SEC links for Thursday: Memphis knocked off Tennessee 69-51 to beat the Volunteers for the second time this basketball season. Memphis had beaten UT in Maui. Plus, Auburn is rocked by Florida State in Tallahassee. In football news, both LSU and Alabama arrived in New Orleans for BCS title game. Meanwhile, Arkansas gears up for Friday night’s Cotton Bowl. And rumors say Michael Dyer may be leaving Auburn to join his offensive coordinator at Arkansas State.
College of Charleston hands Tennessee its fourth straight loss, 71-65, reports Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Bobby Cremins’ club improved to 8-1, while Cuonzo Martin’s first UT edition is now 3-6.
Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Mike Strange writes that the Vols are stuck in mid-major status right now. After the game, Cremins thanked Martin for honoring the contract made with former UT coach Bruce Pearl.
Auburn holds off South Florida 52-40, reports Jay Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser. Tony Barbee said afterward he wants his team to play at a faster pace, but was glad it showed it could win a grind-it-out game.
Ole Miss basketball wins its sixth straight game, beating Louisiana-Lafayette 66-54, reports Hugh Kellenberger of the Clarion-Ledger. Dundrecious Nelson came off the bench to score 21 points for the Rebels.
After being in the mix for several other head coaching jobs, including Vanderbilt, Auburn’s creative offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is hired by Arkansas State. So the Tigers are replacing both their OC and DC after Ted Roof left for Central Florida.
In other news, Mississippi State won another basketball game. So did South Carolina as the Gamecocks rallied to beat Presbyterian.
Two coaches with pro backgrounds and Bill Belichick connections will go head-to-head when Alabama travels to Florida on Saturday night, 8:00 on CBS.
Bama head coach Nick Saban was Belichick’s defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns before becoming the head coach at Michigan State, then LSU, then the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, then finally back to the college ranks in Tuscaloosa.
Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis was the long-time offensive boss under Belichick at New England before becoming head coach at Notre Dame. He returned to the NFL ranks for one year with the Kansas City Chiefs before agreeing to join first-year head coach Will Muschamp’s staff this year at Florida. That’s the same Muschamp who was a Saban assistant at LSU and then with the Dolphins.
Saban is all about defense. Weis is all about offense. Neither wears a hoodie. But both have Belichick ties that bind.
SEC BASKETBALL ROUNDUP – LSU lost at home to Coastal Carolina, coached by ex-Auburn coach Cliff Ellis. Reports Scott Hotard of The Advocate, “For the second time in as many games, the LSU men’s basketball team overcame a second-half deficit to provide their home crowd a thrilling endgame. This time, the Tigers were unable to finish. Storm Warren forced overtime Monday night with a putback in the final seconds of regulation, but Coastal Carolina outscored the Tigers by nine in the extra frame for a 78-69 triumph.”
– Ole Miss whipped Kentucky’s next foe, Mississippi Valley 101-69. Reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger, “Ole Miss outrebounded Valley 44-35 and shot 54.7 percent from the field compared to Valley’s 35.9 percent. It wasn’t one of those hot nights from the 3-point line, either. Ole Miss outscored Valley 46-32 in the paint. With 18 points, senior Ole Miss guard Chris Warren moved into ninth place on the school’s scoring list. Ole Miss won its third straight; it’ll host East Tennessee State, a 4-4 team that won at Mississippi State last week, on Saturday.”
– Mississippi State beat Nicholls State 67-58: “Mississippi State held off Nicholls State late after leading most of the game for a 67-58 win in front of an announced crowd of 2,378 at Humphrey Coliseum,” reports Brandon Marcello of the Clarion-Ledger. “It was the third of a five-game marathon stretch of games in as many days and, perhaps, the most important. MSU coach Rick Stansbury, known for his man-to-man philosophy on defense, had his team play zone against the Colonels’ Princeton-style offense and, in the process, kept the Bulldogs (6-2) from growing tired.”
GUS MALZAHN GETS A RAISE -- The Auburn offensive coordinator turns down the head coaching job at Vanderbilt in exchange for getting his contract doubled. Reports Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News, “t’s a good day to be Gus Malzahn. The Birmingham News reported Auburn has given Malzahn a contract extension while more than doubling his contract to $1.3 million. Assuming all $1.3 million is guaranteed, that makes Malzahn among the highest-paid assistant coaches in the country, if not No. 1. It also means he would make more than about half of the Division I-A head coaches right now, according to a recent USA Today survey. That is, until their agents renegotiate some of their contracts after this news.”
– Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser reports: “Malzahn instead will continue his work on the Plains after receiving a raise and contract extension from his current employer. “We have the best staff in the country and while we want our coaches to strive to become head coaches, retaining them as long as we can is important to me and the entire Auburn family,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “Gus is a very bright and talented coach and we are looking forward to beginning preparation for the BCS national championship.”
SEC BASKETBALL TONIGHT – LSU takes on a tough Coastal Carolina tonight, reports Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times. “The Chanticleers are 7-2 on the season under former Auburn coach Cliff Ellis after winning 28 games last season and reaching the NIT. Desmond Holloway leads Coastal Carolina with 18.4 points a game while averaging 7.2 rebounds a game. LSU, meanwhile, trailed by 11 points with 14 minutes to play Saturday before rallying to tie the game for the first of two times in the final 2 minutes. The game was won thanks to three late turnovers by Central Michigan and LSU making 12-of-12 free throws in the latter stages after starting the game 4-of-10.”
Mississippi Valley State, which comes to UK on Saturday, is at Ole Miss tonight. And Nicholls State is at Mississippi State.
GUS MALZAHN TO VANDY? – Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News reports that Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has been offered the Vanderbilt job. He writes: “A person close to situation said Malzahn is mulling over the offer from the Commodores and will decide either tonight or early in the morning. That person said reports that he has already accepted the job are not true. Malzahn was in New York on Saturday to watch his quarterback, Cam Newton, accept the Heisman Trophy.”
