SEC Basketball At The Turn: A Conference Review
Heading into Saturday’s slate of college basketball games, each Southeastern Conference school has nine in-conference games behind them and nine to go, meaning we are at the halfway point of league play in the SEC. As we make the turn and begin the back nine, let’s pause to brush up on past scores, best competitors, worst competitors, storylines, and more from the front side.
Here’s how SEC Basketball stands at the turn:
Current SEC Standings
| CONF | OVERALL | HOME | ROAD | NEUTRAL | |
| Alabama | 9-0 | 19-3 | 11-0 | 6-1 | 2-2 |
| Tennessee | 7-2 | 18-4 | 10-1 | 4-2 | 4-1 |
| Auburn | 7-2 | 17-5 | 11-1 | 4-3 | 2-1 |
| Texas A&M | 7-2 | 15-7 | 10-1 | 4-3 | 1-3 |
| Kentucky | 6-3 | 15-7 | 11-2 | 3-3 | 1-2 |
| Florida | 6-3 | 13-9 | 8-3 | 3-3 | 2-3 |
| Missouri | 5-4 | 17-5 | 13-2 | 2-3 | 2-0 |
| Arkansas | 4-5 | 15-7 | 11-1 | 0-5 | 4-1 |
| Georgia | 4-5 | 14-8 | 11-1 | 1-6 | 2-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 3-6 | 10-12 | 7-5 | 2-5 | 1-2 |
| Mississippi State | 2-7 | 14-8 | 8-3 | 2-4 | 4-1 |
| LSU | 1-8 | 12-10 | 9-4 | 0-5 | 3-1 |
| Ole Miss | 1-8 | 9-13 | 6-7 | 1-5 | 2-1 |
| South Carolina | 1-8 | 8-14 | 6-5 | 2-5 | 0-4 |
Notable Games
South Carolina (71) at Kentucky (68)
In the biggest upset of conference play, South Carolina went into Rupp Arena as a 20-point underdog and beat John Calipari’s Wildcats, 71-68. The Jan 10. shocker in Lexington is still the Gamecocks’ only SEC win to date.
Kentucky (63) at Tennessee (56)
The Saturday after Kentucky reached rock bottom by losing to last-place South Carolina, the Wildcats upset fifth-ranked Tennessee, 63-56, in Knoxville on Chris Lofton Day. Kentucky was a 10.5-point underdog at tipoff, marking the largest underdog point spread since the Billy Gillispie era of Kentucky Basketball.
Alabama (66) vs Mississippi State (63)
In a rematch of an SEC opener, Mississippi State played Alabama to the final buzzer in Tuscaloosa, nearly forcing overtime in the Tide’s closest test to date. It was an example of what can happen when Alabama goes cold. Alabama went 5-for-28 from three-point range with a combined 1-of-16 for the starting five.
Missouri (89) vs Kentucky (75)
One of the surprise stories of the year is Missouri playing well after being picked tenth in the preseason poll ahead of Dennis Gates’ first season as head coach. The Tigers got off to a hot start after running Kentucky out of Columbia, 89-75, in the SEC opener. The win followed a blowout of 16th-ranked Illinois in Missouri and Illinois’ “Braggin’ Rights” rivalry game.
Florida (67) vs Tennessee (54)
Earlier this week, Florida ruined Tennessee’s new No. 2 ranking by beating the Vols in Gainesville. A late 13-0 run put the game away as the Gators handed Tennessee its second conference loss in a 67-54 finish. Florida’s Colin Castleton scored 16 of his 20 after halftime.
Missouri (79) vs Arkansas (76)
In the wildest finish so far, Missouri and Arkansas needed overtime to settle their second meeting this season. Mizzou was down 10 with five minutes to go. Officiating was questionable.
Alabama Chasing Perfection (And Not In Football)
At the top of the standings, Alabama (9-0) is the SEC’s only remaining unbeaten team, currently with a two-game lead at the halfway point of SEC competition. The Crimson Tide lost last Saturday’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge game versus Oklahoma in a surprising upset but averaged a 23-point margin of victory in nine league games. Most recently, Alabama beat Vanderbilt, 101-44, in the latest showing of its utter dominance this season.
If the Tide can win out, Alabama will join ’14 Florida and ’15 Kentucky as the only SEC teams to go 18-0 in the regular season. (Some other Kentucky teams ran the SEC table before the 18-game format.)
Alabama still travels to LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Texas A&M. KenPom projects a five-point loss in Knoxville on Wednesday, February 15.
Player of the Year Favorite: Brandon Miller, Alabama
The best player on the best team often wins the Player of the Year award, and in this case, Alabama’s Brandon Miller just so happens to be the SEC’s leading scorer, too. The freshman forward is currently the conference’s highest scorer at 19.2 points per game and one of nine players in all of college basketball with 400 points and 170 rebounds already this season. Miller is also one of the two SEC players and two freshmen among the 20 finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award.
Other Standout Performers
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky – Your 2022 National Player of the Year is back doing Oscar Tshiebwe things like leading the SEC in rebounding by almost five rebounds a game (13.6 rpg) and sitting at fourth among the top scorers too (16.5 ppg).
Kobe Brown, Missouri – New to stardom in the league, Mizzou’s Kobe Brown is having a breakout year, currently ranked fifth in scoring with 16.5 points per game for the high-scoring Tigers. The veteran stretch-forward extended his range in 2022-23 and he now has the second-best shooting percentage of anyone in the SEC at 47.6 percent on three-pointers, up from 20.6 percent a year ago. Brown hit seven in total in the consecutive blowouts of Illinois and Kentucky, scoring 31 and 30 points in those games.
