It was a wild opening night in college basketball, and the two SEC teams who had the most surprising results are the ones that are typically always in the conference title hunt.
Florida and Kentucky were blown out by ACC competition, as Florida State and Duke did not mess around in flexing their muscles in the game one of the new season.
There’s only one SEC game on Wednesday’s slate, with Billy Kennedy getting an opportunity to showcase his new-look Texas A&M team.
Unfortunately, the quest for an undefeated season predictions-wise took a hit with the Wildcats’ loss, but that was the only misfire on the initial set of games.
As always, my predictions are straight up picks and do not factor in the spread or over/unders.
Let’s get to the predictions.
Season Predictions Record: 8-1
Savannah State at Texas A&M – 9:30 PM EST, SECN+ (Game Preview)
The Aggies will try to force the tempo this season after having a more methodical attack in recent years due to the dominance of Robert Williams and Tyler Davis.
There is always an adjustment period when implementing a new style, but the good news for Kennedy’s squad is that it’ll get a first-hand look at just how fast a college basketball team can play when Savannah State steps onto the court.
The Tigers had the fastest average offensive possession length of any team in the country last season at 12.5 seconds, and Horace Broadnax should keep things rolling along despite replacing all five starters.
Texas A&M will run everything through TJ Starks and Admon Gilder, and how newcomers Josh Nebo and Christian Mekowulu fit into the mix will decide how far this team can go.
Savannah State’s style of play could present some challenges here for the Aggies since there are more unknowns than there have been in a while in College Station.
Kennedy’s group picked up a huge blowout win in this matchup last season, but both teams will obviously look way different in this particular meeting.
The only reason I’m picking the score to be closer than expected is due to not having a great feel for how things will flow without Williams and Davis on the court.
However, Texas A&M should pull away down the stretch to pick up the win.
Prediction: Texas A&M 92, Savannah State 80
For more SEC basketball coverage, follow me on Twitter @theblakelovell.