Commodore Banter (3/20)

One mock draft puts Shan Foster in the lottery. Another lists him in the middle of the second round. After what happened to Byars last year, I don't think there's any doubt Foster finds himself in the second round.

Forget the rhetoric, odds are in Vandy's favor to advance to the second round, writes Brett Hait.

The Commodores' offense keeps chugging away, clubbing Lipscomb 12-4 on Wednesday.

Kevin Stallings continues to draw praise from the press.

Georgia's highly improbable run in the SEC tournament may have saved Dennis Felton's job, writes Stewart Mandel.

ESPN's Pat Forde offers his best and worst case scenarios for all 64 teams. Here's take on Vandy is pretty funny.

Mike MacAdam writes that playing teams like Memphis, Syracuse, and Stanford has given Siena confidence. How does a 101-58 blowout loss to Memphis inspire a team?

It's been quite a while since Vanderbilt has returned to the tourney in back to back years, as Maurice Patton writes.

Joe Biddle explains that Vanderbilt must rebound better to reach the Sweet 16.

Unlike most experts, Gary Parrish likes the Dores, even if it's not sexy.

In case you missed our...

• Q&A's with Jamont Gordon, Caleb Cotham,Curt Casali, Merideth Marsh, Jonathan White.
• Ask a 'Dore with Parker Hanks and Josie Earnest.
• Billy Donovan has gone mad: Exhibit A, Exhibit B.

A look back at Day 1 of the SEC Tourney

Three things we learned from the first round of the SEC Tournament.

1. With their losses, Florida and Ole Miss can kiss the NCAA Tournament good bye.

2. South Carolina's Dave Odom (retiring) and Georgia's Dennis Felton (on the hot seat) lived to coach another day.

3. If George Drake hadn't missed a wide-open dunk in the closing minutes, Vanderbilt would have set the SEC Tournament record for field-goal percentage in a game.

Game 1: South Carolina 77 LSU 73

Game 2: Vanderbilt 93 Auburn 82

Game 3: Alabama 80, Florida 69

Game 4: Georgia 97 Ole Miss 95 (OT)

Top 3 Quotes of the Day

1) "I'm not necessarily really excited about these guys being sophomores to be honest." -- Florida coach Billy Donovan on his freshmen. Ouch.

2) "I already jumped him in the locker room and said I can't believe that you couldn't make all your shots. All you had to do was make one more dunk and you would have been 13 for 13 (laughter). He got a good laugh out of it, actually." -- Kevin Stallings on ribbing A.J. Ogilvy for his 12-for-13 performance. His lone miss came on a dunk attempt that was blocked by 6'4'' Frank Tolbert.

3) "But like I said earlier, I love LSU, I love playing with my team and my teammates, and as you can see I'm having fun out there. I love LSU." -- Freshman Anthony Randolph, who's a potential top-five in the NBA Draft on his plans for next year. He says he loves LSU, but the question is how much?

Day 2 Schedule

Game 5: South Carolina vs. Tennessee (12 CT)

Game 6: Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas (2:15 CT)

Game 7: Alabama vs. Miss. State (6:30 CT)

Game 8: Georgia vs. Kentucky (8:45 CT)

I'm heading to Atlanta in a few minutes, but I should have a bunch of good stuff for you guys this afternoon and throughout the tournament. Keep reading...