Team Tampa Bay's Take with Joey Johnston: SEC Tourney Tip-Off

By Joey Johnston

After a quick glance at the biography of University of Florida coach Mike White, you’d think he’d be enjoying a personal homecoming during the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena.

Born in Dunedin.

That’s really not the story.

When White was 2 weeks old, his family moved to Michigan. His father, Kevin White, was track and field coach at Gulf High School when Mike was born in 1977. The father has since been an athletic director at Maine, Tulane, Arizona State, Notre Dame and Duke.

White described himself as an “Army brat’’ of sorts because his family was on the move every few years. During his childhood, his mother told him of his birthplace — Dunedin, Florida.

“Where’s Dunedin?’’ White remembers saying. “I never knew. I never went back to Dunedin.’’

Now White’s No. 9-seeded Gators (19-12) are back in the Tampa Bay area, hoping to pull themselves off the NCAA Tournament bubble by defeating the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies (20-11).

It’s a difficult proposition. In the modern history of the SEC Tournament (1979-present), the Gators have been the lower seed in 35 games. They are 9-26 in those situations.

Maybe the Gators can be spurred on by the tournament’s home-state location — in a Tampa Bay area teeming with Gator alumni, some two hours south of UF’s Gainesville campus.

White is not above using the “Dunedin connection’’ to his advantage.

When he played at Ole Miss, White noticed a Rebel volleyball player named Kira Kschau. On the roster, he saw that Kschau was from Dunedin and attended Clearwater Central Catholic.

White struck up a conversation.

“You’re from Dunedin? So am I!’

Long story short: Mike White and Kira Kschau began dating. Eventually, they were married. They now have five children. Now that is a home-court advantage.

Missouri, Vanderbilt Win Openers

The SEC Tournament began Wednesday night with a pair of night games involving the league’s four lowest-seeded teams. No. 12 Missouri and No. 11 Vanderbilt are moving on.

Missouri downed the No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels 72-60 with hot shooting (54 percent overall, 56.5 percent in the second half) and a formidable rebounding advantage (37-25) telling the story. Kobe Brown had 16 points, while Ronnie Gray III had 14. It was the third Missouri victory against Ole Miss this season.

Vanderbilt defeated the No. 14 Georgia Bulldogs 86-51. The Bulldogs (6-26) trailed 35-14 at halftime, then Vanderbilt’s lead ballooned to 37 points in the second half. Vanderbilt made 16 3-pointers (on 41 attempts), while Georgia shot 28.3 percent overall from the field.

Spotted In The Crowd

Bucs quarterback Blaine Gabbert (a former standout at Missouri), Basketball Hall of Fame player Scottie Pippen (whose son is a Vanderbilt standout) and lots of blue-clad Kentucky fans (even though the Wildcats don’t play until Friday).

Here’s the Thursday SEC hoops menu at Amalie Arena:

No. 8 Texas A&M (20-11) vs. No. 9 Florida (19-12) — The Aggies and Gators are on the NCAA Tournament bubble and this could be the best 8-9 game of any major conference tournament this March. Today’s winner draws No. 1 Auburn (27-4) in Friday’s quarterfinals. The home-standing Aggies beat the Gators 56-55, ending an eight-game losing streak, on Feb. 15. Wade Taylor IV was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 19 seconds remaining and he sank all three free throws. Florida leads the all-time series 9-5, but the heartbreaking defeat on Feb. 15 ended its four-game winning streak against the Aggies.

No. 5 LSU (21-10) vs. No. 12 Missouri (12-20) — It’s the Tigers vs. the Tigers. Home-standing LSU defeated Missouri 75-55 on Feb. 26. Tari Eason had 18 points off the bench, highlighting four double-figure scorers. LSU leads 10-2 in the all-time series against Missouri.

No. 7 South Carolina (18-12) vs. No. 10 Mississippi State (17-14) — The Gamecocks and Bulldogs split their regular-season meetings, both winning at home. Mississippi State’s Iverson Molinar had 20 points and Garrison Brooks had 18 on Feb. 1 to lead a 78-64 victory. South Carolina’s Jermaine Couisnard had 22 points on Feb. 23 to lead a 66-55 win. Mississippi State leads the series 26-17 and has won seven of the last 10 meetings.

No. 6 Alabama (19-12) vs. No. 11 Vanderbilt (16-15) — Alabama won the regular-season meeting, beating Vanderbilt 76-72 in a Feb. 22 road game. Jahvon Quinerly had 17 of his 19 points after halftime as the Crimson Tide rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit. Scotty Pippen Jr., had 26 points for the Commodores. It’s the 83rd men’s basketball meeting between Alabama and Vanderbilt in a series that dates to 1924. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 42-40, but Alabama has won six of the last eight meetings.