How SEC basketball teams are playing heading into this week’s conference openers
Here’s how Southeastern Conference basketball teams are playing heading into league openers on Wednesday. The teams are listed in the order of their NCAA NET rankings.
No. 3 LSU (12-0): The Tigers are undefeated heading into Wednesday’s league opener at Auburn. They have four wins over Kenpom.com top-100 teams — No. 55 Belmont, No. 66 Wake Forest, No. 87 Louisiana Tech and No. 88 Penn State. Will Wade’s club leads the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy’s advanced analytics. LSU is No. 10 in kenpom’s overall rankings.
Tari Eason, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Los Angeles, leads the Tigers in scoring at 16.3 points per game despite coming off the bench. Eason transferred to LSU from Cincinnati, where he averaged just 7.3 points per game last season. Eason is LSU’s second-leading rebounder at 7.5 per game. Darius Days leads the Tigers in that category at 8.5. Former Missouri guard Xavier Pinson leads LSU in assists at 4.7 per game.
No. 8 Tennessee (9-2): The Volunteers open conference play at Alabama. Rick Barnes’ club ranks No. 2 behind LSU in kenpom’s adjusted defensive efficiency numbers. Tennessee has lost to Villanova and Texas Tech. Its best win was over Arizona, 77-73, last Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tennessee is No. 9 in kenpom’s overall rankings.
Freshman guard Kennedy Chandler leads the Vols in scoring at 14 points per game. Chandler scored 27 in their win at Colorado on Dec. 4. He also leads the team in assists at 5.3 per game. Now in his sixth season at UT, John Fulkerson leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 per game.
No. 10 Auburn (11-1): Bruce Pearl’s club, which opens Wednesday against LSU, suffered its lone loss in a marathon 115-109 double-overtime game against Connecticut on Nov. 24. Auburn’s best win was over Loyola Chicago, 62-53, on Nov. 25. Auburn is No. 13 in kenpom’s rankings.
Former Eastern Kentucky guard Wendell Green Jr. leads the Tigers in assists at 4.8 per game. Former North Carolina forward Walker Kessler leads the Tigers in rebounds at 7.2 per game. Jabari Smith, a 6-foot-10 freshman, leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game. The Fayetteville, Ga., native has scored 20-or-more points in five of Auburn’s 12 games.
No. 23 Kentucky (9-2): John Calipari’s Wildcats host Missouri on Wednesday. The Cats are No. 11 in kenpom’s overall rankings. Their best win was the 98-69 pasting of North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 18. Their two losses came against Duke (79-71) in New York and Notre Dame (66-62) in South Bend, Ind.
West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe leads the nation in rebounding at 15.5 per game. The UK center broke a Rupp Arena single-game record with 28 rebounds in the team’s 95-60 drubbing of Western Kentucky on Dec. 22. LSU great Shaquille O’Neal held the previous record of 21 set in 1990.
No. 24 Alabama (9-3): The Crimson Tide, which faces Tennessee on Wednesday, have dropped two of their last three outings, falling 92-78 at Memphis on Dec. 14 and 79-78 to Davidson on Dec. 21. Earlier this season, Alabama lost to Rick Pitino and Iona 72-68, then knocked off then No. 3 Gonzaga 91-82 in Seattle a week later.
Kenpom has Alabama ranked No. 9 in adjusted offensive efficiency, but just 53rd in adjusted defensive efficiency. Alabama is No. 18 in kenpom overall. Freshman guard JD Davison is averaging 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Crimson Tide.
No. 41 Mississippi State (9-3): The Bulldogs host Arkansas on Wednesday. After a 4-0 start, they lost to Louisville 72-58 in the Bahamas. Their other two losses were to Minnesota 81-76 and Colorado State 66-63. Ranked No. 42 by kenpom, the Bulldogs are on a three-game win streak.
Iverson Molinar leads MSU in scoring at 16.9 points per game and in assists at 4.4. North Carolina transfer Garrison Brooks is averaging 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. Memphis transfer D.J. Jeffries is averaging 10.9 points and 5.3 rebounds.
No. 53 Florida (9-3): The Gators got off to a hot start, which included wins over Florida State (71-55) and Ohio State (71-68). But a 74-67 road loss at Oklahoma and a shocking 69-54 home loss to Texas Southern killed the momentum. After a 70-68 loss to Maryland, Florida has won its last two games. The Gators’ SEC opener at Ole Miss scheduled for Wednesday was postponed because of COVID.
Ranked No. 30 by kenpom, Florida is led Colin Castleton’s 14.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Charleston Southern transfer Phlandrous Fleming is averaging 11.8 points per game. Tyree Appleby paces the team in assists at 3.1 per game.
No. 66 Texas A&M (10-2): With a strength of schedule ranked at No. 260 by Jeff Sagarin’s computer, the Aggies have won three straight after beating Dallas Christian on Monday. After playing Central Arkansas on Wednesday, Buzz Williams’ team opens SEC play on Jan. 4 at Georgia. Ranked No. 64 by kenpom, A&M has lost 69-58 to Wisconsin and 68-64 to TCU.
