Everything you need to know about SEC basketball heading into league play

The year 2020 has officially come to an end, and not a moment too soon for Kentucky basketball. It’s largely been a forgettable final few months of the season for the Wildcats, but the good news is that they get a fresh start heading into SEC play.

So with that, what do you need to know about the SEC this year: Well, it’s hard to say really. At this point, everyone other than Kentucky and South Carolina have played a game in league play, with Tennessee looking dominant, Arkansas looking really good and just about every other team showing both positive signs and negatives through the first six weeks of the season.

Therefore, we’re going to skip the pre-SEC power rankings that we normally do on this site, since, well, it really is hard to separate everyone. We know the Vols are good, we think Arkansas and Florida are good, and then after that? Well, who knows really.

Instead, here is simply a recap of what has happened so far, and what you need to know about the other 13 SEC teams as we ramp up into conference play. We’ll go ahead and skip Kentucky, since they’ve probably the most over-discussed and overanalyzed team through the first six weeks of the season.

Tennessee Volunteers

Record: 7-0

Strengths: Umm, everything

Weaknesses: TBA

I’m just going to be blunt, but I don’t think I’m breaking any news here: The Vols are really, really, really good. After bludgeoning No. 12 Missouri on Wednesday in their SEC opener (which doubled as their first road game, and just second game against a Power 6 opponent) it doesn’t feel like an exaggeration to say that in a season where we thought that it was Gonzaga, Baylor and everyone else, Tennessee may very well be on their level.

I’ll also take things a step further: I’m just not sure the Vols have any real weakness at this point.

They have a legitimate eight-man rotation that has a nice blend of key returnees (Yves Pons, John Fulkerson) and star freshmen (Jaden Springer, Keon Johnson) with a couple of transfers (Victor Bailey and E.J. Anosike) mixed in. They play arguably the best defense in college hoops, as they currently rank No. 1 in the country in points allowed (52.7 per game) and eighth in field goal percentage defense, with opponents shooting just a little over 36 percent from the field. On the other side of the court, they have balanced scoring, with eight players averaging at least eight points per game, while also shooting nearly 39 percent from three.

At some point, some weakness may emerge, but it’s hard to see it right now.

The Vols are the team to beat in the SEC.

Arkansas Razorbacks 

Record: 9-0

Strengths: Size, rebounding, depth

Weaknesses: Three-point defense

The Razorbacks were one of college basketball’s mystery teams heading into league play, with an 8-0 record that included eight wins against non-power conference schools, all played at home. It was fair to question just how good this Razorbacks team was – at least until Wednesday night, when they went to Auburn and put 97 points on the Tigers on the road.

Watching the Razorbacks in that game, there were two things that stood out: Arkansas’s size and depth. A team which didn’t start a single player over 6’6 a season ago, now has a starting line-up where the starting point guard is 6’6 and the team only gets bigger from there. The added size allows Arkansas to lead the SEC in rebound margin early, grabbing 11 more rebounds per game than their opponents.

The other thing that stood out was the depth. A team that relied almost exclusively on Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe last year can get scoring from all five spots on the court. Ironically, Eric Musselman is known as the “transfer guru” but it is a freshman – Moses Moody – who leads the team in scoring, followed by the regular crew of players who started their careers at different schools. Of the Razorbacks’ top 10 scorers, only one (Desi Sills) played for Arkansas last year, with two sit out transfers (Conor Vanover and JD Notae) getting eligible this year, and three more grad transfers (Justin Smith, Jalen Tate and Vance Jackson filling out the roster.

Just about the only thing right now that Arkansas doesn’t do well is defend the three, which is interesting, since the Razorbacks actually led the country in that category last year. Auburn hit 15 threes on Wednesday against the Hogs, something that definitely needs to be cleaned up heading into conference play.

Missouri Tigers

Record: 6-1

Strengths: Balanced scoring, veteran experience, three-point percentage defense

Weaknesses: Three-point shooting, turnovers

It’s honestly hard to know what to make of the Missouri Tigers right now. In the Tigers’ defense, there is a reason they came into Wednesday night’s game against Tennessee ranked No. 12 in the country. Through the first few weeks of the season you could argue no one had a more impressive group of wins than Mizzou, which knocked off Oregon (still the Ducks only loss to date), Wichita State and Illinois, and entered their showdown with Tennessee undefeated.

Still, it’s clear that this team isn’t the same team it was the first few weeks. They struggled to put Bradley away a few days ago, before getting crushed by the Vols on Wednesday.

So who are the true Tigers? It’s hard to say.

