SEC Watch: Kentucky Likely Out Of Contention, A Longshot To Win The League
KSR’s SEC Watch debuted this season to monitor the conference as the revamped Kentucky program played for its second league title since 2017. Like many spectators, I assumed Kentucky would be in the mix for first place, or at the very least, in contention, until the final weekend of the regular season. Well, we are now realizing that this is likely a big waste of time because Kentucky has already played its way out of the hunt halfway through the SEC schedule. Nine games in, UK is one of five teams with four losses and staring down a game on Thursday of the SEC Tournament if wins don’t start stacking up soon. Still, we keep track of the Southeastern Conference just in case there is some magic left in this group. Let’s start with the improbable climb.
SEC Standings At The Halfway Point
| SEC | Overall | |
| (16) Alabama Crimson | 8-1 | 16-6 |
| (15) South Carolina | 7-2 | 19-3 |
| (12) Auburn | 7-2 | 18-4 |
| (6) Tennessee | 6-2 | 16-5 |
| Ole Miss | 5-4 | 18-4 |
| (17) Kentucky | 5-4 | 15-6 |
| Florida | 5-4 | 15-7 |
| Texas A&M | 4-4 | 13-8 |
| LSU | 4-4 | 12-9 |
| Georgia | 4-5 | 14-8 |
| Mississippi State | 3-6 | 14-8 |
| Arkansas | 2-7 | 11-11 |
| Vanderbilt | 1-7 | 6-15 |
| Missouri | 0-9 | 8-14 |
Odds To Win The SEC
| Odds To Win The SEC | |
| (16) Alabama | +155 |
| (12) Auburn | +180 |
| (6) Tennessee | +210 |
| (15) South Carolina | +2200 |
| (17) Kentucky | +6000 |
| Florida | +9000 |
| Texas A&M | +13000 |
| LSU | +25000 |
| Mississippi State | +25000 |
| Georgia | +25000 |
| Ole Miss | +25000 |
Five Top 25 Teams
When the Associated Press released its new Top 25 earlier today, the Southeastern Conference had five ranked teams and one more with votes. Tennessee is the highest-ranked SEC team at 6th in the AP, Auburn is 12th, South Carolina is 15th, Alabama is 16th, and Kentucky is 17th. Ole Miss is nine spots outside of the Top 25 among the other teams receiving votes.
A Can’t-Lose Game In Nashville
Kentucky couldn’t lose both rivalry games last week in Lexington, yet it did. So, now the trip to Vanderbilt comes with unnecessary pressure to beat the league’s second-to-last-place team on the road. It’s an odd situation because the win won’t do much to help the long-term resume, but a loss could be a death blow. Vanderbilt is ranked No. 226 in the NET, making it a Quad 3 game for the Wildcats. Kentucky already has one Quad 3 loss to UNC Wilmington.
Even with the recent struggles, Kentucky’s raw talent should be more than enough to beat the Commodores. But let’s remember last season when Vanderbilt won twice as the underdog on Senior Day in Rupp and then again on Friday of the SEC Tournament. Jerry Stackhouse has had Calipari’s number lately. Now, he has a Calipari on his bench in Brad Calipari, Vandy’s new Director of On-Court Development. Kentucky cannot let Tuesday night get away from them.
Alabama vs. Auburn Round 2
There is a heavyweight fight on the midweek SEC schedule. On Wednesday, second-place Auburn hosts first-place Alabama in a rematch of their Wednesday night game on January 24 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama took the first round, winning 79-75 to take sole possession of first in the SEC. Auburn can return the favor and reclaim the first-place tie with a home win. It’s the best game on this week’s SEC schedule, set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Johnni Broome vs. Morgan Freeman
Auburn’s Johnni Broome had the league’s funniest fan interaction of the week when he unknowingly swatted away Morgan Freeman’s hand during Auburn’s game at Ole Miss. Freeman is a longtime Ole Miss fan. Broome later confessed to being a big fan of Freeman, saying he first thought it was a fan trying to mess with him until he realized it was one of his favorite Hollywood actors.
Florida Cooled Off After Beating Kentucky
In the most predictable game of the weekend, Florida followed up its win at Kentucky with a loss at Texas A&M, snapping the Gators’ four-game win streak. Florida led in the final minute until Tyrese Radford‘s bucket put the Aggies ahead with 35 seconds to go. The Gators missed two good looks to retake the lead on the other end.
Still, Florida maintained its tournament status in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology. Lunardi has the Gators as one of his First Four Byes. Kentucky dropped from a No. 4 to a No. 5 seed.
This Week’s SEC Schedule
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6
| DATE | AWAY | HOME | GAME INFO |
| 6:30 PM ET | Ole Miss | (15) South Carolina | SEC Network |
| 8:30 PM ET | (17) Kentucky | Vanderbilt | SEC Network |
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
| DATE | AWAY | HOME | GAME INFO |
| 7:00 PM ET | LSU | (6) Tennessee | SEC Network |
| 7:00 PM ET | (16) Alabama | (12) Auburn | ESPN2 |
| 9:00 PM ET | Texas A&M | Missouri | ESPN2 |
| 9:00 PM ET | Georgia | Mississippi St | SEC Network |
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10
| DATE | AWAY | HOME | GAME INFO |
| 12:00 PM ET | (16) Alabama | LSU | ESPN |
| 1:00 PM ET | Vanderbilt | (15) South Carolina | SEC Network |
| 3:30 PM ET | (12) Auburn | Florida | SEC Network |
| 4:00 PM ET | Gonzaga | (17) Kentucky | CBS |
| 6:00 PM ET | Georgia | Arkansas | SEC Network |
| 8:00 PM ET | (6) Tennessee | Texas A&M | ESPN |
| 8:30 PM ET | Mississippi St | Missouri | SEC Network |
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