SEC WATCH: Kentucky Slides to the Middle of the Pack

The first Saturday in February provided a platform for teams around the SEC to make big moves. As you’re well aware by now, Kentucky was not one of those that seized the opportunity.

Obviously, there’s still a month of basketball to go, but the pecking order in the SEC is becoming clearer. Four games played a role in creating separation from the four teams at the top of the standings — Alabama, South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee — and the logjam that follows.

Despite a loss at home to South Carolina, Tennessee remained in the hunt for the SEC title race by leading for 40 minutes in Lexington. The Vols played like the rest of their counterparts who are currently slotted to receive a double-bye in Nashville. The Cats played like the other SEC teams who look the part some of the time but cannot consistently do enough to get over the hump. Let me explain.

Florida Misses Golden Opportunity

Sometimes the Florida Gators look like an NCAA Tournament team. We saw just that Wednesday night when Walter Clayton knocked down seven three-pointers in a shocking overtime upset of the Wildcats at Rupp Arena. He delivered a dagger to force overtime, but as you might expect, he couldn’t replicate that performance against Texas A&M.

Similar to Kentucky earlier in the week, the Aggies were actively trying to give Florida a win. Texas A&M forced a late turnover that should have sealed the game. Wade Taylor IV forgot he couldn’t run the baseline and was whistled for the travel, giving the ball back to the Gators down one point with 19 seconds to play.

Florida got Clayton an open look. He missed. They got an offensive rebound, and another quality look from three, this time from Zyon Pullin. His shot came up short and A&M survived 67-66, keeping Florida in the doldrums of the middle of the SEC.

Ole Miss Blows Golden Opportunity Against Auburn

Chris Beard has won a lot of games during his first season in Oxford. Not many of those wins have been against good teams. They had a chance to do that against one of the better teams in the SEC and let Auburn get away with a win.

Ole Miss was at home and led by as many as 13 points in the first half. Auburn got hot and retook the lead with about ten minutes remaining, then blew the game open. The Tigers shot 22 of 30 in the second half and outscored the Rebels by 23 to notch a 91-77 victory.

South Carolina Proves Itself

Unlike the teams in the middle of the pack, South Carolina has put out a consistent product, regardless of circumstance or setting. Saturday was the ideal setting to see a setback from South Carolina. They were on the road as a 1.5-point underdog against a team that plays a similar style of basketball.

All was going according to script for the first 25+ minutes of the game. South Carolina was on the ropes, but instead of faltering, they flourished, forcing a 7+ minute Georgia scoring drought to take over the game. The Gamecocks pulled away with a 72-62 win, proving they ain’t no joke.

Feb. 4 SEC Standings

	CONF	OVERALL
Alabama	8-1	16-6
South Carolina	7-2	19-3
Auburn	7-2	18-4
Tennessee	6-2	16-5
Ole Miss	5-4	18-4
Kentucky	5-4	15-6
Florida	5-4	15-7
Texas A&M	4-4	13-8
LSU	4-4	12-9
Georgia	4-5	14-8
Mississippi State	3-6	14-8
Arkansas	2-7	11-11
Vanderbilt	1-7	6-15
Missouri	0-9	8-14