On the plus side, they are a deep veteran team, with their top five leading scorers all juniors and seniors. Each averages at least seven points per game, and through the early portion of this slate, they were largely rolling. In the four games mentioned above, they averaged close to 82 points per game.

Yet in their last two they’ve averaged 53.5.

And in the larger picture, this team doesn’t have any obvious hallmarks of a team that is as good as their resume would indicate. Even with all that experience in their backcourt, they still have a negative assist-to-turnover ratio (something Kentucky fans can relate to), they shoot the ball poorly from three (just 27 percent) and are good, but not great on the glass.

So yeah, I guess what I would say is this: While I believe that Tennessee and Arkansas are absolutely legit, and LSU and Florida too (which we’ll get to) I definitely still have my questions on the Tigers.

Florida Gators

Record: 4-1

Strengths: Backcourt play, three-point shooting

Weaknesses: Interior defense and rebounding

Over the last few years, no one has been more critical of Mike White than I have. But I’ve been quietly impressed by the Gators early this season and how White has handled things.

First off, there is no playbook for what happened with the Keyontae Johnson situation, but he seemed to take control and navigate things as well as he could through something that was impossible to prepare for. Beyond that, the Gators have largely looked good when they’ve played, beating Vanderbilt, Boston College and Stetson by 15+ points each, with their only loss coming in the game where Johnson collapsed.

More importantly, the highly-ranked guards who were supposed to carry this team have largely come through the season. Johnson was their leading scorer prior to his medical scare a few weeks ago, but beyond him, Tre Mann, Scottie Lewis and Noah Locke – three-highly-touted players coming out of high school – seem to finally be playing up to their reputations. All three are averaging double-figures and shooting over 40 percent from behind the three-point arc, and while it’s a small sample size (only five games), Florida leads the SEC in three-point shooting overall.

With the positive of their guard play also comes the reality that the Gators are woefully thin up front. Michigan transfer Colin Castleton is the closest thing Florida has to an interior presence, and while he is admirable (9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds per game), it’s tough to see him single-handedly holding his own against the bigger frontcourts of Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU and beyond.

Still, this team has surpassed my personal expectations this fall, and credit where it’s due: Mike White has done about as good a job with this group as you can so far. We’ll see if the Gators can keep things rolling.

LSU Tigers

Record: 6-1

Strengths: Putting the ball in the basket

Weaknesses: Allowing offensive rebounds and second chance points

LSU is, admittedly, maybe the toughest team in the SEC to figure out. They are 6-1, which is impressive, obviously. And they curb stomped Texas A&M in their SEC opener the other day. But, outside of that A&M game, their other five wins have come to a bunch of low-major schools, and they lost to the best team on their schedule to date (Saint Louis). So we’ll learn a lot about these guys in the coming weeks.

One thing that can’t be denied though: Freshman Cam Thomas is a star.

3️⃣2️⃣ Pts – the most in a game by a D-I freshman this season 🔥@LSUBasketball's Cam Thomas is a bucket. pic.twitter.com/8onl5C7ITV

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 30, 2020

It’s wild that in college hoops we spend so much time talking about freshmen, yet for all the chatter about Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, Kentucky’s guys etc., Thomas has largely fallen through the cracks. Which is truly bizarre, since he has been one of the best pure scorers, not just in the SEC this year, but in all of college hoops averaging 24 points per game game. That included a 32-point performance in his SEC opener against A&M the other day, and also highlights LSU’s biggest strength: They can fill up the basket. The Tigers are currently averaging just under 87 points per game, which is second in the SEC behind Arkansas.

As for weaknesses, well, it’s hard to hone in on one, if only because LSU has played such inferior competition. The most obvious appears to be rebounding, where the Tigers are solid, but do give up too many second-chance points. That came to a head when the Tigers gave up 17 offensive rebounds to Nicholls State two games ago, but appeared to be cleaned up against A&M on Tuesday.

In the end, I think LSU is another really good team in this league. But it’s definitely still wait and see mode right now.

Auburn Tigers

Record: 6-3

Strengths: Three-point shooting, Bruce Pearl’s coaching

Weaknesses: Experience, depth, turnovers, size

On the one hand, Auburn is 6-3, with losses to the three best teams they’ve played (Gonzaga, Central Florida and Arkansas). Their “best” win is against a Memphis team that isn’t all that good. Yet at the same time, I’m actually quietly impressed by this team.

If anything, I think you could say we’re headed for one of those years where we all look around, smack our forehead and say “Man, Bruce Pearl is a hell of a coach.”

On paper, this team has no business even being competitive in the SEC. They lost their top six scorers off last year’s team, and their best recruit (Sharife Cooper) has yet to be ruled eligible. Yet they’re still 6-3, and there they were on Wednesday, giving Arkansas all they could handle before the Hogs pulled away late.

