SZVETITZ COLUMN: What a wild month it was

What’s that they say about March? Comes in like a lion, goes out like a machine gun?

No? It sure felt that way.

When it came to area sports, March was on steroids. And that was a good thing. A very good thing, as it was also one of the best months sports-wise for our local high schools and that big ‘ol university not too far away.

Now that the busiest month of the year is behind us, let’s reflect on all that happened and look ahead to what the rest of the spring holds. Shall we?

First, you might want to pack a lunch. Don’t forget the chips.

OK? Here we go.

We jumped head first into March with two state basketball championships. The Lee-Scott Academy girls team won the AISA AAA title, while the Loachapoka boys team upset its way to a Class 1A crown by beating the Nos. 1, 2 and 6 teams in the state on its way to The Ham and a ring.

Sure, all that happened in late February, but it set the tone for the month to come.

While Lee-Scott and Poka were still celebrating their accomplishments, another basketball team was taking its game to another level as well.

The Auburn University men’s basketball team turned in one of the best late-season performances in the country to win eight out of its last nine regular-season games and finish second in the SEC West, earning a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament.

The Tigers — who beat Florida in the second round of the SEC tourney, but lost to Tennessee in the semifinals — started getting some national love for the run and moved from “no way in the name of James Naismith are they going to play postseason basketball” to a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. Of course, Auburn was left out of the Big Dance and had to settle for a No. 1 seed in the NIT, where the Tigers won the first two games before losing in the quarterfinals to Baylor.

Head coach Jeff Lebo and his team finished with 24 wins — the second-best record in school history — and some respect. Really.

Not too shabby for a team that was once 2-5 in the SEC and its coach on the ropes. But more importantly, that run made basketball relevant again at Auburn. And the timing couldn’t have been better, you know, with that $92.5 million arena being built and all.

And go figure, in a month where spring football kicks off, basketball was the No. 1 topic with a lot of fans around water coolers and gym treadmills. That was the biggest win of all for AU hoops.

Speaking of wins, what about the Auburn University women’s basketball team? I don’t know if you’ve heard this or not, but they were pretty good this season.

Ranked as high as third in the nation, SEC Coach of the Year Nell Fortner, SEC Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner and the best point guard in the nation Whitney Boddie captivated a community and a conference.

The Tigers won the SEC regular-season title and finished the season ranked in the top 10 and had a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament all but locked up. But they hit a speed bump in Vanderbilt (who handed Auburn two of its four losses on the year) in the SEC Tournament final.

Losing that game kept the AU women from being a top seed, and left it a No. 2 in the Oklahoma City Regional. Not bad? Well, they had to play at Rutgers against Rutgers — a seventh seed — in the second round. Very bad.

The Scarlet Knights, riding the home-court advantage and a “punch you in the teeth” style of play, ended the Tigers’ season at 30-4.

But it wasn’t a total loss. The Basketball Renaissance at Auburn was complete. Like we said before, basketball matters again, and the Auburn women played a key role in that rebirth.

And we still had more than a week to go in March. Whew, tired yet? I was.

But we couldn’t slow down. Not now. Why? Well, Gene Chizik’s why.

The head football coach and his team kicked off spring practice at almost exactly the same time as basketball season ended.

Coincidence? Not if there’s a God in Heaven. Which, there is. So, in short, no.

The buzz for this year’s spring practices has been unlike any other since I’ve been here. And that includes the 2005 season, just months after the Tigers went undefeated and finished second in the nation.

Chizik and the staff he put together — not to mention the emphatic “I hope we’re better than last year” desire of a fan base — has the Auburn faithful salivating over the possibilities for this team. And it’s only going to increase as Gus Malzahn’s offense picks up speed.

How good can Auburn be? No one knows. It’s too early to tell, and even if we wanted to, we couldn’t because we’re only allowed to watch about 60 minutes over 15 practices. And that’s not enough time to even evaluate the color of the grass, let alone an entire football team.

But, we do have A-Day. And that’s April 18. Mark it down, if you haven’t already. It should be a doozy.

Kind of like the month we just had.

A month that also saw baseball kick into high gear on both the high school and collegiate level, as well as every other spring sport from golf to track and field, from tennis to softball, from soccer to fishing, from bird watching to allergies and yard work.

March most definitely had it all. Oh, and some snow, too.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at or 737-2513.

Read Mike Szvetitz’s blog here.