SEC Notebook
by Ryan Glenn
The SEC season continues to be utterly unpredictable. In the past few games, Kentucky squeaked out a victory by one point, a Vandy freshman has scored 30 points, and Alabama trounced a “top” conference team by almost 50. It is becoming clear that this year’s conference tournament is going to be one of the most competitive ever. So whenever you have a chance to watch an SEC game, never pass it up, even if it is Georgia vs. Auburn.
Hoopville’s SEC Team Rankings
1. Kentucky
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi State
4. Florida
5. South Carolina
6. Tennessee
7. Vanderbilt
8. Ole Miss
9. Arkansas
10. LSU
11. Auburn
12. Georgia
SEC Teams in the Polls
The SEC has two teams in the AP poll this week. Kentucky is 6th in the AP and 4th in the Coaches’ poll. Alabama is 11th in the AP and 14th in the Coaches’ poll.
First to Seventy Points
SEC teams have a 114-17 record when scoring 70 or more in a game. When holding opponents to under 70 points, SEC teams have a 118-28 record.
SEC Ranks Sixth in Overall RPI
According to the latest poll by CollegeRPI.com, The SEC is fifth in overall conference standings, with a rating of .5571.
SEC Player of the Week
Brandon Bass, the sophomore from LSU was named Player of the Week. Bass helped LSU to sweep the state of Mississippi, with wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Bass is averaging 17.2 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. He has had double-doubles in three straight games and seven on the season.
SEC East Division
Kentucky (16-2, 7-0)
After Chuck Hayes went down with a broken nose, many Kentucky fans worried about the impact on the team. Hayes came out not his usual self, with a protective mask, and showed that there were still some lingering problems, scoring only four points in the tough one-point win against Arkansas. The focus now heads towards Vanderbilt and their new lineup. “I’m very impressed with the lineup change at Vanderbilt. They have made a positive difference winning their last two games. They are shooting the ball very well and have beaten two good teams. We’ve had the week off after the Arkansas game last week. Hopefully we will be able to go into Nashville and play well Saturday,” said Coach Tubby Smith.
Florida (13-5, 5-2)
Going into their game with Mississippi State, there were talks from the players about the potential of winning a conference championship. Those thoughts were a bit premature however, as they couldn’t seem to stay with the Bulldogs. The SEC play doesn’t get easier for the Gators as they play Alabama at home this weekend. “We are playing one of the better teams in our league. Alabama has been proving recently that they are capable of having quite a bit of success on the road. But I am glad we are playing at home. Alabama has done a great job the last several years. They’ve had some great teams and have a lot of great players. Our games with them have been very close. Fortunately for us, we have come out on top of most of them,” added Coach Billy Donovan.
South Carolina (12-7, 4-4)
South Carolina has yet to win a game on the road this year. It looks like that could change this weekend, but Coach Dave Odom doesn’t want to underestimate Georgia. “Georgia is a team that certainly plays better at home than on the road. But guess what? So does everybody else. So we can expect a great effort from Georgia on Saturday. We have played well, and close, on the road, but we have lost every single one of them so far. We just have to decide on a style of play that is best for us and need to stick with it,” Odom added.
Vanderbilt (13-8, 4-4)
After a four game skid, Coach Kevin Stallings decided to change the starting lineup against Ole Miss and Tennessee. Coach Stallings took out Dawid Przybyszewski and Mario Moore, and started freshman Alex Gordon and sophomore Ted Skuchas. Obviously, this line up change has helped out, as the Commodores have notched two straight wins against Ole Miss and Tennessee. Gordon had a career high 30 points against Tennessee and barring a bad game against Kentucky, I see him being named SEC player of the week.
Tennessee (10-11, 3-5)
The loss of Brandon Crump has been very noticeable for Tennessee. The Vols have fallen to 3-5 in the SEC and have lost four straight games. On Wednesday, even freshman star Chris Lofton couldn’t get them the win at Vanderbilt. Next up for the Vols is LSU in Knoxville. “I think we are playing one of the hottest teams in the league right now in LSU. Brandon Bass is one of the better players in this league. They rebound well and are the top team from the free throw line in the SEC. We are just glad we’ve got some home games and are looking forward to starting with this one,” Coach Peterson said.
