Finals season was in full swing this past week, leaving us with only two midweek games across the SEC. An explosion of high-profile games mixed in with bowl season’s first contests did make for an exciting weekend, though.
Some teams took the week off while most played just one game. Tennessee’s electric win over Memphis highlighted the slate as the SEC went 9-2 over the week. The KenPom and NCAA NET rankings can be found at the bottom.
Alabama
Last week: DNP
Overall: 6-3
A nine-day break for Alabama comes at an opportune time as the Tide must play Liberty and Penn State, a pair of top-100 KenPom teams, this week before getting another nine days of rest.
Arkansas
Last week: 1-0
Overall: 7-2
Arkansas didn’t exactly find its groove again after faltering against Western Kentucky, but did manage to pull away from UTSA on Saturday in North Little Rock 79-67. Isaiah Joe hit five three-pointers and was perfect from the line to lead Arkansas with 21 points.
Joe is tied with Auburn’s Bryce Brown for most made threes in the SEC so far with 33 and his 46.5 percent clip from long range is best among SEC players with at least 40 attempts.
Auburn
Last week: 1-0
Overall: 9-1
The Tigers got a little more than they bargained for as 20-plus point favorites against UAB. Auburn escaped with a 75-71 overtime victory over the Blazers as Jared Harper dropped a season-high 31 points.
Auburn will be tested this week with a road game at North Carolina State. The Wolfpack dismantled Vanderbilt early in December and are off to a 9-1 start, albeit against less-than-stellar competition.
Florida
Last week: DNP
Overall: 5-4
Florida gets a couple of tune-ups in Mercer and Florida Gulf Coast this week ahead of a Dec. 29 showdown with Butler. The Gators and Bulldogs are already familiar with each other, having played in the Bahamas in November. Butler came out on top 61-54.
Side note: The game against FGCU will be played in Sunrise, Fla., one of seven Florida cities the Gators have played in since the 2016-17 season.
Georgia
Last week: 0-1
Overall: 5-4
Georgia hosted No. 20 Arizona State on Saturday and came up just short in a chance at adding a quality win. The Bulldogs held a 47-33 lead at halftime, but fell apart in the second half, losing 76-74.
Tyree Crump and Rayshaun Hammonds had 19 points each and together made 11 of Georgia’s 20 field goals. Georgia allowed 15 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 19 times, leading to Arizona State’s comeback win.
Kentucky
Last week: 1-0
Overall: 8-2
Kentucky hasn’t played a midweek game since November and won’t until January. Instead, the Wildcats are playing once per week on each Saturday of December. They dispatched Utah 88-61 this past Saturday after falling behind 10-2 in the opening minutes.
Kentucky shot an extremely efficient 58.6 percent from the field while turning the ball over just six times. The Wildcats will meet a North Carolina team in Chicago next Saturday that just handed Gonzaga its second consecutive loss.
LSU
Last week: 1-1
Overall: 8-3
LSU had its hands full with its two games this week. The Tigers dropped a road game at No. 24 Houston 82-76 before fending off a late Saint Mary’s rally to down the Gaels 78-74 in Baton Rouge.
Tremont Waters had 10 points, two assists and five turnovers against the Cougars but came off the bench to drop 18 points and three assists against Saint Mary’s. LSU was outrebounded 84-62 during the week.
Mississippi State
Last week: 1-0
Overall: 9-1
The Bulldogs continued to roll with their second double-digit win over a KenPom top-50 team in as many games against Cincinnati. Mississippi State had just seven players score in the 70-59 win. Six of the players nailed at least one triple and the team shot 12-23 from beyond the arc.
Quindarry Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters each had 14 points, while Peters also dished out nine assists.
Ole Miss
Last week: 2-0
Overall: 8-2
Ole Miss played a couple teams near the bottom of the college basketball totem pole in Southeastern Louisiana and Chattanooga this past week. The Rebels handled SELA 69-47 in Jackson before beating the Mocs 90-70.
Terence Davis and Breein Tyree scored 20 apiece against Chattanooga. Davis filled the stat sheet against both teams, totaling 35 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in the two games.
Missouri
Last week: DNP
Overall: 6-3
No game for Missouri last week, but the Tigers get a chance to beef up the resume with a home game against Xavier and a contest with Illinois in St. Louis. The Musketeers have struggled against quality competition while the Illini have limped through a rough early season slate that featured a pair of conference games.
South Carolina
Last week: DNP
Overall: 4-5
The Gamecocks took the week off, but will be busy this week with Virginia and Clemson coming to town. The Cavaliers and Tigers will be the second and third consecutive KenPom top-50 teams on the schedule. After a tilt with non-DI North Greenville, South Carolina gets to start the conference slate with two more in Florida and Mississippi State.
Tennessee
Last week: 1-0
Overall: 8-1
Tennessee and Memphis met once again in Memphis in a rematch of one of the greatest college basketball games of this century. Though this game lacked the buildup of that 2008 matchup and did not feature a young Derrick Rose, this contest had plenty of fireworks.
The Volunteers outlasted Penny Hardaway’s Tigers 102-92 in a game that saw 67 points scored in the final 10 minutes. Admiral Schofield was nearly perfect. He scored 29 points on the night, shooting 4-4 from inside the arc and 4-8 outside. Schofield was also 9-9 at the free throw line.
Texas A&M
Last week: 1-0
Overall: 4-4
Texas A&M hit the road to hand the Oregon State Beavers their second straight loss 67-64. TJ Starks led the way with 18 points and tied his career high in assists with eight.
The win was the Aggies' first against a KenPom top-100 team, putting them at 1-4 in such games.
Vanderbilt
Last week: DNP
Overall: 6-2
Vanderbilt will have rested for 12 days when it plays Monday against Arizona State. The Commodores follow that up with a Saturday game against Kansas State in Kansas City.
The Sun Devils are 2-0 against the SEC thus far, while the Wildcats defeated Missouri earlier in the year.
