In the Lane

SEC Tournament will conclude without fans in attendance

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announces Wednesday, March 11, 2020, that fans will not be allowed in the arena to watch NCAA college basketball games in the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn., starting Thursday. The Southeastern Conference joined the rest of the Power Five leagues and announced that only family and essential personnel would attend its men's and women's tournament basketball games. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

The first two games of the SEC Tournament were played with fans in attendance Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.

The final 11 games will be played in a mostly-empty Bridgestone Arena.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey announced between Wednesday’s games that the league would not permit spectators at the tournament beginning with Thursday’s games. The attendance ban will not apply to the tournament’s essential personnel, to family members or to credentialed media.

The policy, established in response to the spread of the covid-19 virus within the U.S., will also apply to sporting events on all 14 SEC campuses.

“After conferring with local and national health authorities, we remain confident in our ability to safeguard the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and other staff who will participating,” Sankey said in a statement, “as well as the limited number of family members and media who will be in attendance at the tournament.

“We regret the inconvenience and disappointment this decision has caused our fans, especially those who have already traveled to Nashville for the tournament.”

The Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Big East conferences put similar attendance limitations in place for their conference tournaments Wednesday, and the NCAA announced that no fans will be permitted to attend its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments that are scheduled to begin next week.

“We were meeting this morning with our athletics directors and the very first agenda item was coronavirus - what does it mean now and what’s happening on our campuses, and how does it play out?” Sankey said in an interview with SEC Network. “We had new information at the national level that guided our decision making, specifically the NCAA made a recommendation to reduce fan access to the NCAA Tournament.

“When you look at the reasoning, that created need for a deeper conversation that ultimately led to the decision we announced tonight to limit fan access here in Nashville.”

This is the second time the SEC has limited attendance at its tournament, albeit for a much different reason. In 2008 a tornado struck the Georgia Dome in Atlanta during a tournament game between Mississippi State and Alabama, and the final five games were moved to the nearby Georgia Tech campus because of concerns about the dome’s structure.

Only essential personnel, official team parties - including administrators, bands and cheerleaders - and credentialed media were permitted inside for the final two days of the 2008 tournament, which resulted in Georgia defeating Arkansas in the championship game.

Streak on the line

A streak that spans nearly four decades might come to an end this week.

Each season since 1983-84, Arkansas has made the NCAA Tournament each time it won its first game at the conference tournament - the Southwest Conference Tournament from 1984-91, and the SEC Tournament since 1992.

But the Razorbacks, who defeated Vanderbilt 86-73 on Wednesday, likely need to go on a lengthy run - and perhaps win this week’s tournament - to make the NCAA postseason.

According to ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi, Arkansas was not projected to make the NCAA Tournament prior to its win over Vanderbilt, and the Razorbacks were not included among the teams on Lunardi’s “first four out” or “next four out.”

In order to win the SEC Tournament, Arkansas would need to do what no SEC team has done before - win five games in five days. The Razorbacks played in one of the Wednesday first-round games for the first time since the league expanded to 14 teams and extended the tournament to five days in 2012-13.

Hood honored

Derek Hood, a forward at Arkansas from 1995-99, was recognized on the court during halftime of Wednesday’s game.

Hood is one of 14 players - one from each team - named an SEC basketball legend this year.

Hood, who was a McDonald’s All-American from Central High School in Kansas City, Mo., scored 1,247 points and recorded 1,002 rebounds and 103 blocked shots during his Arkansas career.

His career rebound total ranks second all-time for the Razorbacks, and as a senior in 1998-99 he set the program’s single-season rebound record with 349.

In 1999, Hood delivered one of Arkansas’ most memorable SEC Tournament moments when he rebounded a missed shot and scored with 7.3 seconds remaining in regulation to tie a semifinal game against Mississippi State. The Razorbacks won 84-79 in overtime to advance to the championship game.

In Nashville

Arkansas improved to 7-8 in SEC Tournament games played at Bridgestone Arena, which is hosting the tournament for the ninth time.

