Overview
- After a 74-57 loss at Kentucky, Yolett McPhee-McCuin said she wished there were no SEC tournament because teams “beat each other up,” citing the league’s track record of multiple Sweet 16 teams.
- She later clarified on X that the tournament itself is fine and that her point was to avoid penalizing SEC teams in NCAA seeding, noting many coaches share the view.
- McPhee-McCuin highlighted the SEC’s depth, pointing to nine ranked teams and frequent deep NCAA runs as context for why intra-league results can be misleading on resumes.
- As an illustration of seeding volatility, she referenced Vanderbilt’s 76-74 loss at unranked Georgia shortly after a marquee win over Texas, which put the Commodores’ No. 1 seed at risk.
- Ole Miss responded with a 94-81 win over No. 21 Tennessee and now faces No. 7 LSU on Feb. 19 and No. 3 South Carolina on Feb. 22, with McPhee-McCuin emphasizing a one-game-at-a-time approach.