As conference play continues to wind into form, new impressions of teams come into play as well. And if we look at the SEC, we have a few that stand out, and the Big Ten has a couple as well.
The SEC has been much talked about for its improvement in scheduling. The conference was in a well-documented slump on the hardwood, and part of that comes down to scheduling. But you have to play the games, too, and when the SEC got their chances against the other conferences, the results weren’t always so good. This year, however, the results may be a bit different.
We start with Auburn, which has in theory been on the verge of breaking out since Bruce Pearl took over. It’s easy to forget that the Tigers were also affected by the FBI investigation into corruption, and that could have easily derailed their season, or at least helped to a slow start as appeared to happen with USC and Arizona. Instead, the Tigers are rolling along at 13-1 after a 94-84 win at Tennessee on Tuesday night. The Tigers now have solid wins over Middle Tennessee and the Volunteers, and the only loss was a neutral site loss to Temple in November. Thanks to the SEC’s overall strength, most of their remaining games will be against schools with a two-digit RPI. This may finally be the year for the Tigers.
We next look at Texas A&M, a team where the shine appears to be coming off the great early start. It doesn’t help that D.J. Hogg and Admon Gilder have been out, but the Aggies were soundly defeated at home by Florida 83-66 on Tuesday. The Aggies are in good shape and should be okay once healthy, but did they over-achieve early on? It’s possible. The Gators, meanwhile, appear to have reversed course once more, as they started out well and then trended downward for a good part of December. They look more like the Gators of early in the season, which is a good thing for the fans in Gainesville.
And then we have Mississippi State. There was lots of promise when Ben Howland took over, and at times it seemed validated. But there have been question marks, too, and as the Bulldogs entered SEC play with a 12-1 mark, we had to wonder just how good they are since their non-conference strength of schedule is in the 300s. Well, a 78-75 win over Arkansas certainly helps the perception, even if it was at home. The Bulldogs now have a signature win, while their only loss was at Cincinnati. And in passing, it’s worth mentioning that Vanderbilt edging Alabama 76-75 in Nashville is noteworthy considering how the Crimson Tide dominated Texas A&M a few nights earlier.
In the Big Ten, Wisconsin seems to be coming to life after a tough non-conference run. A 71-61 win over Indiana puts the surging Badgers at 2-1 in Big Ten play and 9-7 overall. And Northwestern is still a tough team to figure out. The Wildcats were without Bryant McIntosh, who makes them go, and Dererk Pardon had a great night with 17 points and 15 rebounds, but they lost at home to Nebraska 70-55. That’s not something an NCAA Tournament team does.
A lot of basketball remains, but early games form an impression and also affect teams. A team can get in a hole with a few early losses or build confidence from early wins, and then under- or over-achieve from there.
Side Dishes
In Big 12 play, Texas Tech got their first Big 12 road win in nearly two years, and it was a big one. The Red Raiders went into Lawrence and beat Kansas 85-73. The Red Raiders won the possession battle in a big way, out-rebounding the Jayhawks 44-29 and turning the ball over just ten times to Kansas’ 15.
Xavier is all alone atop the Big East at 3-0 after knocking off Butler 86-79 in Cincinnati, and Georgetown picked up their first Big East win at DePaul by a 90-81 score.
An impressive win that won’t make much national news came in the Patriot League. Boston University traveled to preseason favorite Bucknell and knocked off the Bison 84-79, holding off a late charge by the Bison, who were basically regarded as prohibitive favorites in the league. BU has had some good teams in recent years, and the Terriers join Colgate in starting league play at 2-0.
Notre Dame was dealt a major blow on Tuesday as Bonzie Colson suffered a fractured left foot in practice and will likely be out for about eight weeks. The senior forward was sure to be an ACC Player of the Year candidate and get some consideration for the national award, and the Irish aren’t exactly deep up front to begin with. They will need to play smaller and have someone emerge up front in the interim, and all while getting back on track as they have lost three of eight after a 6-0 start that included winning the Maui Invitational.
As if USC didn’t have enough to be concerned about already, now they have a disciplinary matter from an unlikely source. Junior Chimezie Metu is no longer the team captain and will sit out the first half of the Trojans’ game at California on Thursday night after an incident against Washington State on Sunday. Metu struck Cougar guard Carter Skaggs in the groin late in the first half, which earned him an ejection. The Pac-12 approved the measure, and Metu, one of the conference’s best players, also wrote a letter of apology to Skaggs, Washington State and his teammates.
On the other hand, West Virginia is getting a boost, as Esa Ahmad will be eligible for their game against Texas Tech on January 13. The junior forward did not meet initial eligibility requirements for this season after being a key contributor a year ago.
Kevin Stallings is a good coach and a good man, but like all of us, he is human and prone to mistakes. His mistakes tend to get noticed more, however, from his post-game scolding of Wade Baldwin IV to Tuesday night’s episode in Louisville. Near the end of the Cardinals’ 77-51 romp over Stallings’ Pittsburgh team, he apparently made a reference to the scandal enveloping the Louisville program in response to something fans said. Multiple reporters said he turned to fans and said, “At least we didn’t pay our kids $100,000,” and he did not deny it when asked about it after the game. While we can understand wanting to stick up for your players, as he said he was doing, there are better ways to do it than what he said. Fortunately, Stallings appeared to understand that, and better late than never.
Tonight’s Menu
Wednesday is usually a busy night at this time of the year, and that’s certainly the case this time around.
- The first games of the night are in the Big East and SEC, where Marquette visits Providence and Georgia hosts Ole Miss (6:30 p.m.)
- ACC action features North Carolina at Florida State and Clemson at Boston College early on (7 p.m.), with Miami at Georgia Tech, NC State at Notre Dame and a big rivalry matchup later as Virginia Tech hosts Virginia (9 p.m.)
- Missouri Valley Conference play features a matchup of 2-0 teams as Illinois State visits Drake (8 p.m.)
- SEC play continues later with Kentucky at LSU (8:30 p.m.) and Missouri at South Carolina (9 p.m.)
- An intriguing late game is in the Mountain West, where Wyoming travels to Nevada (10:30 p.m.)
