SEC Watch: Auburn at Tennessee, the scoring race, and we are Texas A&M fans tonight

Let’s take a very brief recess from our celebration of Reed Sheppard to talk about the implications of last night’s win on other basketball matters around the Southeastern Conference. Though the Wildcats’ come-from-behind victory in Starkville kept them in the hunt for the double-bye in Nashville, they’ll still need some help to finish in fourth place or better if they’re unable to win the challenging regular-season finale in Knoxville and the two remaining games in Lexington. Ideally, Kentucky will defend Rupp Arena against Arkansas and Vanderbilt, then smack the Vols in their rematch at Thompson–Boling Arena at Food City Center. Still, the Big Blue Nation should root against South Carolina the rest of the way because the Gamecocks hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Kentucky. The Wildcats’ January 23 loss in Columbia could be the difference-maker if Kentucky doesn’t finish ahead of South Carolina in the standings.

Current SEC Standings

1. Tennessee (11-3)
2. Alabama (11-3)
3. Auburn (10-4)
4. South Carolina (10-4)
5. Kentucky (10-5)
6. Florida (9-5)
7. Mississippi State (8-7)
8. LSU (7-8)
9. Ole Miss (6-8)
10. Texas A&M (6-8)
11. Georgia (5-10)
12. Arkansas (5-10)
13. Vanderbilt (3-12)
14. Missouri (0-14)

Tonight’s SEC Schedule

• 6:30 p.m. ET – Missouri @ (24) Florida – ESPN
• 7:00 p.m. ET – (11) Auburn @ (4) Tennessee – ESPN2
• 8:30 p.m. ET – (18) South Carolina @ Texas A&M – SEC Network
• 9:00 p.m. ET – (14) Alabama @ Ole Miss – ESPN

Go Aggies

As the schedule shows, Texas A&M hosts South Carolina in College Station tonight in one of the three remaining games where the Gamecocks will be underdogs. The Aggies could hand South Carolina one of the two losses it needs in the last two weeks for Kentucky to feel comfortable about earning the SEC Tournament’s double-bye.

After tonight, South Carolina still hosts No. 24 Florida and No. 4 Tennessee before a trip to Starkville. KenPom projects an 11-7 finish for the Gamecocks, one game behind Kentucky at 12-6. Texas A&M can start South Carolina down that path with a win tonight. The Aggies are favored by 5.5 points. Go Aggies.

(It’d also be nice to see Alabama lose to Ole Miss.)

A big one in Knoxville

While we’re invested in Texas A&M vs. South Carolina for seeding purposes, the game of the night is No. 11 Auburn playing at No. 4 Tennessee. The Vols control their own destiny in pursuit of the conference championship. At the same time, Auburn still has a reasonable opportunity to steal it from Tennessee or Alabama, the two first-place teams. Therefore, tonight’s game in Knoxville holds significant importance in the standings. Auburn is getting 7.5 points as the road underdog, like playing without star Jaylin Williams, who has been out since suffering an injury against Kentucky.

Hold Dalton Kinect to 14, Mark Sears to 7

When you’re a member of the Antonio Reeves fan club, you may do petty things to support him, like see how many points Dalton Knecht needs against Auburn tonight to stay ahead of Reeves in the SEC’s scoring race. I am him. I did that. I checked the scoring numbers, and my math told me that Knecht needs 15 points against the Tigers to stay one point ahead of Reeves for second place behind the league leader, Alabama’s Mark Sears. Sears was targeted by my calculator, too. He needs only eight points tonight at Ole Miss to stay ahead of Reeves. It’s a tight race.

1. Mark Sears, Alabama – 20.4 ppg
2. Dalton Knecht, Tennessee – 20.1 ppg
3. Antonio Reeves, Kentucky – 29.9 ppg
4. Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M – 18.8 ppg
5. Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss – 17.1 ppg

Reed Sheppard climbing the assist charts

OK, I said we’d pause the Reed Sheppard love for a moment, but we must point out that he slid into a tie for second in the SEC in total assists. Last night, Sheppard had seven assists in his meteoric performance against Mississippi State, pulling him ahead of Alabama’s Aaron Estrada and South Carolina’s Ta’Lon Cooper into a tie with Florida’s Zyon Pullin for second. They’re tied with 119 this season. In front, Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler won’t be caught with 156 assists already. Still, Sheppard could place or show. Rob Dillingham ranks ninth with 101.

Sheppard leading the league in 3-point shooting

Sorry, I can’t stop. We can’t ignore Kentucky’s place in the 3-point shooting charts, either. Sheppard is first in the SEC, making over half his attempts at 51.7% for the season. Kentucky has two more with him in the top 10: Dillingham is shooting 44.5% and Reeves 44.2%.

1. Reed Sheppard, Kentucky – 51.7%
2. Sean East II, Missouri – 47%
3. Mark Sears, Alabama – 44.7%
4. Sam Walters, Alabama – 44.6%
5. Ta’Lon Cooper, South Carolina – 44.6%
6. Rob Dillingham, Kentucky – 44.5%
7. Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Alabama – 44.5%
8. Antonio Reeves, Kentucky – 44.2%
9. Tyler Ward, LSU – 44.1%
10. Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn – 42.3%

Reeves and Dillingham also rank among the top 10 in field-goal percentage.

Kentucky and Onyenso leading the SEC in blocks

We know the Cats shoot the lights out, but did you know they’re the league’s best at blocking shots too? Right now, Kentucky is first in the SEC in blocks per game (6.3). Ugonna Onyenso? He leads all players in blocks per game (2.7) but the SEC website doesn’t acknowledge him because he hasn’t played enough. We’ll acknowledge him here.

Exactly two weeks until the SEC Tournament

Two weeks from tonight, the 2024 SEC Tournament will tip off in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, with the league’s four worst teams playing for their tournament lives. Those spots are pretty much decided, but the next two weeks are critical to Kentucky’s finish in the regular season standings and tournament seeding. The Cats host two teams they’ve already beaten on the road this season, Arkansas and Vanderbilt, so they better handle those in Rupp over the week ahead. Then, just maybe, that rematch in Knoxville will be for more than bragging rights. It’s unlikely, but the league’s trophy could be up for grabs.