Note: This story was originally published on Substack.
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There were a lot of important weekend games in the SEC. Some teams took advantage of their opportunities, others didn’t.
Here are notes from the nine games around the league.
Alabama 78, Stephen F. Austin 68
Alabama > Duke. It’s the only explanation.
Even if you disagree with that mathematical equation, this was a great win for the Crimson Tide. Keep in mind that Nate Oats’ team entered this game as one of only two SEC teams with a losing record. Getting this win moves them back to .500 ahead of a tough road game at Penn State on Saturday.
The Tide were tremendous on defense. There have been some struggles in that area this season, and this was a big step in the right direction.
On offense, Alabama did a good job for the most part of handling the pressure defense while finding a way to make shots. The Tide finished with 20 turnovers (Stephen F. Austin came in forcing 26 per game), but several of those came with the Lumberjacks in desperation mode.
Alabama had five players finish in double figures, and Jaden Shackelford continued to impress with a team-high 17 points. Oats said before the season that Shackelford was as Division I-ready as any freshman he’d coached before. He may have been right.
It’s also worth noting that the Tide won this game despite Herbert Jones playing just 16 minutes due to foul trouble.
Having a 4-4 record isn’t where this team wanted to be through eight games. But it’s a long season, and the tough non-conference schedule undoubtedly helps the NCAA Tournament resume.
The combined record of Alabama’s next four opponents? 27-11.
No. 24 Butler 76, Florida 62
There’s no shame in losing to an undefeated top 25 team on the road, even if we did expect more from this Florida team early in the season.
The Bulldogs made shots (52.1 percent from the floor), which you have to give them credit for considering that Mike White’s team ranks 30th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Florida did not make shots from beyond the arc. That’s not a new development. The Gators now rank 290th nationally in shooting 29.1 percent from 3-point range after making just 6 of 26 attempts in this one.
The four-game winning streak gave Florida some confidence. This is one of the most inexperienced teams in the country, and playing the toughest schedule of any team in the SEC to this point has presented some challenges.
However, the Gators are still 6-3.
They aren’t yet the team we envisioned they could be. But the potential is there if the offense comes along.
Ole Miss 83, CSU Bakersfield 67
The Rebels started fast and didn’t look back in Rod Barnes’ return to Oxford.
As expected, Ole Miss fans showed him a lot of love before the game. They also showed him love when he was ejected in the second half after a pair of technical fouls.
“We’re going to fight until people recognize who Bakersfield is and every time we go to the floor, I’m going to fight for our guys,” Barnes said after the game. “I thought there were too many bang-bang calls and we weren’t getting any and I expressed that to the referee. It was okay for me to get the first technical, but I thought the second was unbelievable.”
Barnes is great.
For the Rebels, Blake Hinson was great. He finished with a game-high 23 points, and my regular readers know how high I’ve been on him since early on in his freshman season. His continues to improve, and he’ll be important to the Rebels’ success against SEC competition.
Ole Miss shot 57.8 percent from the field and needed an offensive performance like that after struggling against Oklahoma State and Butler.
No. 8 Kentucky 83, Fairleigh Dickinson 52
There’s only so much you can take away from a game like this.
Kentucky did become the fastest NCAA school to notch 600 wins in a single arena, so that’s a nice achievement.
And then there’s EJ Montgomery’s scoring outburst. He posted a career-high 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting after scoring 16 points in the win against UAB.
Montgomery only had two double-digit scoring games as a freshman. He has two in back-to-back games as a sophomore.
If he can be a consistent scoring threat in SEC play, it’ll give the Wildcats a huge boost.
Missouri 64, Temple 54
This was the SEC’s best win of the weekend.
Missouri had lost three straight, including the head-scratching defeat to Charleston Southern. So, to go on the road and beat a team that entered 6-1 with wins over USC and Davidson, was excellent.
But it wasn’t all that pretty. Both teams shot under 40 percent, and holding Temple to just 2-of-21 shooting from 3-point range was a formula for success for Missouri.
The defense isn’t going to be the problem for the Tigers in most games. It’s the offense that has to catch up for a top-half finish in the SEC.
They’re currently 26th nationally in defensive efficiency, but the 14.6 turnovers per game (243rd nationally) and 25.7 percent shooting from long range (340th nationally) can certainly be improved.
