Lovell’s SEC Basketball Notebook: December 20

By
Blake Lovell
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The SEC went 8-1 on Tuesday, with several teams surviving great efforts from upset-minded road teams.

That helped the league get back on track after a disappointing weekend, and four teams will be in action on Wednesday to try to keep the momentum rolling.

Let’s dive into today’s notebook.

– For the second time in four days, I thought Auburn had the best win of the night. Murray State is not an easy place to win, and the Tigers made plays down the stretch (especially Jared Harper) that resulted in a quality victory. People can say what they want about Bruce Pearl, but he’s done a masterful job of keeping his team motivated and focused through everything that’s happened off the court. They’re playing with a ton of confidence and a hard-nosed mentality that’s translated to the defensive end of the floor. This is an NCAA Tournament caliber team even with Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy sidelined.

– I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned about Alabama right now. The Crimson Tide escaped with a one-point win over a quality Mercer squad, which is obviously better than a loss. However, for Alabama to reach its ceiling, it’ll have to get better at putting teams away as well as make better decisions in crucial moments. Considering that several freshmen are in situations of having to make those important plays and decisions, it makes sense that the good will sometimes be accompanied by the bad. Of course, the hope is that the latter doesn’t outweigh the former and cost the Tide too many games this season. Braxton Key looked understandably rusty in his first game back, and I think he’ll get back to form sooner rather than later.

– Without Robert Williams, Admon Gilder, and T.J. Starks on the court, it was inevitable that No. 8 Texas A&M would struggle against a solid Northern Kentucky squad. The Aggies hit only 2 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc and never found a rhythm with those three sidelined. This type of performance is unlikely to become the norm, as I’d chalk it up to missing three key members of the rotation.

– Missouri managed to hold off Stephen F. Austin by a single point, and while I know we’re SEC-centric here, it’s worth pointing out that the Lumberjacks are a very good team. They went into Baton Rouge and came out with a win at LSU, and then came up just short in Columbia. What happened after the game shows you exactly what Cuonzo Martin thinks of the job that Kyle Keller is doing.

– Even with the 21-point win over Georgia Tech, I still have no idea what to make of Georgia. The Bulldogs are 8-2 and have wins over Saint Mary’s (neutral) and Marquette (road), but the loss to UMass and sometimes inconsistent guard play leaves me unsure of what to expect of this team once we get into SEC play.

– Arkansas scored 104 points in its 35-point win over Oral Roberts, and the Hogs have now hit 92 points or more in 7 of 11 games this season. They’ve scored under 83 just twice. It’s going to be hard to win at Bud Walton Arena this season.

– LSU bounced back from the tough loss to Stephen F. Austin by scoring an 80-58 win over Sam Houston State. The Tigers had great scoring balance with five players in double figures, but it was the play of Randy Onwuasor that stood out most. The Southern Utah transfer hit double figures for only the second time this season, but finding more consistency going forward should translate into more minutes.

– For those who wondered why I had South Carolina at No. 13 in my preseason SEC power rankings, it was because of the fear of performances like the one they had at Clemson. The Gamecocks only scored 48 points and were simply not good on the offensive end of the floor. They went 2 of 16 from 3-point range, turned the ball over 14 times, and second and third leading scorers Frank Booker and Justin Minaya combined to go 0 of 10 from the floor.

– Ole Miss snapped its three-game home losing streak with a blowout victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Rebels hit 14 3-pointers, but were led in scoring by two frontcourt players – Justas Furmanavicius and Dominik Olejniczak each had 15 points – which is a nice development for a team struggling to find inside production post-Sebastian Saiz.

– Teams with something to prove tonight: Florida and Vanderbilt. Both should win against lesser competition, but they need to do so in convincing fashion. These two open up SEC play against each other in Gainesville on December 30, and both have to find their way again after enduring major struggles over the past month.

– Wednesday’s full SEC slate: James Madison at Florida, Houston Baptist at Vanderbilt, Little Rock at Mississippi State, Furman at Tennessee.

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