Official Site of the Southeastern Conference

Every Monday morning, the "Melting Pot" will take a look at articles from the nation's writers about the happenings from the Southeastern Conference.

---  David Jones of the Florida Today examines how close SEC men's basketball games have been.

'A grand total of two points have been the difference in Florida's last two games -- a 61-60 loss at Tennessee last Sunday and a 66-65 win at Arkansas on Thursday."

---  Tennessee's Steven Pearl can smile about playing time, writes Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel. The article examines the father-son relationship on this year's Vol squad.

"That smile was unmistakable; it's the same grin his father - UT coach Bruce Pearl - flashes at fund-raising events. The good times on the floor, however, have been few and far between for the Vols' father-son combination over the past four years."

--- Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy scores style points, tabs Jeff Lockridge of the The Tennessean. Ogilvy's game continues to get questions despite the success the junior has had.

"Junior center A.J. Ogilvy always seems to be a popular topic of conversation when it comes to Vanderbilt basketball. Is he playing physical enough? How far can he take the team?"

--- ESPN's College Gameday is coming to town, describes Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Gameday chooses sites around the country for the nation's biggest matchups, and Kentucky will play home to the Worldwide Leader as they host Tennessee.

"ESPN doesn't keep crowd-size statistics but acknowledges that 23,000-plus would be the most to watch a GameDay telecast. That number could be topped two weeks later when GameDay originates from the Carrier Dome in conjunction with the Villanova-Syracuse game."

---  John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel is wasting no time peeking ahead toward the 2010 football season. Adams breaks down the early favorites after signing day.

"The juniors have declared their departure for the NFL draft, and recruiting is all done. It's an appropriate time for an early peek at the next SEC football season.You won't have to look long to conclude that it won't look all that different from the last season. That's a testament to the staying power of Alabama and Florida. National champion Alabama lost all but three starters from a defense that routinely overwhelmed its opposition. Florida lost five juniors to the NFL."

---  Devan Downey has the SEC coaches and players searching for answers, writes Seth Emerson of the State. Downey was named National Player of the Week and featured on an SEC "Hotline" after his great performance against Kentucky.

"Devan Downey's scoring output has been equaled only by the ways the opposition has tried to stop him - at least according to a teammate."

---  Gene Chizik's changes in Auburn's recruiting strategy were a success, chimes in Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertister.

"Auburn coach Gene Chizik said what you'd expect last week after he signed a 27-player class loaded with highly touted pros­pects. He's satisfied with the class, pleased with adding sig­nificant depth at shallow posi­tions and collectively described the newcomers as a "building block."