Mississippi St. Makes It 3 for the SEC

Some great defense inside, horrid shooting from the perimeter, a clock operator that never started the clock, and refs who choked in the final minute of the game. The end result of all that? While Mississippi State is deservedly heading to the NCAA Tournament by winning the SEC Tournament, it is diminished by incompetence elsewhere.

Ultimately, most will remember the final minute of incompetency from the officials and clock operator. It was that bad. Phantom foul calls, not noticing a malfunctioning clock, a rapid five second call -- all these things took away from what was a taut and exciting game.

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There's no question that the refs screwed up throughout the game, and several times in the final minute, including a foul called on Wayne Chism when there was no contact. As pointed out by Bill Raftery, the ref anticipated that there would be contact but none actually occurred. That was followed by a questionable make-up call at the other end.

In the final 9.6 seconds, the clock operator never started the clock on inbounds plays three straight times. Sadly enough, the refs, only caught it twice.

Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado was outstanding inside. He finished with six blocks (and it sure seemed like more), seven rebounds and 10 points. His presence completely altered many other attempts by Tennessee as players feared having their shots blocked. He completely changed the game for Tennessee as they settled for jump shots rather than take it all the way inside.

Both teams concentrated on clogging the inside in the second half, as it became very clear that neither could hit a perimeter shot. Ultimately Mississippi State was able to attack inside more than Tennessee and it made the difference. The Bulldogs got to the line and baskets inside.

The SEC avoids being the first power conference since the 1988 Pac-10 to get only two teams in the NCAA Tournament.