Quenton Jackson leads the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game. Virginia Tech transfer Tyrece Radford is the leading rebounder at 6.0 despite being 6-foot-2. And Wyoming transfer Marcus Williams is averaging 3.2 assists per game.
No. 84 Vanderbilt (8-4): COVID cost the Commodores a chance to win the Diamondhead Classic over Christmas when the championship game against Stanford was canceled. Before that, Vanderbilt had beaten Hawaii 68-54 and BYU 69-67. Vandy opens SEC play on Jan. 4 at Arkansas.
Scotty Pippen Jr is averaging 18.1 points for Jerry Stackhouse’s team, which is ranked No. 72 by kenpom. The 6-3 junior from Los Angeles has scored 20-or-more points in four of Vanderbilt’s last six games. He scored 23 points in the win over BYU.
No. 90 Arkansas (10-2): The Razorbacks ripped off nine straight victories to start the season before losing 88-66 to Oklahoma and 89-81 to Hofstra. They rebounded to beat Elon 81-55 and take on Mississippi State in Starkville on Wednesday night. Eric Musselman’s team is ranked No. 44 by kenpom.
Senior guard JD Notae leads Arkansas in scoring at 18.0 points per game. Notae transferred to Fayetteville before last season after two years at Jacksonville. Miami transfer Chris Lykes is averaging 13.2 points per game. Sophomore Jaylin Williams is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game.
No. 105 South Carolina (9-3): The Gamecocks were to host non-conference foe South Carolina State on Wednesday night but the game was called off because of COVID-19 issues. They’ve lost to Princeton, Coastal Carolina and Clemson. Ranked No. 96 by kenpom, they open SEC play Jan. 4 against visiting Auburn.
Per usual, Frank Martin’s team has had trouble scoring. It ranks No. 176 in adjusted offensive efficiency by Pomeroy. Guard Erik Stevenson, who started his college career at Wichita State before transferring to Washington last season, is averaging 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks.
No. 131 Ole Miss (8-4): Kermit Davis’ team was to open SEC play against Florida on Wednesday but the game has been postponed because of COVID. The Rebels have lost to Marquette (78-72), Boise State (60-50), Western Kentucky (71-48) and Samford (75-73) in their most recent game on Dec. 21. Ranked No. 110 by kenpom, their best win was over Memphis, 67-63, on Dec. 4.
Jarkel Joiner, a 6-1 senior, leads the Rebels in scoring at 14.8 points per game. Freshman Daeshun Ruffin, a 5-9 guard, is averaging 13.0 points and 2.5 assists. Nysier Brooks, a 7-foot senior, is averaging 7.9 rebounds per game. Brooks began his college career at Cincinnati before transferring to Miami last season. Duke transfer Jaemyn Brakefield is averaging 8.8 points per game.
No. 208 Georgia (5-7): Tom Crean’s Bulldogs are the only SEC team with a losing record. They are ranked No. 186 by kenpom after losses to Cincinnati (73-68), Georgia Tech (88-78), Virginia (65-55), Northwestern (78-62), Wofford (68-65), Georgia Mason (80-67) and East Tennessee State (86-84). Georgia begins SEC play Jan. 4 against visiting Texas A&M.
Gonzaga transfer Aaron Cook is averaging 7.0 assists per game. Cook played his first four college seasons at Southern Illinois. Atlanta native and Illinois-Chicago transfer Braelen Bridges leads Georgia in scoring at 12.5 points per game. Florida Atlantic transfer Jailyn Ingram is averaging six rebounds per game.
No. 235 Missouri: Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers bring a 6-6 record into Wednesday’s SEC opener at Kentucky, but Martin will not be making the trip after announcing Monday night he’d tested positive for COVID. Ranked No. 155 by kenpom, Missouri has suffered blowout losses to Florida State (81-58), Kansas (102-65) and Illinois (88-63). Missouri ranks No. 192 in adjusted offensive efficiency by Pomeroy.
Despite the team’s struggles, Kobe Brown is having an excellent season, averaging 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Green Bay transfer Amari Davis is averaging 10.4 points per game. Ball State transfer Jarron Coleman leads the team in assists at 2.6 per game.
Wednesday’s SEC basketball schedule
- 5 p.m. - Florida at Ole Miss (SEC)
- 7 p.m. - LSU at Auburn (ESPNU)
- 7 p.m. - Missouri at Kentucky (SEC)
- 7 p.m. - Gardner-Webb at Georgia (ESPN Plus)
- 8 p.m. - Central Arkansas at Texas A&M (ESPN Plus)
- 9 p.m. - Tennessee at Alabama (ESPN2)
- 9 p.m. - Arkansas at Mississippi State (SEC)
This story was originally published December 27, 2021 at 3:26 PM.
