SEC Women's Tournament Semifinals

TV / Video:  ESPNU / WatchESPN

Radio: Mickey

Stats:  Go here for the best Gametracker.

Last we left the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, four more teams were eliminated.  South Carolina had beaten Arkansas 58-36: the Lady Gamecocks had built a good halftime lead, and then fought off a Razorback charge that had made the game interesting for a while.  LSU won a thriller over Texas A&M in a game where the Aggies will never forgive themselves for letting LSU build that early 24-5 lead that they just couldn't completely overcome.  Tennessee absolutely steamrolled Georgia.  In the late game, Kentucky fell behind MSU early, but took advantage of a Bulldog scoring drought in the second half and won 76-67.

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR

South Carolina and LSU tip off at 5 PM to start semifinals action.  Both teams have only played one game, so there isn't a serious exhaustion advantage at play (though a minor one in Carolina's favor since they had a comfortable lead through most of their endgame).  SC is holding firmly onto the third #1 seed in the NCAA tournament and is therefore highly favored against Nikki Caldwell's squad.  LSU, meanwhile, is an up-and-down team that can certainly play Carolina tough, or they could lose by twenty.  It'll be hard to tell, but most likely LSU only wins if South Carolina doesn't crack 60 points.

Prediction: South Carolina, 67-55

Tennessee and Kentucky, meanwhile, will start at around 7:30 PM.  Tennessee should be well rested, as Georgia never presented a serious challenge, which (a) allowed Tennessee to rest players by playing a full court press (think on that for a minute), and (b) let Tennessee empty the bench sometime around Andy Landers's second timeout.  Kentucky will be on their third game in as many days, with Makayla Epps nursing a bad leg.

Prediction: Tennessee, 73-65

With a win, Tennessee will have a chance on Sunday to play for a 1 seed.  Beating Carolina would probably give UT a better shot at being a 1 than beating LSU would, but a Carolina loss tonight with a UT win Sunday just might do it anyhow. At any rate, a Carolina loss could very well send them to the Spokane region rather than Greensboro (a swap with Maryland), which would put Tennessee in Greensboro's region rather than Albany.  But lose tonight, and Tennessee is almost certainly a 2, as Maryland will not likely be challenged in the Big Ten.