SEC Watch: Auburn and Alabama still unbeaten, Arkansas still winless, Brad Calipari still a bucket

The Southeastern Conference has now played two rounds of Saturday basketball games, meaning there are only nine Saturdays left before we all head to Nashville for the SEC Tournament. On this Monday after the league’s second weekend of 2024, another SEC Watch will keep Big Blue Nation up to speed on what is happening around the South beyond Kentucky Basketball. The league teams are beginning to separate in the standings through three games each. Up top, the conference’s best football rivalry shares first place in the basketball standings. Let’s start there.

Auburn and Alabama are the only unbeaten teams

Five SEC teams went into the weekend with 2-0 records, but only two, Auburn and Alabama, survived Saturday without suffering a conference loss. The bitter football rivals down in the Yellowhammer State each remained undefeated in league play, Auburn defending home court against previously unbeaten LSU, 93-78, and Alabama winning at Mississippi State, 82-74.

For the first-place Tigers, Chad Baker-Mazara shined off the bench with 19 points and six steals, in addition to All-SEC forward Johnny Broome‘s 18 and seven boards in the win. Auburn hit 27 of 31 free throws.

For the first-place Crimson Tide, Mark Sears did more Mark Sears things, scoring a game-high 22 points to maintain his title as the SEC’s top scorer. Sears averages 20.3 points per game in Nate Oats’ backcourt.

Tennessee lucky to have “A DOG” in Knecht (Kevin Durant’s words, not mine)

Dalton Knecht is the SEC’s fourth-best scorer and Tennessee‘s leader in importance. The transfer from Northern Colorado scored a combined 64 points in the Vols’ last two games, including 26 points in the second half against Mississippi State, bringing Tennessee back from a 13-point halftime deficit to tied with 35 seconds remaining. Still, the Vols lost.

Dalton Knecht is the first @Vol_Hoops player with multiple games of 35+ points in a season since at least 2010-11. pic.twitter.com/GxDA2NFWZK

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 13, 2024

On Saturday, Knecht’s 36 points led the Vols past Georgia in Athens. He hit the go-ahead three late in the game and followed it up with two free throws to clinch the road victory. Rick Barnes used a Kevin Durant comparison after the game, while Durant called Knecht “A DOG” on Instagram.

Ole Miss has weapons, and only one loss

At 2-1 in the SEC and 15-1 overall, Ole Miss is a contender, and new head coach Chris Beard has several scorers who can lead the way on any given night. In Saturday’s win against Vanderbilt, Matthew Murrell had 18 points on eight shots before halftime on his way to a 24-point winning effort. Murrell ranks fourth in the conference with 17.3 points per game.

One point behind him, Ole Miss guard Allen Flanigan is a top-10 scorer at 16.3 points per game, and Jaylen Murray completes the Rebels’ three-headed backcourt with a top-20 average at 14.1 points per game. But it’s not just the Ole Miss backcourt that will get you. Forward Jaemyn Brakefield was the high-scorer in the first two SEC games with 22 and 28 points. Brakefield is the fourth double-digit scorer with a 12.1 average.

Double OT

There were two overtime games on the second weekend of SEC basketball. First, Kentucky fought back to force extra time in College Station, only to lose to Texas A&M in a desperation game for the Aggies. We’ve talked plenty about that one here on KentuckySportsRadio.com.

They served free basketball out in Missouri, too, where South Carolina won its second league contest on a fadeaway jumper in OT. Jacobi Wright called game with 13 seconds left.

Needed it. GOT IT! #Gamecocks🐔🏀 // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/fI8ZCH3ea1

— Gamecock Men's Basketball (@GamecockMBB) January 13, 2024

With a second home loss, Missouri is one of three winless teams at the bottom of the SEC standings.

Razorbacks are cooked

Joining Missouri on the SEC floor is Arkansas, the SEC’s preseason No. 3 team with a shocking 0-3 record through three games. On Saturday, the Razorbacks continued the losing streak by falling again by double digits, this time at Florida. The Gators secured their first SEC victory of 2024 by beating Arkansas by 22 points and sending Eric Musselman’s program further into a downward spiral. The three SEC losses were by an average of 21.3 points.

Vanderbilt is still winless, Brad Calipari is still a bucket

Vanderbilt is the SEC’s third winless team after taking an L on Saturday at Ole Miss. However, the Vanderbilt managers got a win in Oxford, beating the Ole Miss managers by 55 points. Director of On-Court Player Development Brad Calipari led Vandy with 48 points.

Improve to 5-0 with the 117-62 win at Ole Miss. Brad Calipari led the way with 48 🔥

Appreciate the hospitality @UMbballmanagers @ManagerGames_ pic.twitter.com/t7yRqFib6T

— #16 Vandy MBB GAs (5-0) (@VanderbiltGAs) January 13, 2024

SEC Scoreboard (Saturday, Jan 13)

(6) Kentucky	92 (OT)	Texas A&M	97 (OT)	College Station, TX
(5) Tennessee	85	Georgia	79	Athens, GA
LSU	78	(16) Auburn	93	Auburn, AL
Vanderbilt	56	Ole Miss	69	Oxford, MS
South Carolina	71 (OT)	Missouri	69 (OT)	Columbia, MO
Arkansas	68	Florida	90	Gainesville, FL
Alabama	82	Mississippi State	74	Starkville, MS

SEC Standings Through Three Games

	CONF	OVERALL	HOME	ROAD	NEUTRAL	STRK
Auburn	3-0	14-2	9-0	1-1	4-1	W9
Alabama	3-0	11-5	7-1	2-1	2-3	W5
Ole Miss	2-1	15-1	11-0	2-1	2-0	W2
South Carolina	2-1	14-2	9-0	2-2	3-0	W1
Kentucky	2-1	12-3	8-1	2-1	2-1	L-1
Tennessee	2-1	12-4	8-0	2-2	2-2	W1
Georgia	2-1	12-4	10-1	2-0	0-3	L-1
LSU	2-1	10-6	7-2	1-2	2-2	L-1
Mississippi State	1-2	12-4	6-2	0-2	6-0	L-1
Florida	1-2	11-5	7-1	0-2	4-2	W1
Texas A&M	1-2	10-6	6-2	2-2	2-2	W1
Arkansas	0-3	9-7	7-2	0-2	2-3	L-3
Missouri	0-3	8-8	6-4	2-2	0-2	L-3
Vanderbilt	0-3	5-11	5-5	0-3	0-3	L-3

This Week’s SEC Schedule

Tuesday, January 15

TIME	AWAY	HOME	TV
7:00 PM ET	Florida	(5) Tennessee	ESPN
7:00 PM ET	Missouri	Alabama	SEC Network
9:00 PM ET	Georgia	South Carolina	ESPNU
9:00 PM ET	Texas A&M	Arkansas	SEC Network

Wednesday, January 16

TIME	AWAY	HOME	TV
7:00 PM ET	Mississippi State	(6) Kentucky	ESPN2
7:00 PM ET	Ole Miss	LSU	SEC Network
9:00 PM ET	(16) Auburn	Vanderbilt	SEC Network

Saturday, January 20

TIME	AWAY	HOME	TV
1:00 PM ET	South Carolina	Arkansas	SEC Network
2:00 PM ET	Alabama	(5) Tennessee	ESPN2
3:30 PM ET	Vanderbilt	Mississippi St	SEC Network
4:00 PM ET	Texas A&M	LSU	ESPNU
6:00 PM ET	Georgia	(6) Kentucky	SEC Network
8:00 PM ET	Florida	Missouri	ESPNU
8:30 PM ET	Ole Miss	(16) Auburn	SEC Network