Beyond that, look at who Pearl is winning with. His two best players this season are Allen Flannigan, who averaged 3.2 points per game last season, and Justin Powell, a player Kentucky fans know well as a three-star guard from North Oldham, Kentucky. He might be the single most surprising freshman in college hoops, averaging 12 points, six rebounds and five assists per game, and is already receiving NBA Draft buzz for down the line. This for a guy who was ranked 179th in the 2020 high school class a season ago.

So with that said, let’s let that sink in for a second: Bruce Pearl is winning when his two best players are a guy who scored three points per game last season and a three-star guard few outside of Kentucky knew about coming into the season.

In the end, this team will lose some games, like any team. But they’ll also win a bunch more, and it’s because of Bruce Pearl.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: 6-3

Strengths: Depth, guard-play, scoring

Weaknesses: Three-point shooting, chemistry

While Auburn has flat out overachieved with its 6-3 record, it’s pretty reasonable to say that Alabama has underachieved with the exact same record.

The Crimson Tide have lost to the three best teams on its schedule (Stanford, Clemson and Western Kentucky) and needed to hold on for dear life against a solid mid-major Furman, but also a team they should beat convincingly none the less. It probably doesn’t help that two starters, James Rojas and John Petty (yes, he’s still around) were both suspended recently. To their credit though, both were reinstated prior to Alabama’s SEC opener against Ole Miss, and the Tide looked like a different team, dropping 82 on a squad which entered the game with one of the best defenses in college hoops.

So which team is the Tide? My guess is that – after whatever internal strife they had – more the latter, but there are still concerns. Alabama is shooting just 30 percent from the three-point line, a bad sign for a team which literally took more three-pointers than anyone in the country. They are also averaging just 13.7 assists compared to 13.3 turnovers per game, which again, isn’t a good sign for a team whose strength was supposed to be in the backcourt.

Ultimately, I guess what I’d say is this: I had high hopes for Alabama coming into the year, and still believe they can get there. However, I also have more concerns than I did six weeks ago and could see a scenario where they don’t get there.

These next few games will be crucial to get some momentum heading into the heart of SEC play.

Georgia Bulldogs

Record: 7-1

Strengths: Point guard play, rebounding

Weaknesses: Turnovers, three-point shooting

Ahh, the Georgia Bulldogs. Tom Crean. Where to begin, where to begin, where to begin?

Look, anyone who has even followed my work in passing, knows that I have crushed Crean through the years, and coming into the season (where they lost six of their top eight scorers) I will admit I was kind of underwhelmed by the Dawgs. And by “underwhelmed” what I mean is “I picked them to finish in last place this preseason.”

So to Crean’s credit, the Dawgs have already exceeded my expectations in 2020, with their 7-1 start. In the process, Sahvir Wheeler has legitimately emerged as one of the best point guards in college hoops, averaging 13 points and 7.5 assists per game. Those 7.5 assists rank seventh nationally and are most for any player in the SEC by a wide margin.

That’s the good stuff with Georgia. But then, just as I was about to give the Dawgs credit, they went out and got steamrolled by Mississippi State in their SEC opener. Which also highlighted a lot of their flaws.

First off, the Bulldogs didn’t really beat anyone of note in the out of conference portion of the schedule, with their “best” win coming against 2-5 Cincinnati. Beyond that, it felt like if you looked closely at the stats, you could see this dip coming. For all of Wheeler’s heroics, the Bulldogs still turn the ball over a staggering 17.1 times per game. For comparison’s sake, Kentucky has committed “only” 16 turnovers per game, against clearly better competition. They also shoot just 30 percent from behind the three-point arc.

Again, I don’t want to drag Crean too much here. He won the games he was supposed to in the out of conference, which is a credit to him. I can also see a major, major regression coming once we get to SEC play.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Record: 6-3

Strengths: Rebounding

Weaknesses: Balanced scoring, distributing the ball

After losing Reggie Perry to the pros and Nick Weatherspoon to graduation, Mississippi State was another team I largely had no expectations for. And to their credit, they’ve largely done what they were supposed to in the out of conference. After a tough 3-3 start, the Bulldogs have won three in a row, including a victory over Georgia to open SEC play.

For those who haven’t watched this team this season, well, they are the quintessential Mississippi State, Ben Howland team. They rebound really well (No. 2 in the SEC behind Arkansas) and defend reasonably well, holding their last three opponents to just 62 points per game (the first six games weren’t nearly as good).

