X-Factor players for every team heading into SEC Tournament

With conference play wrapped up, SEC action will take center stage down in Tampa, Florida next week at the SEC Tournament. With postseason dreams and seeding on the line, all 14 teams will be ready to get after it come Wednesday.

At this point, each team knows who their stars are and who they can count on. To win a title, conference or national, teams will have to get unexpected contributions. With the talent in the SEC, each team has at least one player who could come up big as an X-Factor to help their team make their mark in March.

Georgia: Noah Baumann

There’s potential on Tom Crean’s roster, but it hasn’t shown itself this season. After a 1-17 conference slate, the Bulldogs will take anything they can get in the postseason. In order for a bottom seeded team to make a run, they need to get uncharacteristically hot. As a team, they shot just 32.7% from deep. That’s what makes Baumann the X-Factor for Georgia. The 6’6 senior averaged 8.2 points and shot 40.6% from three this season, which is fourth-best in the conference. He hasn’t scored in double-figures since January 29th, but started the SEC season by scoring double-digits in six of Georgia’s first eight. He’s had 12 games this season where he shot 50% or better from deep as well. If Baumann can get hot on Wednesday, the Bulldogs may have an outside chance to survive against Vanderbilt.

Ole Miss: Nysier Brooks

Brooks has been one of the more under-the-radar players in the SEC this season. After stops at Cincinnati and Miami, he’s averaging career highs in points (10) and rebounds (7.5). He’s fifth in the SEC with 1.3 blocks per game and he shoots one of the best field goal percentages in the league at 58.5%. For a team that’s guard and perimeter dominant, the Rebels need Brooks to be their inside presence. To this point in the season, though, the seven-footer has just three double-doubles. Ole Miss has lost seven of their last eight and will need Brooks to help balance them out heading into the postseason. He’ll have a great opportunity to do so against Missouri’s frontcourt on Wednesday.

Missouri: DaJuan Gordon

Similar to Georgia, there hasn’t been a lot to celebrate with Cuonzo Martin’s Missouri Tigers. Although their conference record was better than Georgia’s, the Bulldogs at least have multiple pieces. For Missouri, it goes as Kobe Brown does as the team’s leader in scoring, rebounding and steals. To make a run, they’ll need to go on a hot shooting stretch and Gordon is the best chance of that. As a team, the Tigers shoot an SEC worst 27.8% from three. Gordon is the best of the bunch at 34.8% from deep. He has played a decent role for the Tigers as one of four players to average between 8 and 9.2 points per game. Pair some outside scoring from Gordon alongside a quality game for Brown and they’ll have a chance to extend their season by at least one more day.

Vanderbilt: Myles Stute

For the Commodores, it’s going to be all about how far Scotty Pippen Jr. can carry them. It’ll have to be a heroic performance though, because, beyond him and Jordan Wright, there isn’t much else for Vandy to hang their hat on. Just below Pippen and Wright in the scoring column is where you’ll find Stute. At 42.4% from deep, he’s third-best in the SEC in three-point percentage. Add in Vanderbilt’s 33.6% 3-point percentage as a team and their shots from distance could count as the ‘Dores whole X-Factor. Get Stute going from deep, let Pippen Jr. do his thing, and handle your business against Georgia. After that, there is no telling what Vanderbilt could do against a team that has proven to be inconsistent at best in Alabama.

Mississippi State: DJ Jeffries

The Bulldogs have four out of five spots in their starting lineup solved. In the backcourt, Iverson Molinar and Shakeel Moore can be an explosive scoring duo. In the frontcourt, Garrison Brooks and Tolu Smith are a nice veteran combination of bigs with both finesse and physicality. After that is where the issue lies. The next man up for that group would be former UK commit DJ Jeffries. At 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds, he’s having a decent year after two seasons at Memphis. With 15 games in double-figures, Jeffries could be the last piece to help solidify Ben Howland’s starting five. If Jeffries can provide anything unique for Mississippi State, the Bulldogs are that much more of a danger as a #10 seed.

Florida Gators: Anthony Duruji

Florida is a team that will be fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives in Tampa. With Colin Castleton in the middle, they have one of the most skilled bigs in the country. After that, Mike White lets Appleby, Fleming, Jones, and Reeves fire away from distance. To avoid riding all their hopes on Castleton and their 31.1% 3-point shooting, Duruji will have to play a part in their success. At 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds, he’s the most athletic option on the Gators’ roster while also being the team’s second-best 3-point shooter at 34.9%. After four straight double-figure games, he ended the SEC season with only one in his last seven. If Florida wants to get off the bubble and make a run at the NCAA Tournament, Duruji will need to make his presence felt on the frontline alongside Castleton.

Texas A&M: Tyrece Radford

After a strong start to the SEC season, the Aggies tailed off and will need a strong showing in Tampa to attempt to make a case for the NCAA Tournament. Buzz William’s team is built on physicality, but they’ve been inconsistent on both sides of the ball. Quenton Jackson and Henry Coleman have proven to be a really good duo, but where does A&M look after them? Radford is their next best option at third in scoring with 10.5 points per game. To end the season, he finished with double-figure scoring in nine of the Aggie’s last 10. If Radford can turn A&M’s duo into a trio, it’ll go a long way towards helping them advance against Florida and face Auburn in the quarterfinals.

