It’s time to catch up on this, that, and the other as we head into the SEC Tournament.

Postseason Awards

Postseason awards began rolling in Tuesday. Aliyah Boston was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy. Earlier, she was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The finalists will be announced March 19. (Expect Boston to be named a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award on Friday; she won last season.)

Zia Cooke was named one of five finalists for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given to the nation’s best shooting guard.

In the SEC coaches’ awards, Boston and Cooke were named First Team All-SEC. Boston was named the co-Defensive Player of the Year. She also won the award last season, making her the Gamecocks’ first back-to-back winner. Boston shared the award with Georgia’s Que Morrison.

The full list of awards is as follows:

Player of the Year: Rhyne Howard, Kentucky

Freshman of the Year: Madison Scott, Ole Miss

Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Que Morrison, Georgia

6th Woman of the Year: Destiny Pitts, Texas A&M

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ciera Johnson, Texas A&M

Coach of the Year: Joni Taylor, Georgia

First Team All-SEC

Jasmine Walker, Alabama

Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas

Rhyne Howard, Kentucky

Khayla Pointer, LSU

Shakira Austin, Ole Miss

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

Zia Cooke, South Carolina

Rennia Davis, Tennessee

N'dea Jones, Texas A&M

Second Team All-SEC

Jordan Lewis, Alabama

Unique Thompson, Auburn

Destiny Slocum, Arkansas

Lavendar Briggs, Florida

Jenna Staiti, Georgia

Aijha Blackwell, Missouri

Rae Burrell, Tennessee

Aaliyah Wilson, Texas A&M

All-Defensive Team

Que Morrison, Georgia

Chasity Patterson, Kentucky

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

Tamari Key, Tennessee

Khayla Pointer, LSU

NCAA Top 16 Reveal

The NCAA’s second top 16 reveal on Sunday evening was a bit of a dud - it didn’t take into account Sunday’s games, when three of the 16 teams lost.

South Carolina was the fourth overall seed, behind UConn, Stanford, and Texas A&M. NC State was fifth and Maryland sixth. After losing to Texas A&M, South Carolina has to be worried about dropping to a two seed. The good news is that the NCAA really likes the SEC, but not the ACC or Big Ten. South Carolina is also still fourth in the NET, and although the NET, which favors road wins, is not the best indicator this season, it is still the measurement of record.

If it makes it to the championship game, South Carolina could be looking at two more games against the top 16, and three against NCAA tournament teams. That won’t be the case for NC State or Maryland, and might be enough to hold onto a one seed.

SEC Tournament

The SEC Tournament begins Wednesday afternoon in Greenville. Because Vanderbilt opted out of the rest of the season, there is only one game Wednesday, and 11 seed Ole Miss gets a free pass to Thursday.

There had been some scuttlebutt about teams with little to gain opting out of their conference tournaments. Dawn Staley even joked last week to ask her after the Texas A&M game about opting out, but everyone who is still playing has decided to keep going.

Motivation is always a factor in conference tournaments. For several teams, the tournament offers a chance for a much-needed win or two. Mississippi State is dangerously close to the bubble and could use a win or two. Similarly, LSU is trying to climb back on the bubble. Even Ole Miss could get on the bubble if it makes it to the weekend. Then there are teams that struggled down the stretch and need to get back on track.

Count South Carolina in that last group. If the Gamecocks want to hold onto that one seed, they need to do some work in Greenville. ESPN and The Athletic both picked South Carolina to win the tournament, and it seems like a good idea to roll with the team that has won five of the last six tournaments and is extremely motivated to add another banner. Plus that would tie South Carolina with Vanderbilt for the second-most tournament championships, behind Tennessee’s 17.

One side note: this is the final year of the current agreement to hold the tournament in Greenville four of the past five years. Next year's tournament will be held in Nashville - that is tied to the arrangement with the men’s tournament. The men’s tournament will be in Tampa, so the women’s tournament will take its place. The men’s tournament will be held in Nashville from 2023 through 2035. (The women’s tournament was originally scheduled to return to Nashville in 2026, but that now belongs to the men’s tournament.)

Attendance in Greenville has historically been stronger than any site other than Nashville (which is not an option) and Chattanooga (which hosted a bunch of Tennessee-Vanderbilt battles in the 1990s, but the tournament has outgrown). I’d expect the tournament to come back, with an announcement possible this week.

Update on the Birdies

State high school basketball playoffs are being held throughout the country, and three of South Carolina’s four 2021 signees are still playing.

Saniya Rivers’ Ashley Screaming Eagles lost in the state semifinals Tuesday night. Rivers scored 37 points in the loss. In the quarterfinals, Rivers hit five threes, an exciting sign for the Gamecocks.

Raven Johnson’s Westlake team won its quarterfinal game Tuesday. Westlake is undefeated this season and going for its fourth consecutive state title.

Sania Feagin’s Forest Park Panthers play their quarterfinal game Wednesday evening. Westlake is 6A and Forest Park is 5A, so South Carolina’s two Peach State birdies won’t meet.

Bree Hall’s Wayne Lady Warriors advanced out of their division bracket and will begin region play Wednesday (think sweet sixteen round).

Many of the games are available to stream if you look hard enough. Unfortunately, since it’s high school sports, they aren’t very good about publicizing the streams ahead of time.

Also of interest, the Naismith High School Girl’s All-America Teams will be announced March 8. The High School Player of the Year will be announced on March 10.