The seven wins in Nashville are the second most by the Razorbacks in a city that has hosted the tournament. Arkansas had a 14-10 record in Atlanta, which hosted the tournament 11 times between 1995-2014.

Arkansas’ record in the tournament in other cities is: 2-1 in St. Louis; 1-1 in Lexington, Ky., and Birmingham, Ala.; 1-2 in Memphis; 1-3 in New Orleans; and 0-1 in Tampa.

Bridgestone Arena is under contract to host the tournament through 2030, with the exception of 2022 when the tournament will be played in Tampa. The SEC’s contract with the Bridgestone Arena also has a five-year option that could extend the agreement through 2035.

The Razorbacks are 7-9 in games played at Bridgestone Arena. In addition to the SEC Tournament games, Arkansas lost 75-71 there to Miami in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament.

’T’ time

Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman and forward Reggie Chaney both drew technical fouls against the Commodores.

Chaney was whistled with 3:11 remaining for mouthing at Vanderbilt’s Jordan Wright. It was Chaney’s second technical of the season.

Musselman’s technical came with 1:07 left after he was outside the coaching box and near mid-court after he had been warned to argue a jumped-ball call.

Desi rides again

Guard Desi Sills played the role of spark plug off the bench once again for the Razorbacks against Vanderbilt.

Sills went 5 for 6 from three-point range and made 6 of 8 shots overall to score 20 points. It is the fifth time in eight games since Sills became the Razorbacks’ sixth man that he has made at least three three-point shots.

Sills was a big reason the Arkansas bench out-scored the the Commodores 27-10.

Familiar voice

John George, the long-time public address announcer at Arkansas, is handling the same duties at the SEC Tournament for the 14th consecutive year.

George worked his first SEC Tournament in 2007 and has called all but two tournament games since. He replaced Cal Stephens, who was the tournament’s public address announcer from 1979-2006.

He has been the Razorbacks’ announcer at basketball games since the 1980-81 season.

Pippen in attendance

Former NBA all-star Scottie Pippen attended Wednesday’s game and sat behind the Vanderbilt bench. Pippen’s son, Scotty Pippen Jr., is a freshman for the Commodores.

Pippen, who grew up in Hamburg and played college basketball at the University of Central Arkansas, was a six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Georgia wins

Rayshaun Hammonds scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Georgia to an 81-63 victory over Ole Miss in Wednesday’s first game at the SEC Tournament.

Jordan Harris added 21 points and Shavir Wheeler 15 for the Bulldogs (16-16), who are the No. 13 seed in the tournament.

Ole Miss (15-17) was led by Breein Tyree’s 18 points and Devontae’s Shuler’s 17. The Rebels lost six of their final eight games.

‘Big’ blocks

Arkansas big men Ethan Henderson and Reggie Chaney had an impact on the game with both their rebounding and shot blocking.

Henderson finished with 3 blocked shots and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes, while Chaney had 3 blocks and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes.

The blocked shots were particularly key in the first half for setting a tone. Chaney had two stuffs in his four minutes in the first half, while Henderson had two blocks in 12 minutes.

Harris helps

Junior guard Jalen Harris played a strong strong auxiliary role for the Razorbacks, bringing what SEC Network color analyst Jon Sundvold called “high value” to Arkansas.

Harris, who made the start in Arkansas’ four-guard lineup, wound up with 7 points on 2 of 3 shooting, including 1 of 2 from three-point range, 5 assists and 1 steal.

Up next

Arkansas will play South Carolina on Thursday at approximately 8:30 p.m. The game will tip off 25 minutes following the conclusion of the Missouri-Texas A&M game that begins at 6 p.m.

The Gamecocks (18-13, 10-8 SEC) defeated the Razorbacks 79-77 on Jan. 29 in Fayetteville.

South Carolina has lost four of its last six games entering the tournament, including 83-74 at Vanderbilt last weekend.