MSU's Austin named to the All-SEC squad

By By Jeff Byrd / sports editor
March 13, 2003
NEW ORLEANS The Southeastern Conference named its 2002-03 All-SEC men's basketball team at Wednesday's media luncheon at the Louisiana Superdome.
Mississippi State center Mario Austin was named to the All-SEC first team.
Austin, whose Bulldogs play the winner of the South Carolina-Ole Miss game Friday at the Louisiana Superdome, leads State in scoring with 15.6 points per game.
Joining Austin on the first-team is Kentucky guard Keith Bogans, the 2002-03 SEC Player of the Year. Bogans was named the player of the year by SEC Coaches.
Tennessee forward Ron Slay was the SEC's media's pick for MVP honors. He was named first-team by the coaches.
The other first-team picks were Florida forward Matt Bonner (6-10) and Georgia swing guard Jarvis Hayes.
Ole Miss guard David Sanders said Bogans was a worthy choice.
Slay led the SEC in scoring with 21.6 points per game. That average is three points better than Georgia's Hayes, who averaged 18.3 ppg. Bogans averaged 15.9.
Coming into the season, the odds-on favorite was returning SEC Player of the Year, Alabama's Erwin Dudley. But the Crimson Tide's struggles this season inside the league hurt Dudley's chance at a repeat despite a solid season.
Dudley again led the league in rebounding with 9.7 rebounds per game. He averaged 15 points per game.
Dudley was selected to the second team. Marquis Daniels of Auburn, Erza Williams of Georgia, Marquis Estill of Kentucky, Ronald Dupree of LSU and Matt Freije of Vanderbilt comprise the rest of the second team.
Tubby Smith of Kentucky, whose Wildcats finished 16-0 in league play, was tabbed as the 2002-03 Coach of the Year.
Tops in RPI
The SEC is again first in RPI, a composite stat, of a team's strength of schedule. The SEC ended regular season play with a RPI of .5838, to rank first in the nation.
The Big 12 is second at .5830. The Atlantic Coast Conference is next at .5746 followed in order by the Pac 10 (.5535), Big 10 (.5604), the Big East (.5616) and Conference USA (.5469).
Kentucky is king
No team has won more SEC Championships than the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky has 23 SEC titles, including 10 crowns since 1980.
The next school in line is Alabama with six. Mississippi State, the 2002 and defending SEC champion, has two. The Bulldogs' other title came in 1996, the year Coach Richard Williams directed his team to the Final Four.
Gamecocks tough on Rebels
South Carolina is 3-1 against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament. This includes last year's 68-67 win at the tournament in Atlanta.
The Gamecocks other tournament wins came in 1994 and 1998.
Ole Miss' lone tournament win over USC came in 1999 when they won 64-60.
Magnolia
State match-up
Throughout its 44-year history, there has not been an SEC tournament meeting between the Mississippi rivals. That could change Thursday if Ole Miss defeats South Carolina.
The winner meets Mississippi State at noon Friday.
Toughest Dogs
left at home
Georgia's schedule ranks as the toughest in the nation. The Bulldogs' schedule RPI is .6195.
Unfortunately, that means little now since the Georgia administration has left the team out of the SEC tournament.
Arkansas, which is 9-18, is third in schedule RPI at .6006.
Alabama ranks 12th at .5828. Mississippi State is 33rd at .5670. Ole Miss is 51st at .5534.