It was a great 8-1 day for the SEC on Saturday, with several teams earning quality wins conference play right around the corner.
There are two teams in action on Sunday, with Alabama and Georgia trying to add victories to their total.
Let’s get to the picks.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 128-31
Alabama at Stephen F. Austin – 6 p.m. EST
This is likely one of the biggest home games in Stephen F. Austin’s history, and that could make this a bit of a challenge for the Crimson Tide.
The Lumberjacks recently picked up a road win at Baylor, so they’re more than capable of putting together a good enough performance to make this close the entire way.
A potential problem area for Stephen F. Austin is its struggles taking care of the ball, with Kyle Keller’s squad currently ranking 344th nationally with 17.0 turnovers per game.
Alabama’s best shot at victory is keeping that turnover trend going while also continuing to attack the glass on offense (83rd nationally with 11.7 offensive rebounds per game).
It’s somewhat hard to trust the Tide given the setup here, but they should make enough plays down the stretch to get the hard-earned victory.
Prediction: Alabama 65, Stephen F. Austin 62
UMass at Georgia – 6 p.m. EST, SEC Network
Georgia still has a little ways to go to be an NCAA Tournament type of team, but Tom Crean is doing a good job of developing the current roster.
The Bulldogs have struggled to find consistency when it comes to limit turnovers (321st nationally in turnover percentage at 22.5 percent), and that may be what holds this team back.
As for UMass, it’s done a good job on the offensive side of the court (29th nationally in effective field-goal percentage at 55.5 percent), but it won’t be easy to score against a Georgia team that is 14th nationally in that category defensively at 43.5 percent.
Crean’s group has a huge size advantage in this matchup, and that may prove to be the difference in picking up the win.
Prediction: Georgia 73, UMass 64
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