The SEC went 4-1 on Tuesday night, with Alabama being the only team to suffer defeat after allowing Georgia State to rally from a 21-point halftime deficit.
There are three teams in action on Wednesday, as two of them must hit the road for showdowns with Mountain West competition.
Let’s get to the picks.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 81-17
MTSU (3-5) at Vanderbilt (5-2) – 7:30 p.m. EST, SEC Network
The Commodores struggled to find a rhythm in the 80-65 loss to NC State last weekend, and it’s clear that this team still has tweaks to make following the season-ending injury to Darius Garland.
Of course, it didn’t help that Bryce Drew’s squad went 3 of 22 from 3-point range, and that’s a number that should seemingly improve in this one.
Nick McDevitt is making tweaks of his own in his first season with the Blue Raiders, and while they have just three wins to this point, they’ve played an extremely challenging schedule.
MTSU’s five losses are to Belmont, Virginia, Butler, Stanford, and Lipscomb, who are a combined 30-9 on the season.
So, maybe we shouldn’t read too much into the Blue Raiders’ issues with shooting consistency (324th nationally in effective field-goal percentage at 43.8 percent) and taking care of the ball (351st nationally in turnover percentage at 25.7 percent).
However, Vanderbilt should exploit a few of those areas and get back on track with a solid home win.
Prediction: Vanderbilt 85, MTSU 70
South Carolina (4-3) at Wyoming (2-6) – 9 p.m. EST
Frank Martin is still trying to find consistency from his up and down South Carolina squad.
The Gamecocks did manage to hold off Coastal Carolina for an 85-79 victory last Friday, but things still aren’t very crisp on either side of the court.
And when you look at South Carolina’s upcoming schedule, that’s a bit problematic. Martin’s group has upcoming games against Michigan, Virginia, and Clemson before SEC play starts in January, so this is a huge game that could help build some momentum before those challenging matchups.
Wyoming has had its own problems with finishing games this season, as Allen Edwards’ squad has lost three games by eight points or less, including home games to Niagara and Northern Colorado.
It’s hard to know what we’re gonna get from either team in this game, and Wyoming star Justin James (24.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg) feels like the only player you can really bank to deliver a huge performance.
This is a coin-flip game, but I’ll go with the Gamecocks to pick up a much-needed victory.
Prediction: South Carolina 74, Wyoming 72
Arkansas (5-1) at Colorado State (4-4) – 10 p.m. EST, CBS Sports Network
The Hogs will also take their show on the road for the first time this season, as they’ll go up against a Colorado State team that’s in the midst of a three-game losing streak.
However, Niko Medved is making progress in his first year on the job, and he currently has a balanced attack in featuring five players averaging double figures.
That’s led to the Rams being pretty efficient on the offensive side of the court, as they rank 13th nationally in 2-point field-goal percentage (58.4 percent), 34th nationally in effective field-goal percentage (55.6 percent), and 47th nationally in turnover percentage (16.3 percent).
Meanwhile, Arkansas is off to a fast start despite ranking as one of the youngest teams in the country (338th nationally in experience).
Daniel Gafford (19.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg) has been his usual excellent self, but it’s been the play of Isaiah Joe (16.3 ppg, 46.2 percent 3PT) and Mason Jones (14.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg) that’s helped the Razorbacks develop a reliable backcourt attack.
But Arkansas has certainly had its issues over the years when it comes to playing well on the road, and that makes this a difficult game to predict.
Still, the Hogs have exceeded expectations to this point, and they’ve shown a lot of toughness through six games.
The Razorbacks should earn the win in what figures to be a pretty entertaining game.
Prediction: Arkansas 80, Colorado State 72
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