Since I'm tired of recruiting banter... What are your MUST WIN SEC Basketball games?
We've discussed our predictions for records, but what about your "cannot afford to lose" games? Every year, we lose a headscratcher or two, so here are my "must win" games for SEC play:
1. Tennessee at home. They've had some pretty bad losses, but played a tough game against a somewhat strong Memphis team. Being early in the season, a loss here could really hurt.
2. South Carolina- On the road. A BAD USCe team. Shouldn't have a problem with them, so long as we aren't sleeping.
3. Auburn (Home and Away)- Although Auburn is 10-4 right now, they probably will have a tough time in Conference play. Hopefully Stans and the boys will keep in mind the 18 point lead we blew last year.
4. LSU, Arky, and Ole Miss at home- These teams will be fairly respectable in the conference this year and have the capability to beat us on the road. Although I certainly don't want us to lose on the road, a loss at home could be pretty devastating. Protecting the home floor in these games will be crucial.
5. Above these, but not quite in the ABSOLUTELY MUST WIN category would be LSU, Arky, and Ole Miss on the road, UGA at home, and Bama at home. If we can win these games, we can hopefully avoid having anymore games in the "bad loss" category.
Also to add*- Certainly, I don't want us to lose ANY games, but if I were to put a star by the SEC games this team must win, these would be my highlights. Since home losses carry much more weight, protecting the home floor against the teams we really need to beat will be crucial to our chances at an NCAAT At-Large berth and respectable seeding.
We've discussed our predictions for records, but what about your "cannot afford to lose" games? Every year, we lose a headscratcher or two, so here are my "must win" games for SEC play:
1. Tennessee at home. They've had some pretty bad losses, but played a tough game against a somewhat strong Memphis team. Being early in the season, a loss here could really hurt.
2. South Carolina- On the road. A BAD USCe team. Shouldn't have a problem with them, so long as we aren't sleeping.
3. Auburn (Home and Away)- Although Auburn is 10-4 right now, they probably will have a tough time in Conference play. Hopefully Stans and the boys will keep in mind the 18 point lead we blew last year.
4. LSU, Arky, and Ole Miss at home- These teams will be fairly respectable in the conference this year and have the capability to beat us on the road. Although I certainly don't want us to lose on the road, a loss at home could be pretty devastating. Protecting the home floor in these games will be crucial.
5. Above these, but not quite in the ABSOLUTELY MUST WIN category would be LSU, Arky, and Ole Miss on the road, UGA at home, and Bama at home. If we can win these games, we can hopefully avoid having anymore games in the "bad loss" category.
Also to add*- Certainly, I don't want us to lose ANY games, but if I were to put a star by the SEC games this team must win, these would be my highlights. Since home losses carry much more weight, protecting the home floor against the teams we really need to beat will be crucial to our chances at an NCAAT At-Large berth and respectable seeding.
