With less than a month to go until conference play, SEC basketball is already making great progress. With three undefeated teams remaining, Arkansas continues to evolve and impress, with the freshman moving up his SEC ladder. From the premature NCAA Tournament talks to the weekly SEC Hoops games to watch in his notebook, here’s what’s new in the league.
Invincible (so far)
The SEC’s undefeated team shows that there are many paths to excellence. For example, 9-0 Missouri continues to make tons of 3-pointers and score tons of points. The Tigers are averaging 93 points per game, and his three-point shooting is an SEC-best 91. Perhaps more impressively, Missouri overall has him 51.6%. That said, the Tigers haven’t played a perfect schedule — Wichita State is probably the only real test they’ve faced. But that’s about to change this week…
Meanwhile, Mississippi State leads the SEC with an 8-0 record, allowing just 49.6 points per game. Opponents shot just 34.5% of the time, and the state edged out Utah and Marquette. The Bulldogs are his second in the SEC in rebounding and have the fewest turnovers in the conference.
Auburn is probably the most amazing undefeated team. The Tigers alternate between good guard plays and ugly guard plays, and as long as the guard stays hot, the Tigers will do well. His 43-42 win over Northwestern isn’t going to make him into the Basketball Hall of Fame, but if the Tigers can beat Memphis this week, they’ll likely still be undefeated in the new year.
Arkansas Freshman Appears…
Arkansas is considered to be one of the SEC’s heavyweights, and one of the interesting things is that freshman standout Nick Smith is finally available to play. After three games, it’s clear that Smith is very good. Smith played Troy for five minutes and on Saturday he had 16 points and five assists in 24 minutes. But on Tuesday, Smith played a key role in Arkansas’ 65-58 victory over Greensboro, North Carolina. He played 39 minutes and scored 22 points. Smith went 14-for-6 and the rest of the Razorbacks combined he went 40-for-12. With Arkansas losing his 26–21 in the first half, Smith scored 15 points in the second half rally. But Smith is just one of the great freshmen…
…but there are more young stars in the league
Among many of the SEC’s standout freshmen is Alabama’s Brandon Miller, who currently leads the league in scoring. Miller has scored at least 14 points in every game he has, and in the SEC he ranks fourth in 3-point percentage. He also ranks third in the SEC in rebounding (8.9 per game) and is a key part of Alabama’s excellent start (including North Carolina’s upset).
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s GG Jackson is also doing well, averaging 17 points per game. His 22 points and his eight rebounds for Jackson contributed to Carolina’s win at Georgetown on Sunday. Jackson has scored in double figures in every game he has scored, and in every game he has at least six rebounds.
Kentucky’s Kayson Wallace is a little less flashy, but maybe more important. Wallace is averaging 11.0 points per game and 4.6 assists per game, which puts him third in the SEC. Wallace also hit 4-for-4, hitting 4-for-4 on his three-point shots, helping Kentucky hold off Michigan in England. While Sahvir Wheeler is on the floor, Wallace seems to be at the center of Kentucky’s offense even as his freshman.
league disappointment
Texas A&M is 5-3, trailing Boise State by 15 points. The Aggies saw Boise shoot 52% overall and 44% from 3-point range. The Aggies rank him 12th in the SEC in defensive scoring and field goal defense. He also ranks last in defense at 3 points as his opponent shoots 37.4% from range. If A&M doesn’t show real improvement, we could be in another NCAA bubble soon. Speaking of…
premature bracketology
Our favorite 24/7 bracket logist, Joe Lunardi, is still doing his job. Joey Brackett has seven of his SEC teams on his NCAA field, with Tennessee leading as the No. 2 seed (bracket with Texas). Other his SEC teams that Lunaldi proudly has on his NCAA field are Arkansas and Alabama (3rd seed), Kentucky and Auburn (5th seed), Mississippi his Stata (6th seed) and Missouri (10th seed). )is. The Tigers are his one of Lunaldi’s last four byes. Ole Miss and Florida only missed the field on his 4 out next to Lunaldi.
games to watch
Here are next week’s best games:
Florida vs. UConn (Wednesday): The Gators could take a big non-conference win against No. 5 UConn and are just 4 points home underdogs.
Arkansas vs. Oklahoma (Saturday): Nick Smith’s continued progress alone would qualify this as a notable match.
Alabama in Houston (Saturday): What about the second upset of the #1 team in a month? That’s the Tide bet.
Auburn in Memphis (Saturday): Auburn, with an undefeated record, takes one last meaningful pre-conference test.
Missouri vs. Kansas (Saturday): Missouri’s chance to have a say in a big rivalry matchup…but it’s going to be a tough sleigh.
Tennessee vs. Maryland (Sunday): The Top 15 showdown looks like a must-watch TV show.