Either way, this was a great response for Cuonzo Martin’s team.
Western Kentucky 86, Arkansas 79 (OT)
Being undefeated is fun. Being 8-1 isn’t as fun, but it’s still pretty good.
Arkansas is 8-1 and was a few plays away from being 9-0 (or 7-2 when you consider the wild overtime win against Georgia Tech). Western Kentucky guard Jared Savage made a clutch 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, and then Eric Musselman saw his team commit several key turnovers that helped the Hilltoppers get the win.
It was a missed opportunity for the Razorbacks. They’ve played a solid group of opponents but don’t yet have a truly great win.
Beating Western Kentucky wouldn’t have achieved that feat, but combining that victory with the one at Georgia Tech would’ve made their profile look a bit better with a win at Indiana being the only other game that would give the Hogs a significant boost before league play.
Speaking of that, Arkansas only has one game each against Kentucky, Auburn, and Florida. I’m not saying they’ll be the top three in the SEC, but I do think that trio goes dancing in March. You’d like to have more than three games combined with those three teams, especially if you’re a team trying to add some bulk to your NCAA Tournament resume.
Tennessee and LSU are the only other teams that feel like confident choices, and the Hogs do get them twice each.
So, if you want to take a look at the big picture for Arkansas based on what we know about the SEC through the majority of non-conference play, making the most of those seven games will likely be essential to a bid.
Houston 76, South Carolina 56
Winning games is difficult when you shoot 32.3 percent from the floor. That’s what South Carolina did against the Cougars.
The Gamecocks have a couple of issues: They’re 322nd nationally in 3-point shooting (27.2 percent) and 332nd nationally (60.0 percent) in free-throw shooting.
To this point, they’re also not as good on defense as they’ve been in recent seasons. South Carolina hasn’t finished lower than 71st in defensive efficiency since the 2013-14 campaign – Frank Martin’s second season on the job. Currently, it ranks 102nd in that category, with Houston being the only opponent that ranks in the top 100 in offensive efficiency.
The best win for the Gamecocks through 10 games (in terms of KenPom team rankings) is a home victory against Gardner Webb.
However, they won’t lack opportunities over the next month. Their next six games: at Clemson, at Virginia, vs. Stetson, vs. Florida, at Tennessee, vs. Kentucky.
That’s rough.
Texas 60, Texas A&M 50
The Aggies are 3-5 and appear to be the SEC team with the least momentum.
The good? They shot a respectable 47.6 percent against a solid defensive team. The bad? They took just 42 shots, made only three 3-pointers, shot 53.8 percent from the free-throw line, and had 21 turnovers.
Texas A&M is now 347th nationally in 3-point percentage at 24.1 percent. Not ideal when you’re a team that’s frequently playing from behind.
Buzz Williams’ squad has scored more than 63 points just once in eight games this season.
Let’s see what the opponent from that game is up to.
LSU 109, Northwestern State 59
Texas A&M scored 77 points in the season opener against Northwestern State. LSU did a little more than that.
Seven LSU players scored between 10 and 17 points. The Tigers shot 55.6 percent from the floor. They outrebounded Northwestern State by 22. They forced 21 turnovers.
You get the point.
And here’s another stat: The Tigers haven’t shot below 47.4 percent in any of their first nine games this season.
LSU is pretty good. Take away the two losses to VCU and Utah State (each by two points), and this is a top 15 team. Yes, we can play that game with several teams around the country, but it’s a thought that proves how good the Tigers have been thus far.
They’ll need to be just as good moving forward since they round out their non-conference schedule with East Tennessee State, USC, and Liberty.
Upcoming Games
December 14 (Sat.)
- Mississippi State vs. Kansas State
- Tulsa at Arkansas
- Alabama at Penn State
- No. 15 Memphis at No. 21 Tennessee
- MTSU at Ole Miss
- No. 14 Auburn vs. Saint Louis (Birmingham, AL)
- Georgia Tech at No. 8 Kentucky)
- Georgia at Arizona State
- Liberty at Vanderbilt
December 15 (Sun.)
- Southern Illinois at Missouri
- South Carolina at Clemson
- Texas A&M-CC at Texas A&M