SEC hoop happenings


ATLANTA -- After witnessing the first half of the Auburn-Vanderbilt basketball game here at the Southeastern Conference tournament, I have come to the following conclusion.

Vanderbilt could play 2-against-5 and have a fighting chance to beat Auburn as long as their duo happened to be Shan Foster and A.J. Ogilvy. The pair combined for all but 14 of the Commodores' first-half points.

Your score at halftime: Vanderbilt 47, Auburn 36.

The Foster-Ogilvy stat line: A combined 13-of-16 from the field and 33 points.

Auburn fell into a hole early and lost its grip on the rope when senior forward Quan Prowell picked up his third foul of the half. Prowell, the former Jordan High School standout, scored eight points in just minutes of play.

Here's another startling stat: Auburn ended the first half with just seven rebounds. Sure, the Tigers are lacking size on the inside, but the low total may have more to do with slow-to-react defense. Vanderbilt buried 19-of-25 field goal attempts in the first half and Auburn has yet to figure out a solution to the Commodores' passing from the high post. Ogilvy, who went 7-for-7, scored most of his points on wide-open post baskets created by impeccable feeds from the high post.