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10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after 2 weeks of SEC basketball
We are 2 weeks into SEC basketball and the first 4 games of league play have been a meat grinder that’s only reiterated what we learned from the nonconference slate: The SEC is the best conference in the country this season, and it isn’t particularly close.
From superstar injuries to big-time performances (hello, Malik Dia) and surprising upsets (looking at you, Missouri!), here are 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after 2 weeks of SEC hoops.
10. Get well soon, Johni Broome, but Auburn will be just fine
The biggest story through 4 games?
Johni Broome’s ankle injury.
The frontrunner for the Wooden Award as the nation’s best player, Broome landed awkwardly on his ankle in the second half of Auburn’s 66-63 win at South Carolina last weekend. The Tigers won without their star, but Broome suffered what Auburn is calling a “significant ankle sprain.” Fortunately, the injury will not require surgery, which would have ended Broome’s college career. Still, sources at Auburn tell SDS that Broome is likely to miss at least 3 weeks, a stretch of games that includes a highly-anticipated showdown with Tennessee on Jan. 25.
The Tigers are good enough to win without him, as they showed Saturday in blitzing an outstanding Mississippi State team at Neville Arena. Dylan Cardwell is having a great season. He’d start at 330 programs in America with his physicality, high basketball IQ, and ability to protect the rim. Cardwell’s presence, along with Auburn’s 3 lockdown wings who all play bigger than they are, means you don’t have to rush Broome back.
UConn’s second championship team is a great example of why Pearl should be in no rush to do so.
Donovan Clingan injured his right foot and missed an entire month a season ago. Danny Hurley let his big man heal completely, rather than rush him back at under 100%. By March, Clingan was a force, winning Most Outstanding Player of a NCAA Regional and helping the Huskies capture back-to-back national championships.
9. Team of the Week: Kentucky, which can reach the Final Four
Said what I said.
Witness what Kentucky did to Mississippi State.
Chris Jans’ program has gone to consecutive NCAA Tournaments with an identity as one of the toughest teams to play against in college basketball. They deny ball reversals, blitz ball screens and protect the paint. They win 50/50 balls and consistently win toughness battles. This is Jans’ best team yet, though, because the Bulldogs guard well but score, too. After 2 years outside the top 75 nationally in offense, State entered Saturday’s game with Kentucky ranked in the top 20 nationally in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
That’s what made Kentucky’s 95-90 win in Starkville over the weekend so impressive. For the second time in league play (Florida), Kentucky shot over 48% from deep. What’s more, Jaxson Robinson, arguably the jewel of Mark Pope’s portal haul, finally started making shots. Robinson hit 7 triples in the victory. Kentucky also proved it was up to the physical test on the road, outrebounding State 41-31 in the win.
Robinson backed up his outburst against State with a 5-for-13 performance from beyond the arc and 22 points in a victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday night. The Wildcats also dominated one of the most physical rebounding teams in the sport on the glass, outrebounding the Aggies 40-30. Yes, the Aggies were without star Wade Taylor IV. But getting Robinson going and taking steps to prove they aren’t just a finesse team that wins with elite offense? That’s “Team of the Week” stuff.
If Kentucky can play physically and continue to score, there’s no reason they can’t make the Final Four in Year 1 under Pope. Is that the best story in college basketball? It’s certainly one of them.
8. Ole Miss is an SEC title contender
Chris Beard is doing magical things in Year 2. Again.
At Texas Tech, Beard’s second team improved from 18-14 to 27-10. The Red Raiders jumped 50 spots defensively, per KenPom, fielding a top-5 defense on their way to an Elite 8.
After being fired early in his second season at Texas, Beard’s revived his career in Oxford. The Rebels aren’t a terribly different team personnel-wise from last year’s 20-12 group that missed the postseason. But no team in America is more improved defensively than Ole Miss, which has leapt from 141st in defensive efficiency to 11th (and climbing).
Tuesday night’s 74-64 win at Alabama was a masterclass.
The Rebels didn’t just prevent Alabama from making 3s — they lifted their defense to limit attempts, holding Alabama to a season-low 5 makes on only 20 attempts, the Tide’s 3rd-lowest volume of the season. Beard’s ability to constantly play big on the perimeter, with 4 switchable guys who are all 6-4 or taller, coupled with the interior physicality of Malik Dia, has elevated this program to a new level in 2025.
