SEC Saturday Recap: Big Boys battle at the top of the standings
The four best teams in the Southeastern Conference battled each other in the best college hoops day of the season. Let’s discuss that and more from the penultimate SEC Saturday.
Auburn falls in Knoxville
Auburn fell in Thompson-Boling Arena in what was a game of runs on Saturday. Tennessee led by seven midway through the first half, then Auburn rallied to take an 11-point lead with 16 minutes left in the second half at 39-28. The Vols responded with a 17-2 run to flip the script and take a four-point lead. From there, UT was able to hold on, although they tried their best to blow their own 11-point lead in the final minutes. Alas, Tennessee earned its third top-six victory at home this season.
UT rode to victory behind their three point guards. Santiago Vescovi, Kennedy Chandler and Zakai Ziegler were the Vols’ leading scorers, accounting for 40 total points while playing even better ball on the defensive end. Aside from KD Johnson, Auburn’s other guards were held to 4-21 shooting and nine points. Specifically, UT’s hydra of point guards made life hell on Auburn’s second-leading scorer, Wendell Green, who shot 2-15. The SEC’s likely Sixth Man of the Year was more than happy to jack up deep contested 3-pointers in key moments.
For Auburn, Saturday marked their third loss in as many weeks. The former No. 1 team is just 3-3 over their last six games with losses on the road vs. Arkansas, Florida and now Tennessee. Winning conference games on the road ain’t easy, folks. That’ll be a theme today.
Woo. Pig. Sooie!
Arkansas is one of the best teams in the country and proved so once again on Saturday with a thrilling win over Kentucky. The ‘Cats and Hogs locked horns in an extremely high-level game throughout and a controversial push-off by Keion Brooks Jr. made the difference in the final minute between two fairly even-matched teams.
For the ‘Backs, make that win No. 13 out of their last 14. With the only loss coming on the road against Alabama. Over their blistering 14-game run, Arkansas ranks as the second-best team in the country analytically (per Bart Torvik) with by far the first-ranked defense over that span. Sure, Eric Musselman’s group stumbled out of the gate to start the season, but in January and February, the Hogs have been as good as anyone.
Kentucky is thankful to finally exit the gauntlet of road games they’ve had against Arkansas, Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama. Between those first three teams and LSU, the ‘Cats faced four of the 10 best defenses in the nation, all on the road, and lost all four.
Again: beating ranked conference teams on the road is darn near impossible. For what it’s worth, the SEC’s top four teams combine for just home loss so far this season with a 65-1 record. You just don’t beat good teams at home.
Alabama ends South Carolina’s winning streak
Only one SEC team had won four straight games heading into Saturday. Frank Martin and his fightin’ Gamecocks rode a four-game winning streak into Tuscaloosa, fresh off of beating NCAA Tournament hopefuls LSU and Mississippi State in their latest outings.
Unfortunately for South Carolina, the Tide decided to have one of their nuclear offensive performances. ‘Bama knocked down 13 threes and scored 90 total points to cruise to an easy home victory. Sorry SC. Like I’ve said: winning conference road games is a tough task.
Alabama, ever the unreliable performers, actually finished this week unblemished. The 19-10 record is a sore sight for a top-25 team but per KenPom, the Tide has faced the best schedule in the country to date. Also wins vs. Gonzaga, Baylor, Houston and Arkansas make for a ridiculously good resume. They’ll be around in March.
Florida keeps NCAA Tournament hopes alive in Athens
Tom Crean’s squad continues to boost the resumes of superior SEC powers. Florida allowed its game against Georgia to stay close for a while but the Gators eventually pulled away and won by 12, 84-72. Mike White’s group sits at 18-11 overall and a top-50 team in the metrics. They’ll be sweating out Selection Sunday.
Wins against Ohio State and Auburn give them a puncher’s chance at the Big Dance, but it’s hard to overlook a loss column featuring missteps against Texas Southern, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. The Gators’ best hope at qualifying as an at-large is beating Kentucky at home next week (I’m sure that environment will be WILD) and making some noise in Tampa in two weeks.
LSU back in the green vs. Mizzou
LSU’s roller-coaster conference slate took a turn for the better in Columbia as the purple and gold Tigers came out on top, beating Missouri by 20, 75-55. That’s a pretty strong a** win for Will Wade. LSU is virtually a lock for the NCAA Tournament due to their total body of work, but this is a .500 club since the turn of the year.
LSU is 8-8 in SEC play and experienced two separate three-game losing streaks in 2022, but their 12-0 start in non-conference rounds out a 20-9 record that includes several quality wins. Tigers will be going dancing.
Bottom-feeder Brawls
Mississippi State isn’t a bottom-feeder in the SEC, per se. But they definitely aren’t in the top half of the league nor do they have a prayer at making the NCAA Tournament. On Saturday, the Dawgs took down the ‘Dores to improve to 17-12 as Vanderbilt dropped to an even 14-14. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Iverson Molinar combined for 52 points — just a shame they play for such pitiful programs.
Finally, Texas A&M continued its winning ways with a triumph over Ole Miss in Oxford yesterday. The Aggies finished this week 2-0 and have won three of their last four following an eight-game losing streak earlier this season. Frankly, despite the huge slide, this season hasn’t been a failure for Buzz Williams. His team fights and they’re only 7-9 in conference play. Hit the transfer portal hard and keep their solid recruiting class locked in and A&M may have a decent little squad next season.
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