the NBA). Kevin Puryear has been a rock who took a lesser role and didn't bitch. Jordan Geist has done more than he's capable of doing.
And that's pretty much your entire team. And they're going to the NCAA Tournament. For the first time in five years.
It's been too long since you've watched the tournament with interest. It's been too long since I've covered it. It's been too long since they've played in it. Let's do this. March is fun again.
