Tuesday odds…

Overall: 38-7 (84%)
Vs. Spread: 15-8 (65%)

Ole Miss vs. Troy
Spread: Ole Miss by 22
Pick: Troy - Ole Miss will win, and it shouldn’t be close for long, but Troy is a hot-shooting team and should stay within 22 points.

Also picking: Kentucky over Stony Brook at home, Florida over Stetson at home, and Tennessee over N.C. A&T at home.

2007-2008 Preseason All-SEC Third Team

Here they are, in all their glory - listed in reverse order for optimal excitement, beginning with All-SEC Third Team…

All-SEC Third Team

Tasmin Mitchell (LSU - Forward - Junior - 14.5ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.0spg) - The only remaining star player from a team that reached the Final Four two years ago only to miss the postseason last year. Relied on too heavily for outside contributions, Mitchell is shooting only 25.9% from three. Regardless, Mitchell is an outstanding all-around player who contains excellent versatility and will be relied on heavily by the Tigers this season and will receive ample opportunity to fluff his stats sheets.

Wayne Chism (Tennessee - Center - Sophomore - 9.1ppg, 5.2rpg, 0.6bpg) - An athletic, but short, purely-inside man who greatly increased his production at the end of last season. Although Chism will likely be overshadowed by Iowa transfer Tyler Smith in the post, Chism should easily average over 10ppg this season, giving a guard-heavy Volunteer team a legitimate inside presence.

Charles Thomas (Arkansas - Power Forward - Senior - 10.7ppg, 5.7rpg, 1.2apg) - Another forward relied on too heavily to score from behind the arc. Thomas averaged only 17.9% from that range last season, athough Thomas led the Hogs in both offensive rebounding and free throw attempts last season meaning he can more than handle his own inside the paint. Thomas needs to work on his offensive game, but has tremendous rebounding potential - best seen in his 18-rebound effort versus Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament last season…more rebounds by a single Razorback in a single game in over 10 years.

Ramel Bradley (Kentucky - Point Guard - Senior - 13.4ppg, 3.7rpg, 3.8apg) - A combo guard slotted in the point guard position, Bradley loves to score from the field (42.0%), from three (36.7%) or the stripe (81.5%). That last mark ranked second in the conference. With that said, Bradley has the problem many floor generals do - giving the ball away…his assist-to-turnover ratio notched in at a meager 1.42 as he caused 91 turnovers on the season. If Bradley could work on his ball-handling, he has the potential to be one of the most effective points in the SEC.

Ben Hansbrough (Miss. State - Guard - Sophomore - 7.3ppg, 2.8rpg, 3.2apg) - Brother of National Player of the Year candidate Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina, Ben shares his love for the game and drive to win with his older sibling. Hansbrough ranked second in the SEC from behind the arc as a freshman (41.2%) and sixth from the stripe (78.4%). Backing up Gordon at the point occasionally, Hansbrough also ranked eighth in the conference in the assist-to-turnover ratio category, with a 1.72:1 mark. If Hansbrough can continue shooting with the same accuracy and learn to drive and dish a little better, he could do big things as a starter for the Bulldogs.

Well, there you have it. Look for Second-Team All-SEC very soon.

More news on Crews…

Yes, I made it rhyme. Take that, first-grade bullies.

Apparently, earlier reports were incorrect. A police report was released today expressing a bag of marajuana found in Crews’ dorm room the night before his suspension. With this news seeming a bit more serious than before, Crews’ availability for the beginning of the season appears a bit more questionable.

Losing Crews for any amount of the season would be a significant hit for the Vols, as they will jump right into their schedule with the Legends Classic preceded only by a home game versus Temple.

However, this news would likely not effect the SEC picture much, as Crews would assumingly return before the SEC schedule begins.

I’ll never understand why, when their entire schooling is paid for, students can’t simply stay away from activities that would endanger that. Never in my life have I put myself in such a situation, and I’m having to work for my education.

More trouble…

This time with Tennessee. Duke Crews, a huge incoming recruit in 2005, is a starting small-forward and psuedo-inside man for the Vols and was suspended indefinitely recently for a violation of team rules.

Rumor is that Crews was skipping class, and that the decision did not have to do with drugs or illegal activity.

Question is, how long will Crews be gone? A bit of investigation has revealed that Crews should be back before the Volunteers’ first exhibition game, and that Crews was released until then to get his grades back in check.

As long as Crews doesn’t miss any of the season, this shouldn’t hurt Tennessee’s chances at a successful season.

Schedule Breakdown: Tennessee

Predicted wins and losses, with wins in bold and losses italicized.

vs. Temple
vs. TBA - Legends Classic (Knoxville, TN)
vs. TBA - Legends Classic (Knoxville, TN)
vs. Middle Tennessee State
vs. TBA - Legends Classic (Newark, NJ)
vs. TBA - Legends Classic (Newark, NJ)
vs. North Carolina A&T
vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
@ UT-Chattanooga
vs. Western Kentucky - Nashville, TN
vs. UNC-Asheville
@ Xavier
@ Gonzaga
———————–
vs. Ole Miss
@ South Carolina
vs. Vanderbilt
vs. Ohio State
@ Kentucky
vs. Georgia
@ Alabama
@ Mississippi State
vs. Florida
@ LSU
vs. Arkansas
@ Georgia
vs. Auburn
@ Memphis
@ Vanderbilt
vs. Kentucky
@ Florida
vs. South Carolina

This gives Tennessee a record of (26-5) and (13-3), with a share of the SEC title. This great record versus a high-RPI schedule should grant Tennessee a top seed going into the tournament.