What We Learned From The First Saturday of SEC Play

Southeastern Conference play began over the weekend when all fourteen league teams opened the conference schedule with Saturday games. Here in Big Blue Nation, we were thrilled to watch Kentucky upset Florida as a slight underdog in Gainesville. The Wildcats erased an 11-point deficit in the first half to win a thriller in the O’Dome, 87-85.

Kentucky’s first game was such a wild ride, you might’ve been too busy to keep up with the other happenings throughout the league. So, before the first SEC Tuesday of the 2023-24 season, let’s recap what to know from the first games in conference play.

Home Court Advantage Was Not Advantageous

Playing on the road in the SEC can be a lot to overcome, especially for the league’s top teams, like Kentucky, when the free-shirts and sold-out crowds appear. In Gainesville, Florida, Kentucky overcame an “Orange Out” to steal one on the road from the Gators. Elsewhere, three more road teams spoiled the Saturday fun for the SEC home crowd: Georgia at Mizzou, LSU at Texas A&M, and Auburn at Arkansas. The away teams went 4-3 in their first conference tests.

Top Road Dog: LSU Tigers

Of the four road dogs, LSU overcame the longest odds, winning at Texas A&M by 15 points. The Tigers traveled to College Station as an 11.5-point underdog, yet the Tigers were the far better team on Saturday night, winning 68-53. Former Vanderbilt star Jordan Wright, this week’s Co-SEC Player of the Week, recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds for LSU. A&M’s Wade Taylor IV scored 23 in the loss, struggling from outside on 3-for-12 shooting. The game was within one possession until LSU went on a 9-0 run midway through the second half.

Auburn May Be A Problem

Arkansas had Bud Walton rocking early as the Razorbacks jumped out to a lead in the home SEC opener against Auburn. By halftime, Auburn flipped the script and took a seven-point lead into the break, then stretched that lead out even further after halftime. In the end, Auburn ran away with the game in record fashion, handing Arkansas its worst-ever loss in Fayetteville, a 32-point defeat. Johnni Broome scored 14 points with eight rebounds to lead Bruce Pearl’s Tigers. Chad Baker-Mazara and Tre Donaldson combined for 27 points off the bench.

Eric Musselman Thinks Arkansas Stunk In Every Way

After Arkansas suffered the historic loss on its home floor, Eric Musselman narrowed his team’s problems down to stinking in all areas. He wrapped up his postgame press conference by saying, “When you lose by 30, we could go all the way around the room and each of you could pick a different area, and you would all be right. We stunk in all areas.

“We stunk. We’ve got to get a lot better to even survive in this league. We’ve got to get a lot better. We’ve got to be a lot more competitive. So with that, I will say you guys all saw how poorly we played, and there’s a million things we could discuss, but we stunk in all those areas.”

What an ending to Eric Musselman’s postgame press conference after the 83-51 home loss to Auburn. pic.twitter.com/s7iWqJ6Bmm

— Mason Choate (@ChoateMason) January 6, 2024

Kentucky plays Arkansas twice this season, but not until January 27 in Lexington and then again in Fayetteville in March.

Ole Miss No Longer Unbeaten, Possibly Fraudulent

Ole Miss entered league play as the SEC’s only unbeaten team, only to get stomped by fifth-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday. It’s one thing to lose at Tennessee, snapping a 13-game win streak for the Rebels; it is another to lose by 26 points. Chris Beard said afterward, “We got kicked today. Our whole organization got kicked. Those are some grown men.”

Jonas Aidoo and Zakai Zeigler each recorded double-doubles for the Vols. Aidoo scored a game-high 24 points with 10 rebounds; Zeigler carved up the Ole Miss defense for 17 points and 10 assists.

Meechie Johnson Is A Transfer Portal Win For South Carolina

The Gamecocks earned a close win over Mississippi State on Saturday and now sit atop the very early conference standings at 1-0 and 13-1 overall. South Carolina’s success is partly because Ohio State transfer Meechie Johnson is filling it up in his new backcourt. Against the Bulldogs, Johnson scored 24 points, but his most important play was his steal that won the game in the final seconds. Johnson swiped the ball as Mississippi State tried to tie or win it, then he drew the foul and hit both free throws to ice the win. Johnson was named Co-SEC Player of the Week today for his heroics in South Carolina’s conference-opening victory. He is currently third in the conference in scoring at over 18 per game.

Missouri’s Struggles Continue

Kentucky’s first SEC opponent in Rupp Arena needs a win. Missouri enters the game with four losses in its last five, including the Tiger’s home opener against Georgia over the weekend. The Dawgs snapped a three-game losing streak to Mizzou by winning by seven in CoMo on Saturday. Mizzou climbed back from down 17 and had a lead with under five to go, but three-pointers from Justin Hill and Silas Demary Jr. put Georgia ahead for good. Hill had 16 off the bench, one of four double-digit Georgia scorers in the 75-68 win.

Missouri is an 11.5-point underdog in Lexington tomorrow night.

SEC Scoreboard (Saturday, January 6)

Mississippi State	62	South Carolina	68	Columbia, SC
(6) Kentucky	87	Florida	85	Gainesville, FL
Georgia	75	Missouri	68	Columbia, MO
25 Auburn	83	Arkansas	51	Fayetteville, AR
Alabama	78	Vanderbilt	75	Nashville, TN
(22) Ole Miss	64	(5) Tennessee	90	Knoxville, TN
LSU	68	Texas A&M	53	College Station, TX

SEC Standings Through One Game

	CONF	OVERALL	HOME	ROAD	NEUTRAL	STREAK
South Carolina	1-0	13-1	9-0	1-1	3-0	W6
Auburn	1-0	12-2	7-0	1-1	4-1	W7
Kentucky	1-0	11-2	7-1	2-0	2-1	W5
Georgia	1-0	11-3	9-0	2-0	0-3	W9
Tennessee	1-0	11-3	8-0	1-1	2-2	W7
Alabama	1-0	9-5	6-1	1-1	2-3	W3
LSU	1-0	9-5	6-2	1-1	2-2	W3
Ole Miss	0-1	13-1	9-0	2-1	2-0	L-1
Mississippi State	0-1	11-3	5-1	0-2	6-0	L-1
Florida	0-1	10-4	6-1	0-1	4-2	L-1
Arkansas	0-1	9-5	7-2	0-0	2-3	L-1
Texas A&M	0-1	9-5	5-2	2-1	2-2	L-1
Missouri	0-1	8-6	6-3	2-1	0-2	L-1
Vanderbilt	0-1	5-9	5-5	0-1	0-3	L-1