The other bubble teams have not been enjoying conference tournament week -- whether it's doing nothing to help themselves or seeing teams not even in the discussion make deep runs to conference finals. The SEC is joining the fun as Mississippi State took down the only ranked team in the SEC, sending the Bulldogs to the SEC Championship game.Mississippi State will not go to the NCAA Tournament without winning the SEC Championship. It has a non-con that lacks any quality wins other than over solid mid-major Western Kentucky. The way the Bulldogs have been playing in the conference tournament, though, they look like they can win the SEC.
Defense ruled the game between Mississippi State and LSU. The two teams combined for 17 blocks. Neither team could shoot even 34 percent. It did not hurt that neither team could make a 3-point shot, going a combined 7-of-32 (21.9 percent) from the perimeter. The last point only made the defenses more ferocious inside. Clogged lanes and lots of bodies made it next to impossible to penetrate and attack the basket.
Jarvis Varnardo was the best player on the court Saturday. The man inside for the Bulldogs went for 19 points with seven rebounds and seven blocks. If he could hit free throws, this game would have been a blowout for Mississippi State. LSU had no answer for him.
For LSU, they had little shot with Marcus Thronton having a miserable game. Thronton fouled out late, he couldn't hit a 3-point basket and found little room to work inside.
The loss probably cost LSU a spot on the top four seeding lines. They will be penalized for how poor their conference was and for not making it to the SEC title game.
