John Clay’s Sidelines

SEC links for Friday:

• Maurice Patton of the Tennessean reports that a young Vanderbilt basketball team couldn’t finish off Illinois. “Vanderbilt’s youth showed up in a rather unlikely place Thursday night, as free-throw shooting keyed the Commodores’ 69-63 loss to Illinois. The Commodores (1-1) seemed to solve the Illini’s defensive effort, shooting 43.4 percent (23-for-53) from the field, but connected on just 13 of 21 foul shots to end a 20-game Memorial Gym winning streak.”

• Tennessean columnist David Climer writes that the youngest Commodores struggled with consistency. “This is how the game is played when freshmen hit the court. Every possession is an adventure. Vanderbilt’s Commodores will spend much of this season living and learning. With so many new players in so many key roles, there will be serious growing pains.”

• Chip Towers of the AJC writes that Gerogia Tech’s big win over Miami last night should get Georgia’s attention. “Come on now, Georgia fans, you’ve got to admit it — that was an impressive performance by Georgia Tech against Miami last night. Four hundred seventy-two yards rushing, are you kidding me? Two gift TDs for the Hurricanes there at the end, too. In reality it was more like a 48-9 game than 41-23.”

• Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun writes that Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong is making all the right moves. “Last Saturday, Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong won what many might consider a defining chess match. He put Steve Spurrier in checkmate. He outstrategized the legendary offensive playcaller in the Gators’ 56-6 victory over South Carolina. It’s been that kind of year for Strong, who is drawing lots of praise for his game-planning, his playcalling and the way he and his staff have brought together a still relatively young defense.”

• Nate Allen of the Northwest Arkansas Times reports on Arkansas’ win over UC-Davis. “So with a disciplined defense defying its uptempo ways to close the backdoor layups from UC-Davis’Princeton-style offense, Arkansas takes a 68-59 victory and moves on to a couple of tough road games. Saturday night Arkansas opens Missouri State’s new JQH Arena in Springfield and Wednesday night in Mobile visits South Alabama, the school from which second-year Arkansas coach John Pelphrey left to become the Razorbacks’coach.”

• Ron Morris, columnist for The State in Columbia, goes out on a limb by writing that women’s hoops at USC will make money in the near future. “My three-point plan is simple, not particularly costly and will have basketball fans flocking to see the Gamecocks play. First, USC and new coach Dawn Staley must win and win big, which will happen sooner than you think. Next, USC must vow to keep ticket prices family affordable through the continued economic downturn. Finally, USC must renovate the Carolina Coliseum and play all of its women’s games there.”

• Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes that whatever it is, it isn’t enough in Saban’s world. “What is, is. Sometimes that sounds like a cop-out, an act of resignation, as if to say, “nothing is going to change, so why talk about it?” It is one of Alabama coach Nick Saban’s favorite answers when he is asked one of those hypothetical questions he doesn’t like to get drawn into. It’s his way of saying he’s not going to waste any mental energy trying to figure out something that isn’t relative to the situation at hand.”

• Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger writes that poor rushing production has irked Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom. “Truth be told, there are many reasons that Sylvester Croom could be disappointed about his Mississippi State offense, which continues to lag near the bottom of almost every national ranking. As he prepares it for Saturday’s game against Arkansas (4-6, 1-5 SEC) at Scott Field, the most fundamental reason for this old-school football coach bugs him the most.”

• In The Advocate, Parrish Alford writes about Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead. “Expectations followed Snead to Ole Miss, because he’d once been up for the same job at Texas. He was also a Parade All-American, a prep star in Stephenville, Texas, who gave a verbal commitment to Florida. Many expected Snead to stabilize an Ole Miss position that had been substandard since Eli Manning’s senior season, the last time the Rebels were eligible for a bowl game.”

• Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist John Adams takes up for the Tennessee defense. “Despite what the cliche says, defense doesn’t always win championships. In fact, it doesn’t always win games. The deeper Tennessee goes into one of the worst seasons in school history, the better the defense looks statistically. The team is 3-7. The offense is ranked 115th out of 119 teams. But the defense is ranked seventh.”