Thursday News and Notes: Gamecocks Win in First Round of SEC Tourney

The big news today is that we outlasted 'Bama in an 11 inning thriller. The game ended late last night, as in around 3 AM. I guess I should say early this morning. The first round on a whole abounded with upsets, with both Ole Miss and LSU going down. We play Vandy, who beat LSU, today. A couple more wins and I think we can definitely start thinking about hosting that regional.

The other news: Kelcy Quarles committed to Carolina. This is an important commitment, as we're short on defensive linemen, especially with the questions about Ladi Ajiboye's status. Also, I'm a little late on noting this, but John Wall committed to Kentucky a couple of days ago. Dick Vitale now has the 'Cats as his third-ranked team heading into 2009-2010. My first impression is that that's a bit high, but the more I think about it, it might be appropriate. (Although he does have Duke at two, even with Gerald Henderson hitting the road. They don't call him Dukie V for nothing.) This is going to be a team that's absolutely loaded with studs, especially if Jodie Meeks comes back. As I've said before, Darrin Horn will need some nifty tricks to reproduce those pretty wins we got over the 'Cats last year.