Now 4-0 in the league after Dia’s 23-point, 15-rebound performance helped Ole Miss stun Alabama, the Rebels could seize early control of the SEC title fight by winning a tough next 3 of at Miss State, vs. Texas A&M and at Missouri.
7. Arkansas is an unmitigated tire fire
Jon Rothstein may call John Calipari “The Last Corleone,” but his tenure at Arkansas is a hot mess more befitting Godfather 3 than the greatest 1-2 film punch of all time.
The Hogs have top-5 talent in this conference, with 2 future first-round NBA Draft picks in DJ Wagner and Boogie Fland and the preseason top transfer in America in Johnell Davis of FAU. No matter. Calipari has managed to muck up this team the same way he managed to squander mega-talented Kentucky teams in his final few seasons in Lexington.
Davis has lost his confidence, averaging just 5 points per game, to go with 3 turnovers per contest, in the Hogs’ past 2 losses — at home to Florida and at LSU.
Winless in the SEC, it doesn’t get any easier for the Razorbacks this weekend as they visit red-hot Missouri.
6. Tennessee is just fine, y’all
If you panicked about Tennessee after the Vols were thumped off their No. 1 perch by 30 at Florida last week, take a deep breath and think again.
Rick Barnes’ team gutted out an impressive Quad 1 win at Texas over the weekend and then demolished visiting Georgia on Wednesday night. Down by 1 at the break, Barnes switched from a 1-2-2 into man, and 1-3-1 into man press that flummoxed a terrific Georgia team, triggering a 26-4 run that sent the Vols home with a comfortable 74-56 victory.
Zakai Zeigler was astounding, scoring 16 points, dishing out 7 assists and grabbing 6 — yes, 6 — steals to lead the Volunteers. Zeigler’s ability to carry the team as Chaz Lanier has struggled (just 4-for-19 in his past 3 games) speaks volumes about the competitive resolve of Tennessee. Even without their leading scorer producing, Tennessee can suffocate you on defense and manufacture just enough offensively to stack up wins.
5. Georgia will be alright, too
Georgia fans might lament losing their halftime lead in Knoxville on Wednesday night, but the school is still off to its best basketball start in the modern, post-integration era. The Dawgs have a spectacular defense, anchored by the shot-blocking prowess of Asa Newell and the toughness of RJ Godfrey, a bona fide “DGD,” in the middle. Silas Demary Jr., a steal merchant who plays with terrific physicality, rounds out one of the toughest teams to score on in America.
Georgia needs Blue Cain and Tyrin Lawrence, who left with an injury last night, to make shots consistently to beat great teams. But give me Georgia’s marquee wins over St. John’s and Kentucky over most SEC teams in terms of elite top tier wins. Mike White’s team not only will dance — they can win Georgia’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2002.
4. Road wins will continue to define who wins this league
After SEC teams went 125-2 at home in the nonconference and added to the tally with a 7-1 home record on opening weekend, one conclusion was clear.
If you were going to be the SEC regular-season champion, you’d have to find ways to win in the brutal environments across the conference.
This week, we’ve started to see some road teams emerge from the fight. Missouri’s 1-point win in a chaotic game at No. 5 Florida and Ole Miss dropping No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday night showed that even top-5 teams can be beaten at home in the SEC. While SDS bets the “under” on whether the road team will win 5 times in one day again, as they did Saturday when visiting teams went 5-3, the fact remains that road teams have won 8 of the past 16 conference games.
If you want to separate yourself from the other contenders in the league, find a way to get road wins. They will also be worth a seed line come March.
3. My spot to eat if you are a visiting fan in … Columbia, Missouri
Shakespeare’s Pizza is the usual answer and there’s nothing wrong with 1 of the top 3 pizza places in the SEC.
But the answer for a weekend game is Barred Owl Butcher & Table, where you can’t go wrong with small plates (try the cavatelli for a savory Italian sausage dish to warm your winter soul) or the pimiento cheeseburger, made from dry-aged Wagyu beef. The cocktail menu is creative and everything is locally sourced, meaning you support small farms and sustainable agriculture every time you eat at the Owl.
2. The SEC’s 11 NCAA Tournament teams will be:
Auburn, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
1. Way-too-early SEC Awards
Best 6: Johni Broome (Auburn), Mark Sears (Alabama), Matthew Murrell (Ole Miss), Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida), Zakai Ziegler (Tennessee), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State).
POY: Broome.
Freshman of the Year: Asa Newell (Georgia).
Coach of the Year: Mark Pope.
Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.