Georgia (7-11, 1-7)
Georgia managed to get their first SEC win at home against Vanderbilt. The win is a huge confidence builder for the Bulldogs and may have come about with the Commodores looking forward to their game against Kentucky. This weekend, Georgia looks to take get another win at home against South Carolina. “We are looking forward to playing South Carolina, even though we had a rough go of it a few weeks ago at Columbia. That game sort of got away from us, but we still fought hard. We’ve just got to take care of the ball and keep them from scoring a lot of points in transition with all of their athletes. They are long and athletic, which will present a challenge rebounding as well,” said coach Dennis Felton.
SEC West Division
Alabama (17-3, 6-1)
Alabama had a week to prepare for their big game against Florida. “I think for us, we always look forward to a day or two off. I think our players are excited about the opportunity to play in Florida,” Coach Gottfried said. “Florida is a great challenge. It’s one of the toughest places to play in college basketball. We will need to play very well to be able to win this game. They are talented at every position. With Matt Walsh back now, the more he plays, the better they will be. They have guys at every position that can score.”
LSU (12-6, 5-2)
LSU had been having trouble playing on the road until they got a much needed win against Georgia in Athens. “I think we need to focus better and prepare better. Our mental preparation needs to be better. Last year we won three in a row on the road. This team needs to learn how to do it, and we have to figure out a way to get it done,” Coach John Brady answered win asked about the Tigers play on the road. “Our team needed to get a road win, and we were able to do that last night at Georgia. We guarded them better in the second half after they hit some shots over us in the first half. We’ve played well recently, but last night may have been the best offensive performance of the season. We just have to try to carry it over to Tennessee. They have three home games in a row and are all very big for them, so we will have to be at our best,” Brady added.
Mississippi State (17-5, 5-3)
After looking absolutely horrible against Alabama a few weeks ago, Mississippi State came home to face another top team in Florida. Things went the Bulldogs way, this time, coming away with a 71-57 win. Mississippi State looks to have an easy game this Saturday as they head to Auburn, who only has one conference win. “It’s a match up problem at the defensive end for us because they are so small. They are very competitive, even if their record does not show that. They play very well at home. We will have an advantage when we have the ball, but so will they. They have played some very close ballgames against some very good teams at home,” Coach Stansbury added when asked about the Auburn game.
Ole Miss (12-10, 3-6)
Even with a mediocre record in the conference, Ole Miss is just happy to be in the hunt and still be healthy. “We are thankful we are this late in the season and are still this healthy. We have some confidence and had a very big win last night versus Auburn. Arkansas is going to be a tough match up for us. But we are in a good frame of mind after the win last night, so hopefully we will play better than we did at Fayetteville earlier in the season,” Coach Barnes added. After a good win for them against Auburn, the Rebels come home to play Arkansas on Saturday.
Arkansas (14-7, 2-6)
As if the Razorbacks weren’t having enough problems in the SEC, now they are without Michael Jones. Against Kentucky, they looked like one of the top teams in the conference, but then against South Carolina they were back to their old inconsistent ways. “We are anxious to get back in the win column. We have played well recently, but we did not play that well last night at South Carolina. We need get a win on the road. We are looking forward to seeing the response we get from our players this Saturday at Ole Miss. We need this one. We beat Ole Miss earlier at home, so we need to play well because they are a team that plays very well on their home court. I feel this team is due for a breakthrough on the road,” said Coach Stan Heath.
Auburn (10-10, 1-6)
When something starts to look good for the Tigers, things turn around. Auburn fell handily to Ole Miss and now has to play the other foe from Mississippi. “Mississippi State handled us very easily the first time they played us. Plus, they did not have Marcus Campbell the first time we played them. They shot the ball very well. It’s kind of scary to think about Campbell. Most of our players don’t even come up to his waist. He’s getting better – his lefty hook shot seems to be developing a little more. It will be tough on us when they play with him and Lawrence Roberts together at the same time,” Coach Lebo said.
Game of the Week
Alabama at Florida (Saturday, 3:00 PM Eastern)
This is a big game for Florida. They need this win to stay in the hunt for first place in the SEC East. Alabama is cruising in the west and is only looking to cushion their lead. The players to watch for this game are Anthony Roberson for the Gators and Earnest Shelton for the Crimson Tide.
