College Basketball: SEC Player of the Year Week 14 Power Ranking
We are at the midway point of conference play in the college basketball season. Players are starting to play their way into different tiers of conversation. So I figured it to be a good time to go ahead and start putting out conference power rankings. So I am going to do that this week. Look across five or six different college basketball conferences throughout the week – one per day – and lay out the mid-conference season power ranking for each.
Today, we are talking SEC. So as we look across the college basketball landscape, here are my SEC Player of the Year power rankings, version 1.0.
1. F Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
The Buzz: Dalton Knecht is averaging 26.9 points through eight SEC games. The 6-foot-6 transfer from Northern Colorado has added a jolt of offense to Tennessee as they have jumped from 70.8 points per game to 79.6. Knecht has quickly become one of the premier scorers in the country, scoring in double figures in each of his last nine games. He suffered an ankle injury suffered during his 37-point performance against UNC. Playing through that injury Knecht averaged 9.9 points. If you take out that seven-game stretch from Dec. 5 through Jan. 6, Knecht is averaging 24.9 points and shooting 51.1 percent from the field.
2. G Mark Sears, Alabama
The Buzz: Mark Sears has been consistent and nothing short of great for the Crimson Tide this season. The SEC’s leading scorer is leading the way for the SEC’s No. 1 team, averaging 20.1 points and shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from three. The 6-foot-1 guard, originally from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, transferred into Alabama last season and helped lead them to the best season in school history. Sears stepped up this season to take the reigns and with four new faces in the starting lineup, Alabama is currently 8-1 in SEC play. Sears is also leading Alabama in steals (1.7) and is second in assists (3.9).
3. G Antonio Reeves, Kentucky
The Buzz: Antonio Reeves has scored 2,093 points in his college career. This season, Kentucky is averaging 88.8 points as a team, and College Basketball Reference tells us that is third in the country. Reeves is the team’s leading scorer at 19.5 per game on 42.9 percent from three. While the defense and rebounding are ok, Reeves’ main objective is to score, and he has done so a lot, and at an efficient clip so far this season.
4. F Johni Broome, Auburn
The Buzz: Night in and night out, Johni Broome pads the stat book for his Auburn team. If he is not leading the Tigers in scoring, he is leading them in rebounds or blocked shots. He leads the No. 3 team in the SEC in all three categories. In fact, his 8.8 rebounds per game leads the entire SEC, and his 2.3 blocks are second. Auburn is sitting at 18-4 overall and 7-2 in the SEC right now, and Broome has been a constant factor all season long.
5. G Wade Taylor, Texas A&M
The Buzz: Wade Taylor started the 2023-24 season as the SEC Conference’s leading returning scorer. The 6-foot-0 guard has upped the ante this season, jumping from 16.3 points to 19.8 per game. While Texas A&M has not had the season they had hoped at this point, Taylor has shined brightly on the biggest stages. He has scored 20 or more points eight times this season and gone for thirty or more five times, including a 41-point outburst against Arkansas in mid-January. Taylor is also second in the conference in steals (2.2) and tied for third with 53 threes made.
Other Players to Watch: F BJ Mack (South Carolina), G Meechie Johnson (South Carolina), G Robert Dillingham (Kentucky), G Tramon Mark (Arkansas), G Matthew Murrell (Ole Miss), G Walter Clayton (Florida), Zakai Ziegler (Tennessee), Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee), G Zyon Pullin (Florida), G Jordan Wright (LSU)