Sec Tournament

The Wildcats will play the winner of Vanderbilt vs. Missouri on Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m. EST LEXINGTON, Ky. -     After earning its school-record tying 13 th   Southeastern Conference win with a commanding 78-65 victory over No. 8 Tennessee, the Kentucky women's basketball team earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the fourth consecutive season in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats are preparing to square off against the winner of Vanderbilt (No. 7 seed)

ATLANTA — Before the season started, college basketball analyst Joe Dean Jr. said he could envision a scenario where Kentucky could finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division if Enes Kanter was ruled ineligible. Kanter was ruled ineligible, but the Wildcats managed to finish second in the East and earn a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. However, with a week to go in the regular season, Kentucky could have dropped to fifth if it had lost a home game and then lost at Tennessee.

Early in the second half of the UK Hoops game against Tennessee Sunday, Bria Goss jumped off the bench and sprinted towards her teammates after a Jennifer O'Neill three-pointer and a timeout. Jumping up and down, she screamed and gave high-fives as if Kentucky had already won the game. That kind of energy from Goss has been coming off the bench for several games now, after Kastine Evans was given Goss' traditional spot in the starting lineup. It has been a coaching move from Matthew Mitchell that has reaped benefits, including better offensive output from both Evans and Goss.

South Carolina coach Frank Martin joked on the Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference Monday that Kentucky could play "overseas" and would probably draw more fans than anybody else because of the passion of UK fans. LSU coach Johnny Jones knows those Big Blue fans will be out in force in Nashville this week for the SEC Tournament where UK is the No. 2 seed and plays the Vanderbilt-Arkansas winner Friday at 7:30 p.m. “I think that anytime you go there (Rupp Arena), it's one of the greatest atmospheres that you can play in front of college basketball.

UK Hoops' dream of winning an SEC tournament championship fell short Sunday, as Kentucky fell 75-67 to Texas A&M in a closely contested game where the Cats struggled to produce offensively in the second half. Kentucky shot 27-76 from the field, including 12-38 in the second half. From behind the arc, they were 6-24, with point guard Jennifer O'Neill shooting 2-13 from long range. After 20 minutes of play, Texas A&M and Kentucky looked to be heading towards a barn-burner. Neither team could wrestle the momentum away from the other, and the game was within four points or less the whole way. Then O'Neill drained a three-pointer at the 1:33 mark, which kicked off a personal 7-0 run that led to the Cats leading 36-34 at the half.

ATLANTA (AP) - A severe storm ripped away two panels in the side of the Georgia Dome during the Southeastern Conference tournament, sending debris falling from the ceiling, halting the Alabama-Mississippi State game and prompting fans to flee for the exits. The teams were sent to the locker rooms, while those who remained at their seats looked anxiously toward the roof. The game was stopped with Mississippi State leading 64-61 with 2:11 left in overtime. It wasn't immediately known if a tornado struck the 16-year-old building, though a roaring noise was heard inside as the storm moved through downtown Atlanta.

TAMPA - Junior Perry Stevenson averages 7.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game for Kentucky this season, but better numbers were expected by almost everyone, including Stevenson, this season. He's a 56 percent shooter from the field, but has scored in double figures just once in UK's 3-8 slide going into Thursday's Southeastern Conference Tournament game with Mississippi here. Stevenson talked about his play and offered his insights into his season. Question: Has this year been what you thought it would be?

ATLANTA - After trying to rest his players as much as he could during Thursday's 76-65 win over Georgia, Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury noted why Kentucky has such an advantage in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. "Bench play is important in this tournament. Once you start playing, you don't get a day off like you do in the NCAA Tournament," Stansbury said. "You play either three straight days, or four straight like we hope to this year, if you want to reach the title game.

ATLANTA - Almost a year ago Hustonville's Jimmy Gordon knew where he was going to be when the 2004 Southeastern Conference Tournament was played. "I was in Nashville for the NCAA South Region last year and a friend had a suite for the games," said Gordon. "I decided right then that was the only way to go and that's how I would watch the SEC Tournament in Atlanta. " He called the Georgia Dome last June and learned that a suite to accommodate 16 people would cost $5,000, or about $312 per person.

Advocate-Messenger Sports Editor Larry Vaught is usually the one asking questions, but on Thursday he'll be the one answering them. We're going to try something new this year and have Larry answer questions about University of Kentucky basketball while he's in Atlanta for the SEC Tournament. Even though it's called "Cat Chat," this is a question-and-answer session rather than a live chat. We will be taking your questions between now and noon on Thursday, then post Larry's answers on amnews.