Johni Broome, Auburn – The former Morehead State Eagle (who heard from Kentucky while in the transfer portal) hasn’t seen much of a decline in his numbers since moving up to the SEC from the OVC. The 6-10 forward is second in the entire league in rebounding (8.9 rpg), third in blocks (2.5 bpg), fourth in field goal percentage (52.8%), and scores 13.6 points per game for Bruce Pearl’s Tigers. Only Oscar Tshiebwe has more double-doubles than Broome who’s had six in nine SEC games to Tshiebwe’s seven.
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Ricky Council IV, Arkansas – On an Arkansas team that lost key players to injuries and had its worst start (1-5) in more than a decade, Wichita State transfer Ricky Council IV has been a bright spot for the Razorbacks. The AAC Sixth Man of the Year in 2021-22, Council is second in the SEC in scoring at 17.3 points per game and is one of five SEC players named to the USBWA’s midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Arkansas has won three straight league games.
KJ Williams, LSU – The SEC’s third-leading scorer is LSU super-senior KJ Williams at 17.1 points per game. One of LSU’s Murray State transfers, Williams is top-seven in the SEC in points, rebounds (7.5 rpg), and field-goal percentage (49.3%).
Coach of the Year Favorite: Nate Oats, Alabama
Leading the race for SEC Coach of the Year is Nate Oats for the job he has done in coaching Alabama to nine wins in nine SEC games and a No. 4 ranking nationally. Oats is seeking his second SEC Coach of the Year award, having won it once already in 2021 when Alabama won the league’s regular season and conference tournament trophies.
Also in the mix for Coach of the Year is Dennis Gates for his turnaround of the Mizzou program, but Oats is the heavy midseason favorite.
SEC Freshman of the Year Favorite: Brandon Miller, Alabama
Miller has won the SEC Freshman of the Week award five times this season and in three of the five weeks since league play started.
Kentucky’s Cason Wallace and Alabama’s Noah Clowney have each won at least a share of the FOTW trophy twice, while Tennessee’s Julian Phillips, Arkansas’ Nick Smith, and South Carolina’s GG Jackson also received one-time FOTW honors.
Miller is the clear front-runner.
That Time Texas A&M Forgot Its Uniforms
One of the best bloopers of the season so far, Texas A&M received a technical foul prior to the start of the Aggies’ game at Florida because the team’s uniforms were back at the hotel.
Buzz Williams took the blame after the game.
Projected NCAA Tournament Teams
Per the latest Bracketology, the Southeastern Conference has six teams on the right path toward next month’s Big Dance.
Alabama – No. 1 seed (Midwest)
Tennessee – No. 2 seed (East)
Missouri – No. 7 seed (South)
Auburn – No. 8 seed (East)
Arkansas – No. 11 seed (West)
Kentucky – No. 11 seed (Midwest)
Two others are on the outside looking in with Texas A&M and Florida as two of the First Four Out.
SEC in the NET Rankings
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | ROAD | NEUTRAL | HOME | QUAD 1 | QUAD 2 | QUAD 3 | QUAD 4 |
| 2 | Tennessee | 18-4 | 4-2 | 4-1 | 10-1 | 4-2 | 3-2 | 5-0 | 6-0 |
| 4 | Alabama | 19-3 | 6-1 | 2-2 | 11-0 | 6-3 | 5-0 | 4-0 | 4-0 |
| 27 | Arkansas | 15-7 | 0-5 | 3-1 | 12-1 | 1-5 | 3-1 | 8-1 | 3-0 |
| 29 | Auburn | 17-5 | 4-3 | 2-1 | 11-1 | 1-3 | 6-2 | 6-0 | 4-0 |
| 30 | Maryland | 15-7 | 1-5 | 2-1 | 12-1 | 3-7 | 4-0 | 1-0 | 7-0 |
| 31 | Kentucky | 15-7 | 3-3 | 1-2 | 11-2 | 1-6 | 4-0 | 4-0 | 6-1 |
| 41 | Florida | 13-9 | 3-3 | 2-3 | 8-3 | 2-7 | 1-2 | 6-0 | 4-0 |
| 45 | Missouri | 17-5 | 2-3 | 2-0 | 13-2 | 3-5 | 4-0 | 2-0 | 8-0 |
| 48 | Texas A&M | 15-7 | 4-3 | 1-3 | 10-1 | 2-4 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 8-1 |
| 49 | Mississippi St. | 14-8 | 2-4 | 4-1 | 8-3 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 3-0 | 8-0 |
| 106 | Vanderbilt | 10-12 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 7-5 | 1-7 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 6-1 |
| 119 | Ole Miss | 9-13 | 1-5 | 2-1 | 6-7 | 1-7 | 0-4 | 3-1 | 5-1 |
| 139 | LSU | 12-10 | 0-5 | 3-1 | 9-4 | 1-8 | 1-2 | 1-0 | 9-0 |
| 284 | South Carolina | 8-14 | 2-5 | 0-4 | 6-5 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 0-4 | 6-1 |
Conference Champion Odds
Out in the desert (but on FanDuel), oddsmakers released the following SEC regular season champion odds on January 17:
| Team | Odds |
| Alabama | -240 |
| Tennessee | +200 |
| Auburn | +2200 |
| Texas A&M | +3100 |
| Kentucky | +4800 |
| Florida | +12000 |
| Georgia | +14000 |
| Arkansas | +19000 |
| Missouri | +21000 |
| Vanderbilt | +25000 |
| LSU | +25000 |
| Mississippi State | +25000 |
| Ole Miss | +25000 |
| South Carolina | +25000 |
SEC Tournament Countdown
Only 32 days until Wednesday’s action at the SEC Tournament in Bridgestone Arena!
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