Still, the success and failure of this team will largely be defined by how they evolve offensively. Right now they’re averaging 73 points a game, which isn’t bad, but nearly half of those points are coming from two players, Iverson Molinar and DJ Stewart, who combined to average right around 35 per contest.

If either, or both, have off nights, it will be slim pickings from there, all season long.

Ole Miss Rebels 

Record: 5-2

Strengths: Defense, defense, defense

Weaknesses: Offense, offense, offense

Look, we’re nearly 3,000 words into this article, with two teams to go, so I’m not going to give you an opus on Ole Miss basketball here. Just know this: They are one of the best defensive teams in all of college hoops. But umm, yeah, their offense needs some work.

On the season, the Rebels rank No. 10 nationally in points allowed (56.9 per game), 15th in field goal percentage defense (36.9 percent allowed) and force the 10th most turnovers in college hoops at over 19 per game. Put simply, that is elite, elite, elite defense. Unfortunately, in their two biggest games (Dayton and Alabama) they have also averaged 63 points per game, losing both.

And really, that Alabama game created a lot of questions for the Rebels. Is the defense really that good, considering that they gave up 43 in a half to the Crimson Tide (this after allowing 54 per game) coming in? Or was it a byproduct of an easy early schedule?

My hunch is that the Rebels win some games strictly on defense alone. But it’s going to be a grind for this team, and a grind to watch them this season.

Texas A&M Aggies

Record: 5-2

Strengths: Buzz Williams

Weaknesses: Rebounding, turnovers, three-point shooting

Sometimes in life, two things can be true. And that is the case for Texas A&M basketball right now. And those two things are this: I truly believe Buzz Williams will have the Aggies playing good basketball by the end of the season. But man do they stink right now.

Both are completely accurate.

Let’s start with the second one first, and my goodness are the Aggies bad. Don’t let their 5-2 record fool you. All five wins have come against mid-major teams, and their two losses were against the only Power 6 competition they’ve faced, losing by 18 to a bad TCU team and 17 to LSU in their SEC opener. They average a meager 33 rebounds per game, more turnovers (16.4) than assists (13.3) and shoot just 30 percent from behind the three-point arc. Overall they average 69 points per game, which is third worst in the SEC, behind Kentucky and South Carolina. At least Kentucky can say they’ve played good teams, and South Carolina (more on them coming) has barely played at all. A&M had five cupcakes built into their schedule, and yet here we are.

Therefore, when I look at this team, just about it’s only saving grace is that Buzz Williams is a hell of a coach. Remember, this was a team that probably had less talent last year, yet Williams still figured out a way to get them 10-8 overall in the SEC. Because of it, he won SEC Coach of the Year.

In Buzz I trust, but man are the Aggies going to need it. They just aren’t good right now.

Vanderbilt Commodores

Record: 4-3

Strengths: The sophomore class

Weaknesses: Size, interior scoring

Poor Vanderbilt. This program has just never been the same since Darius Garland tore up his knee. They’re going on three straight last place finishes in the SEC, and it’s really hard to see a scenario where they’re much better than that in 2021 either.

Of the few positives, they have some real building blocks for the future. Sophomore guard Scottie Pippen Jr. is averaging 22 points per game this season, emerging from an under-recruited, three-star guard with a famous father, into a legitimate SEC player. Dylan Disu is another sophomore playing well, averaging 11 points and a team-best 9.4 rebounds per game.

#⃣1⃣ in the @SEC and #⃣9⃣ in the nation with 23.3 points per game.

Career-high 30 points Sunday. @spippenjr | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/bdXPdciIwO

— Vanderbilt Men's Basketball (@VandyMBB) December 28, 2020

That last part though is part of the problem: Outside of Disu, this team has next to no interior presence, as he is averaging close to a quarter of the team’s rebounds this season. What happens when he goes out? On top of that, the Commodores also (like several teams on this list) have a negative assist-to-turnover ratio and don’t shoot the ball well from the field (just 43 percent). Their wins have come against Valparaiso, Mississippi Valley, Radford and Alcorn State, while their three losses, all came by double-figures against the three best teams they’ve played (Richmond, Davidson, Florida).

Again, the only goal should be to finish anywhere other than last place this season.

South Carolina Gamecocks

Record: 1-3

Strengths: TBA

Weaknesses: Staying healthy

At this point, it’s hard to know much of anything about South Carolina. They’ve had five of their nine scheduled games cancelled, and lost two of the three they’ve played. Their sole win was against a solid Tulsa squad.

Again, we’ll find out more in the coming weeks, but their biggest thing right now has to simply has to simply be keeping Covid-19 out of their locker room.

Just about everyone is ready to turn the page to 2021. But maybe no one more than South Carolina.