Friday’s action at the 2018 SEC Tournament in St. Louis was very entertaining, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone that’s watched the league this season.
The quarterfinal round featured Auburn going one and done at the hands of rival Alabama, Kentucky stifling Yante Maten and company to the tune of 49 points, Tennessee holding off a feisty Mississippi State squad fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid, and Arkansas controlling the game against a hot Florida team that was one of the favorites to win the entire tournament.
Saturday’s semifinal action should be just as intense, as the four semifinalists fight for a spot in Sunday’s final and the right to be called SEC Tournament champions.
Here are some storylines to watch for in Saturday’s two games.
Will Alabama have to move forward without the services of Donta Hall?
Alabama looked dominant in the second half of its big win over Auburn, and most of the credit has to go to Collin Sexton, who went off for 31 points in the 18-point win.
But even in victory, not everything was perfect for the Tide, as three of their big men went down with injuries at various points in the game. Daniel Giddens and Alex Reese were injured in the first half, but both were available to return in the second half if the Tide had really needed either one of them.
However, Donta Hall, who took a nasty fall and hit his head in the second half while trying to block a Chuma Okeke jumper, was unable to return to the game. Avery Johnson didn’t have an update in the postgame as to Hall’s status for Saturday’s game, so things will be up in the air.
Hall was very solid while he was on the floor, scoring 11 points and pulling down six rebounds, so if he’s unable to go, the Tide will need increased production from Galin Smith.
The 6-9 freshman has started the last two games at power forward and has looked very capable as a starter, as have Giddens and Reese.
Can Kentucky find a way to defend Collin Sexton?
In the first matchup between Alabama and Kentucky, Sexton got injured late in the first half when he hit his chin on the floor, requiring a bandage that took him out of the game for the end of the first half and affected his play as the game moved on.
Even then, Sexton still had 12 points in what would be described by him as a poor shooting performance, which can be attributed to Kentucky’s length at the guard position.
However, since Sexton arrived in St. Louis, he has looked like an All-American, averaging 29 points per game over the last two games. The gameplan for John Calipari will be centered around slowing Sexton down, as he is the cog that makes Alabama’s offense go.
But saying that you’re going to slow down Sexton, and actually doing it, are two different animals.
Kentucky has the length and athleticism to make things difficult, but scheming it out and executing the gameplan will be the major key to slowing down Alabama’s offense.
Who will win the battle down low: Grant Williams or Daniel Gafford?
One of the major positional matchups in the second semifinal of the day is the battle of the bigs.
That battle will feature SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams and potential future NBA lottery pick Daniel Gafford going at it down low for Tennessee and Arkansas, as both have played major roles all season long.
Williams has made a living down on the block for the co-regular season champion Vols, but Gafford’s tremendous athleticism is something that Williams and company will have a difficult time preparing for.
Points in the paint will be important statistic to watch for both teams, and there is no doubt that it starts with both team’s star frontcourt players.
Both teams have excellent guards that can take over a game, but seeing how Williams attacks the lane with Gafford close by will certainly be worth watching as both teams fight for a spot in Sunday’s title game.