After a delayed start and a disjointed first few weeks, the college basketball season finally feels like it has hit its stride. The vast majority of conferences, including the SEC, have kicked off league play and the first NET rankings of the season were revealed Monday. Missouri, which has four Quadrant I wins, tied for the most in the country, debuted at No. 10.
The Tigers started SEC play on a somber note, falling into an early hole and ultimately losing by 20 to No. 4 Tennessee for the team's first defeat of the season. Missouri then rebounded with a 13-point win at previously unbeaten Arkansas on Saturday.
The team's first week of SEC play seems to be indicative of life in a league where pretty much any team can beat any other on a given night. Of the nine teams that have played two conference games so far, six sit 1-1. Out of the 13 teams who have taken the floor for a league game, 11 already have a loss. South Carolina, which spent more than three weeks on pause due to positive COVID-19 tests within the program, has yet to play a conference game and has taken the floor just once since Dec. 5. The Gamecocks are expected to be able to play Texas A&M on Wednesday.
At the start of each week during the season, we will refresh the SEC standings, highlight a few notable results from the previous set of games and look forward to the matchups to come. Here is this week's SEC hoops roundup.
Risers and Fallers
Certainly the team with the best, and most surprising, opening week of conference play was Alabama. Nate Oates' team didn't beat an opponent ranked in the NET top 50 during non-conference play, but the Crimson Tide knocked off Ole Miss at home, then stunned Tennessee on the road. Alabama has been known more for its run-and-gun offensive style under Oates, but the Crimson Tide's success this week largely came from the defensive end. Alabama held Ole Miss to 64 points and Tennessee to 63. The Rebels shot just 33.8 percent from the field and 7.7 percent from three, while Tennessee, which had just made 50 percent of its shots against Missouri, shot 31.8 percent overall and 19.0 percent from three against the Crimson Tide.
Florida also got off to a 2-0 start despite taking more than two weeks off after preseason SEC player of the year Keyontae Johnson collapsed during the team's Dec. 12 loss at Florida State. The Gators brought back two former five-star recruits in sophomores Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann in the backcourt, and the duo combined to score 36 points in the team's shootout win over LSU. The star of the week for Florida, though, was junior forward Colin Castleton. Castleton, who averaged just 3.1 points in eight minutes per game last season, averaged 22 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in Florida's two wins this week.
Auburn got off to the worst start in league play. The Tigers, who have already self-imposed a postseason ban for this year and are playing without five-star freshman Sharife Cooper as he awaits clearance by the NCAA, gave up 97 points to Auburn, then mustered just 22 in the first half against Texas A&M. Auburn nearly climbed out of its early hole against the Aggies but ultimately fell 66-64 to become the SEC's only 0-2 team.
Mizzou opponent tracker
This week, Missouri will travel to Mississippi State on Tuesday and host LSU on Saturday. Let's take a look at how each fared last week.
Mississippi State started conference play with an impressive, 10-point win on the road against previously-undefeated Georgia. The Bulldogs looked like they might follow it up with their first win over Kentucky since John Calipari took over in Lexington in 2009, but the Wildcats prevailed in double-overtime despite Mississippi State leading by as many as nine points in the final 10 minutes and Calipari being ejected.
LSU cruised to a 23-point beatdown of Texas A&M to open league play but couldn't quite keep pace with Florida on Saturday. The Tigers' high-octane offense has been led by freshman sensation Cameron Thomas, who is averaging 24.6 points per game on the season, fifth best in the country. Thomas has scored at least 28 points in three consecutive games. It's not just Thomas that Missouri will have to worry about defending, however; LSU as a team ranks fifth nationally in offensive efficiency and 10th in scoring at 85.9 points per game. Those numbers might have been propped up a bit by playing weak competition, however; LSU has played just two opponents ranked in the top 80 by KenPom and lost to both.
This week's schedule
Tuesday, Jan. 5
Florida at Alabama: 6 p.m., ESPN2
Vanderbilt at Kentucky: 6 p.m., SEC Network
Missouri at Mississippi State: 8 p.m., SEC Network
Wednesday, Jan. 6
Arkansas at Tennessee: 6 p.m: ESPN2
Georgia at LSU: 6 p.m., SEC Network
Texas A&M at South Carolina: 8 p.m., ESPNU
Auburn at Ole Miss: 8 p.m., SEC Network
Saturday, Jan. 9
Alabama at Auburn: 11 a.m., ESPN2
Mississippi State at Vanderbilt: 12 p.m., SEC Network
Tennessee at Texas A&M: 1 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia at Arkansas: 2:30 p.m., SEC Network
Kentucky at Florida: 4 p.m., ESPN
South Carolina at Ole Miss: 5 p.m., SEC Network
LSU at Missouri, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
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