SEC 3-Point Shot For The Weekend

With about six weeks left until the SEC Tournament, we are headed in to a big weekend in conference play.  Here are three (and one) story lines that Kentucky fans should be keeping an eye on throughout Saturday’s games.

The Florida Gators:

If you haven’t been following closely, the Gators are on a tear.  They have won twelve in a row now and only have two losses on the season.  At 7-0 in the SEC, they are firmly in the drivers seat of the SEC – and are probably the only team in the conference that isn’t playing with some sense of desperation.  Don’t look for much to change this weekend as Florida plays a bad Texas A&M squad at home.  The game to watch will be Tuesday against Missouri.  Florida will be the heavy favorite, but Missouri has looked good at times.  More importantly, it will be the previously suspended Chris Walker’s first game with the Gators.  Florida looks dangerous, but then again they often do.  And a team like that might be Kentucky’s best motivating factor coming down the stretch.

The Cat Killers:

Most games between middle-of-the-pack teams don’t serve much interest to the average Kentucky fan, but there’s one to keep an eye on tomorrow.  Arkansas travels to LSU – a match up between the two teams with a win over Kentucky in conference play this season.  Odds are this won’t be a close game – Arkansas has the misfortune of playing outside their home arena, where they are a completely different team – but if LSU wins (and let’s face it, we’ll all be pretty upset if they don’t), they have a stretch of very winnable games leading up to the rematch in Rupp.  It wouldn’t be incredibly surprising to see them come in to the rematch flirting with a top 25 ranking.

Mizzou Is A Must Win:

By now you’ve heard this debated almost endlessly, but honestly there’s not much room for discussion.  Could Kentucky lose against Missouri and still go on to have a great season?  Sure.  Anything is possible in sports.  But with a young team, every embarrassing and disheartening loss has to be responded to in a strong fashion.  If not, you risk losing the team just when they should be turning it on and building toward a championship run.  One loss to LSU is fine, but you can’t let that same team beat you a few games in a row.  Missouri isn’t a must win because of who we are playing, but because of when we are playing them.  Win this game and the LSU game can be regarded as a fluke.  Lose it, and it has to start seeping in to the team’s psyche.

Honorable Mention:

South Carolina travels to Ole Miss to match up Frank Martin against Marshall Henderson.  The Gamecocks have been awful this season, but they did just beat the Aggies by 28, so that’s something.  Ole miss is currently tied for second with Kentucky in the SEC rankings, so a loss here would help the Cats.  But don’t bet the house on it.