South Carolina: Keyshawn Bryant

Similar to Duruji for Florida, Bryant is the Gamecocks’ best athlete as he provides a different look in a really physical frontcourt. After his junior season where he averaged 14.4 points a game, which was Top-15 in the SEC, he looked poised to lead the Gamecocks as a senior after the departure of AJ Lawson. That hasn’t been the case as he’s fifth on the team in scoring now at 8.8 points a night. Frank Martin’s team has been resurgent down the stretch as they’ve fought each game and succeeded by committee. In postseason play, they’ll need to look to a handful of that committee to lead them. Jermaine Couisnard will be one but, as the veteran, they’ll need Bryant to come up big if they want to make some noise in Tampa.

Alabama: Keon Ellis

Ellis is easily one of the best glue guys in all of college basketball. As a senior, he’s done it all for Alabama with 12.1 points and team-highs in assists per game (6), steals per game (1.9), and 3-point percentage (36.4%). The Crimson Tide places a lot of responsibility on the backcourt of Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly. As a whole, though, Alabama has been one of the most inconsistent teams in the nation. Shackelford and Quinerly are no exception, but JD Davidson and the Alabama frontcourt have a lot to do with that. Ellis has been the opposite as he finished the season with five double-figure scoring games along with being Alabama’s best perimeter defender all season. He will be key in helping Nate Oats’ team right the ship for a long enough stretch to actually be a true threat in the postseason.

LSU: Eric Gaines

After a 15-1 start to the season, the wheels came off for LSU as they finished the season 6-9. Injuries played a part, but their offense wasn’t doing one of the best defenses in the country any favors. For Will Wade’s team to return to early-season form in the SEC Tournament, their X-Factor will have to be offensively focused. Behind Tari Eason, Xavier Pinson and Darius Days, their next man up would be Eric Gaines. While Brandon Murray averages double-digit scoring, Gaines does a little more of everything. As a sophomore, he’s averaged 9.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.9 steals a game (3rd best in the SEC). He’s taken a step up offensively, but he’s still shooting under 40% from the field and under 30% from three. If he can knock those up in the postseason, the Tigers will have the pieces to take down anyone in this field.

Arkansas: Davonte Davis

The Razorbacks follow JD Notae and Jaylin Williams’ lead. Those two are a difficult enough matchup to give anyone trouble, but Eric Musselman could use one more truly consistent piece for the Razorbacks to be an issue in Tampa as well as March Madness. Stanley Umude and Au’Diese Toney are options as double-figure scorers and Chris Lykes is a veteran point guard who’s a fifth-year senior. With that said, Davonte Davis is the guy who can really make Arkansas go. The sophomore played a big role in the Razorback’s run to the Elite Eight last season with an average of 14.3 points in the NCAA Tournament. Although his field-goal percentage is slightly lower, he’s managed to nearly double his 3-point percentage this season. Guard play is massive in March and Davis could be a steady hand in the backcourt next to Notae.

Kentucky: Keion Brooks Jr.

At full strength, Kentucky’s starting five has it all with Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler, Kellan Grady and TyTy Washington. Brooks Jr. is the final piece to that puzzle, but it’s been a pendulum swing at times. As a junior, he’s averaging a career-high in points (10.9) and field goal percentage (49.4%). His consistency has improved over the last month as well with double-digit scoring in eight of Kentucky’s final 12. He provides a nice mix of athleticism and skill next to Tshiebwe who’s Kentucky’s force down low. For the Wildcats to make a run at a #1 seed and potentially a title, Brooks will need to continue to be the player he’s been down the stretch. Kentucky’s longest-tenured player will finally make his NCAA Tournament debut, but which version of Brooks will UK get in Tampa and moving forward will go a long way in determining how far the Wildcats can truly go.

Tennessee: Josiah-Jordan James

The Volunteers have a three-headed attack at the guard spot with Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler. With four impact bigs that are 6’9 and up, they have the length inside to cause problems as well. Their X-Factor is the player who pulls it all together with Josiah-Jordan James. The 6’6 junior is a Swiss Army Knife with averages of 9.5 points, 5.8 boards, 1.6 steals and a block a game. He’s caught fire as well with 50% shooting from deep in Tennessee’s four-game win streak to end the season. He may not be the biggest name on Rocky Top, but he fits Rick Barnes’ system to a tee and brings it all together for the red-hot Volunteers.

Auburn: Allen Flanigan

After starting 10-1, Bruce Pearl added a Top-15 scorer in the SEC from the season before in Allen Flanigan. Coming off an Achilles injury, Flanigan was set to take Auburn’s ceiling even higher. While the team success has come, the individual success hasn’t been there for Flanigan. After averaging 14.3 points as a sophomore, he’s gotten lost in the shuffle of Auburn’s talent and is averaging just 6.3 points a game on 40.8% from the field and 22.2% from three. Even behind a log jam at guard with Zeb Jasper, Wendell Green, and KD Johnson, Flanigan can still be the highest impact player of that group. After scoring 10 or more just five times in 19 games, it feels like he’s primed for a breakout in either the SEC or NCAA Tournament. If he figures it out, it’ll only make the SEC’s regular-season champions that much more dangerous.

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— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) March 6, 2022