Maybe the SEC should just hang on to college football a little while longer.

After an opening 10 days that included losses for Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and Vandy (twice), SEC hoops hasn’t made a particularly big early splash. Meanwhile, the transfer portal appears destined to rewrite about half the All-SEC postseason squad.

Here’s our weekly look at what’s happening on the hardwood.

Ugly losses

The ugliest loss of the first full week of SEC hoops has to go to Tennessee, after a 78-66 loss on Sunday to Colorado. The Buffs missed the NCAA Tournament last March, and had lost to Grambling by 9 before playing UT. But the Vols shot 25% in the game and were outrebounded 47-38, en route to a 78-66 loss. UT’s starters shot 8-for-39, and if not for 15 points each off the bench from Jordan-Josiah James and Tyreke Key, it would have been even worse.

Meanwhile, Kentucky looked tentative and inexperienced in an 86-77 double overtime loss to unranked Michigan State on Tuesday night. Oscar Tshiebwe made his season debut and played well, but high-scoring guards CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves (who entered averaging 37 points per game between them) shot 3-for-14 for a combined 10 points. Kentucky shot just 28% from 3-point range and was outrebounded by the Spartans. On the bright side, in his third career game, UK guard Cason Wallace tied the Wildcats’ single-game record with 8 steals.

Florida’s loss to sharp-shooting Florida Atlantic was probably the next most surprising, to casual observers, anyway. Our SDS colleague, Neil Blackmon, spotted trouble before it arrived.

Colin Castleton had 30 points and 12 boards, but Florida allowed FAU to shoot 13-for-24 from long-distance.

Transfer success

Heading into Tuesday’s games, of the SEC’s top 10 scorers, 6 were transfer portal additions. For the record, that’s LSU’s Adam Miller, Kentucky’s aforementioned Antonio Reeves and CJ Frederick, Arkansas’s Ricky Council, Alabama’s Mark Sears and Auburn’s Wendell Green.

Not on that list, but still fairing well is Mizzou transfer/Arkansas standout Trevon Brazile. The 6-10 post standout is averaging 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game for Eric Mussleman’s talented but stil developing Razorbacks. Given the wealth of surrounding talent on the roster, Brazile should be effective all season as a physical defender, rebounder, and rugged post player.

Shootout hoops?

Missouri, under new coach Dennis Gates, was expected to lean heavily on defense. Maybe they will, but early on, Gates and the Tigers are pushing it on offense, averaging a league-high 94.0 points per game. They’re also giving up the most points in the SEC, at 77.3 per game. Not shockingly, the 3-pointer has keyed the attack.

Mizzou leads the SEC with 40 treys — no small feat for an SEC including Alabama, Arkansas, and a particularly guard-heavy Auburn team. (Incidentally, Kentucky is 2nd in the SEC, with 29 3-pointers). Mizzou has also given up 40 3-pointers this year.

Crowd watch

Little changed in the SEC’s attendance race since Week 1. The top home crowds are still Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee, in that order. Alabama is the 4th team in the league to average over 10,000 fans, and the league’s lowest home attendance averages go to Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M (with State the worst).

Mississippi State also has the lowest attendance of any SEC game so far, in a neutral game in Philadelphia against Akron. 5,112 fans showed up for that one, so either Akron has a big Pennsylvania following, or State has almost as many fans in Philly as they do in Starkville.

Games to Watch

The games we can’t wait to catch over the next week include:

South Dakota State at Arkansas (Wednesday)

The Jackrabbits lost some talent, but they won 30 games last year and are always a fun March chaos team. Should be a fun challenge for Arkansas.

Florida at Florida State (Friday)

Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles are portal-heavy, but it’s a good chance to see if Castleton and Lofton can outlast a power conference foe on the road.

Kentucky vs. Gonzaga (Sunday)

The Wildcats get a shot at redemption after the Michigan State loss. If UK continues to struggle, it’ll be interesting to see how long the leash is for Sahvir Wheeler as a heavy-minutes point guard in light of Cason Wallace’s early success.

Mississippi State vs. Marquette (Monday, Nov. 21)

The fighting Craig Janses will play Shaka Smart’s squad in Fort Myers, Florida. If nothing else, it’ll be a lot nicer than playing at Marquette. It’ll be a good chance to check up on Tolu Smith, and see if State’s 3-0 start portends bigger things.

Louisville vs. Arkansas (Monday, Nov. 21)

Louisville has opened 0-3 in some of the worst luck imaginable. Kenny Payne’s Cardinals don’t match up particularly well with the Muss Bus, but it’s a chance to see the Hogs play a power conference foe. And maybe Nick Smith will suit up soon!

Mississippi State vs. Marquette (Monday, Nov. 21)

The fighting Craig Janses will play Shaka Smart’s squad in Fort Myers, Floirda. If nothing else, it’ll be a lot nicer than playing at Marquette. It’ll be a good chance to check up on Tolu Smith, and see if State’s 3-0 start portends bigger things.

Louisville vs. Arkansas (Monday, Nov. 21)

Louisville has opened 0-3 in some of the worst luck imaginable. Kenny Payne’s Cardinals don’t match up particularly well with the Muss Bus, but it’s a chance to see the Hogs play a blue-blood ACC foe.