Rebels Lose to #1 Gators in Atlanta

I made my way over to Atlanta Saturday afternoon for the slim chance the Rebels could pull off an upset. As pretty much expected Ole Miss was lost to Florida 80-59 in the semi finals of the SEC Tournament. Florida would go on to win the tournament and pick up the #1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Florida was just too much for the Rebels on Saturday. Ole Miss never could get an open shot all day long. And when the Rebels could make a shot and cut the lead some, Florida answered every time down the court. The Gators might have slacked a few games about 2 weeks ago. But they are looking real good at this point.

Once again Ole Miss was led by Clarence Sanders who put up 21 points for the Rebs. Kenny Williams got into some foul trouble early but still managed 9 points and 12 rebounds. He was the only big man in the normal three man rotation who was able to contribute. Hurt toe or not Dwayne Curtis continued to still be slow on defense and miss lay ups. As one fan in my group stood up and let everyone in our section know what was on his mind by shouting "Dwayne Curtis, you just suck" I can't say I disagree. Another in the line of Barnes recruits who were terribly overrated.

On a side note Todd Abernathy pitched in 8 points to put him in the 1,000 point club for his career. Todd was a solid player in his four years with the Rebels. He came out every night and fought hard. He might not be the best point guard in the nation but he is one of the hardest working players to ever come through Ole Miss.

Also Greg Hardy was my player of the game. Hardy scored a career high six points and grabbed four rebounds. Hardy was fighting and playing his heart out in the minutes he was out there. I liked Greg on the court, but it is in his best interest next year to stay on the football field next year. He has the potential to be an NFL defensive end, and I hope he puts all of his effort into that next year. But Greg was able to give some valuable minutes to a position the Rebels struggled with this year.

All in all, we just had a bad draw. It would have been tough for anyone to pick off Florida in the semi finals in the SEC Tourney. Tough break, but definitely a step in the right direction.