Monday links:
Florida’s failures shine light on Mark Stoops. Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel says Kentucky’s coach is an outlier compared to the rest of the SEC, especially after Florida’s firing of Dan Mullen on Sunday.
Who replaces Mullen? Bill Bender of the Sporting News lists six candidates for the Gators job. Former UK associate AD Scott Stricklin, now the athletic director at Florida, will make the hire. Spoiler alert: Stoops is not on his list.
Kentucky men’s soccer advances. Cameron Drummond of the Herald-Leader reports that the Wildcats knocked off Santa Clara 2-0 on Sunday night to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky women’s basketball whipped Winthrop. Cam is also on the case here, giving three takeaways as the Wildcats bounced back from last week’s loss at No. 8 Indiana.
[Follow Cameron Drummond on Twitter]
Kentucky volleyball swept Auburn. Craig Skinner’s team improved to 24-4 overall and 15-1 in the SEC. The Wildcats close out the regular season by playing host to Florida on Friday and Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The matches will decide the SEC title as Florida is 14-2 in league play.
Kentucky men’s basketball plays Albany. Jerry Tipton writes on Albany coach Dwayne Killings, who was once a ball boy for John Calipari at UMass.
[How to watch and follow UK-Albany]
Tennessee basketball bounced back. After ugly loss to Villanova on Saturday, the Volunteers rebounded to defeat North Carolina on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic.
North Carolina’s defense lacking in loss. Hubert Davis’ Tar Heels left Connecticut 0-2 after losses to Purdue and the Volunteers.
East Tennessee wins Southern Conference. Former UK assistant Randy Sanders coached the Buccaneers to a win over Mercer. ETSU is now the No. 7 seed in the FCS playoffs.
Shane Beamer is an awards candidate. The South Carolina coach has the Gamecocks at 6-5 after 21-17 win over Auburn last Saturday.
SEC basketball on Monday
- 2 p.m. – Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin (ESPN2)
- 7 p.m. – Albany at Kentucky (ESPN Plus)
- 7 p.m. – Virginia vs. Georgia (ESPNU)
- 8 p.m. – Belmont at LSU (ESPN Plus)
- 8:30 p.m. – California vs. Florida (FS1)
- 8:30 p.m. – Missouri vs. Florida State (CBS Sports)
- 9 p.m. – Arkansas vs. Kansas State (ESPN News)
SEC football this week
Thursday
- 7:30 p.m. – Ole Miss at Mississippi State (ESPN)
Friday
- 3:30 p.m. – Missouri at Arkansas (CBS)
Saturday
- 12 p.m. – Georgia at Georgia Tech (ABC)
- 12 p.m. – Florida State at Florida (ESPN)
- 3:30 p.m. – Alabama at Auburn (CBS)
- 3:45 p.m. – Vanderbilt at Tennessee (SEC)
- 7 p.m. – Texas A&M at LSU (ESPN)
- 7:30 p.m. – Kentucky at Louisville (ESPN2)
- 7:30 p.m. – Clemson at South Carolina (SEC)