Georgia pulls out of SEC and NCAA tournaments

The end of the college basketball season can be a very nervous time for teams on the "bubble" of making the big dance, or for teams just worried about getting a high seed. Every team believes it is worthy of a bid, but there are always a few teams left on the doorstep come Selection Sunday.

With that day looming in less than a week, teams had this past weekend to make one final statement before conference tournaments begin. While many teams were fighting for their postseason lives, there were a number of match ups of potential highly seeded teams that will greatly impact the NCAA field.

It has been quite a tough week for the Georgia Bulldogs. The Tony Cole scandal has been a distraction as the Bulldogs try to keep pace behind the top teams in the SEC. Cole, a disgruntled former Georgia player, accused assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr. of paying off bills, doing schoolwork, and teaching a sham class on coaching. Harrick Jr. was fired on March 5 after being suspended indefinitely a few days prior. A day earlier, Jim Harrick Sr., the Bulldog's head coach, defiantly predicted his son would be cleared and nothing more than minor violations would be uncovered. At this point, there are more and more allegations being linked to Harrick Sr.

Even amidst the controversy, Georgia has been able to piece together a tournament resume worthy of a high seed. However, yesterday, school officials decided not to participate in the SEC or NCAA tournaments, and as a result of the scandal, both Harrick Sr. and Harrick Jr. have been dismissed from their coaching responsibilities at the University of Georgia.

Despite these off court troubles, Georgia managed to send a blow to the Florida Gators last week, squeezing past the Gators, 82-81. After trailing late in the second half, Florida's Matt Bonner drove into the lane to hit a basket that put the Gators back on top, 81-80, with 23 seconds left. Seconds later, Georgia's Jarvis Hayes banked in a 12-footer giving the Bulldogs the win and some much needed relief from a week filled with controversy. Florida (3 AP/ 3 ESPN) had a chance at a final shot, but Matt Walsh slipped trying to penetrate and David Lee could not get the ball off before the buzzer.

The Gators were tested in another marquee matchup last week in their quest to sure up a number one seed. After the loss to Georgia, Florida played the Kentucky Wildcats at home in a battle of the number two and three teams in the nation. The Wildcats won the battle 69-67 to finish the season perfect in the SEC at 16-0. The last time Kentucky ran the table in the conference was in 1996, a year in which they also won the national championship under Rick Pitino.

In a matchup of two of the top teams in the Big 12, the Texas Longhorns spoiled the Oklahoma Sooners' senior day with a 76-71 victory in Norman. Texas trailed 42-34 at halftime but was able to draw even with the Sooners because of the leadership of sophomore All-American T.J. Ford. The Texas point guard, hailed by Dick Vitale as "the Roy Jones of college basketball," led the Longhorns with 18 points and 10 assists. Texas also ended Oklahoma's 37 game home winning streak and most likely locked up a number one seed with its second win of the season over the Sooners.

The postseason fate of many teams is still up in the air. On Saturday, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the LSU Tigers 66-62, landing the Tide at 7-9 in the SEC. This is a lowly position for a team that was at one time ranked number first in national polls.

On the same day, the Seton Hall Pirates lost to the Providence Friars 64-61 in overtime. The Oregon Ducks were another team that was in need of a quality win to boost their standing with the tournament selection committee. This weekend they faced the number one Arizona Wildcats. All-American Jason Gardner's 27 points lead Arizona to an 88-80 victory over a lowly Oregon team that was ranked as highly as fifth in early December. This is a crushing blow to the tournament resume of this Pac-10 hopeful. While all three teams still have a good chance of getting bids to the big dance, they have severely damaged their resumes with late season losses.

In the battle for the first ticket to the Dance, the UNC Asheville Bulldogs (13-16) defeated the Radford Highlanders (10-19) 85-71 to win the Big South Conference Final. Both teams had losing records, but at this point in the season, your regular season record counts for nothing if you can get into March Madness.