If Kentucky could pick anywhere other than Rupp Arena for the Southeastern Conference Tournament, my guess is that Nashville would be the first choice for the basketball tourney. And now it certainly seems likely that may just happen. The tournament was played again in Nashville last March when the Wildcats lost to Vanderbilt in their first game to set the stage for a NIT bid - and first-round loss at Robert Morris. Now SEC commissioner Mike Slive is sure sounding like Nashville could be the permanent home for the tournament if he gets his way - and he usually does.

Andrew Wiggins, considered the top prospect in the Class of 2013, will make his college decision Tuesday and Kentucky is in the mix to sign the Huntington (W.Va.) Prep standout. Wiggins has narrowed his choices to Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina. Despite the hype surrounding Wiggins, he will sign the national letter-of-intent at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday in a light setting. “He will not hold a press conference type ceremony,” Wiggins' coach Rob Fulford said in a Twitter message Sunday night.

Mike Bobinski, chairman of the Division I men's basketball committee that set the NCAA Tournament field, said Sunday night that Kentucky, the defending NCAA champion, was one of the first teams left out of the tourney field along with Alabama, Iowa, Southern Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia. “Kentucky was a team, because they had done some things during the course of the year, we analyzed very closely. They were in that last group of teams we evaluated,” said Bobinski. “When Nerlens (Noel)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kentucky coach John Calipari revealed on the Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference this week that he called coaches Johnny Jones of LSU and Mark Fox of Georgia to compliment them on what they have done with their teams this season. Jones said Wednesday before the start of the SEC tournament that he appreciated what Calipari did. “I have a great deal of respect for Coach Calipari. You're talking about a guy who had his team in numerous Final Fours, has won the championships, and for someone of that caliber to call  you and talk about your team and your program where they are and when you've gone through your highs and your lows at the same time, it meant a lot,” Jones said.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kentucky has won 21 games and has the No. 2 seed in the Southeastern Conference tournament, which are reasons that college basketball analyst Joe Dean Jr. says there should be no doubt that the Wildcats are already in the NCAA tournament no matter what happens this weekend. “I think they are definitely an NCAA tournament team. I don't think there is any question,” Dean, a former Kentucky assistant coach who is now athletics director at Birmingham-Southern, said Wednesday.

Since today is dedicated to the number 13 on the calendar, thought we could hit on 13 topics in 13 minutes. Crunch time coach: Western Kentucky men's basketball coach Ray Harper is undefeated (8-0) in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Harper guided the Hilltoppers to four straight victories to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and followed suit in his second appearance in the postseason event this year. The Hilltoppers won the tournament as a sixth seed, winning four games in a span of 96 hours.

South Carolina coach Frank Martin joked on the Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference Monday that Kentucky could play "overseas" and would probably draw more fans than anybody else because of the passion of UK fans. LSU coach Johnny Jones knows those Big Blue fans will be out in force in Nashville this week for the SEC Tournament where UK is the No. 2 seed and plays the Vanderbilt-Arkansas winner Friday at 7:30 p.m. “I think that anytime you go there (Rupp Arena), it's one of the greatest atmospheres that you can play in front of college basketball.

UK Hoops' dream of winning an SEC tournament championship fell short Sunday, as Kentucky fell 75-67 to Texas A&M in a closely contested game where the Cats struggled to produce offensively in the second half. Kentucky shot 27-76 from the field, including 12-38 in the second half. From behind the arc, they were 6-24, with point guard Jennifer O'Neill shooting 2-13 from long range. After 20 minutes of play, Texas A&M and Kentucky looked to be heading towards a barn-burner. Neither team could wrestle the momentum away from the other, and the game was within four points or less the whole way. Then O'Neill drained a three-pointer at the 1:33 mark, which kicked off a personal 7-0 run that led to the Cats leading 36-34 at the half.

LEXINGTON - No one had to tell Billy Donovan what to expect Saturday. The Florida coach thought his Gators would see “a desperate team” fighting to save its season - and he was right. Kentucky suddenly found the so-called will to win it has lacked almost all season and, on the heels of a disappointing loss at Georgia on Thursday, the Wildcats rallied to beat Florida 61-57 at Rupp Arena. It was a win UK had to have to keep alive any hopes of making the NCAA tournament without winning the Southeastern Conference tournament.

LEXINGTON - Archie Goodwin knows what it means to Kentucky when teammate Alex Poythress plays well. “We knew we needed Alex to play well to win,” Goodwin said. “If Alex does not play good, most of the time we don't win. When he plays to his potential, we can win.” Maybe Poythress still didn't play to his full potential, but his career-high 12 rebounds, nine points and two assists in 32 minutes Saturday helped Kentucky¿beat No. 11 Florida 61-57 at Rupp Arena. That's much better than in the Wildcats' loss at Florida, when the freshman forward was 1 for 9 from the field and had five points and four rebounds in a 69-52 loss about a month ago. “I heard he spoke to the media yesterday and basically said, 'I haven't played hard enough all year.