10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after 4 weeks of SEC Basketball
Published:
What a week.
From Auburn and Kentucky outslugging Tennessee to Mark Sears and Alabama outshooting Miss State in Starkville to Coach Calipari’s imminent return to the Bluegrass state, we have this league covered as we approach just 6 weeks until Selection Sunday.
Here’s a batch of new sights, sounds, and freshly crafted artisanal hot takes and takeaways after another week of hoops in this season’s best college basketball conference in all the land …
10. Coach Cal returns
John Calipari returns to Lexington on Saturday to face a top 15 Kentucky team (9 pm, ESPN) in a game many across college basketball have anticipated since the SEC schedule was released last summer.
Tickets for Cal’s return are going for a preposterous average price of $641.00. For perspective, that is nearly $300 per ticket higher than the average ticket price of the 2025 Kentucky Derby (currently $370).
Calipari coached 15 seasons on the Bluegrass, dragging Big Blue out of the doldrums of the Billy Gillispie era and into a decade of stars and stability that brought Kentucky 6 SEC championships, 3 Final Fours and, in 2012, their lone national championship this century. All of those accomplishments, however, occurred through the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
After 2020, Calipari struggled to adapt his offense to more modern, 4- and 5-out basketball, and the Wildcats fell off, failing to win the SEC in any season from autumn 2020 forward and winning just 1 NCAA Tournament game in 3 appearances.
By the time Jack Gohlke caught fire and made 10 3-pointers to upset Kentucky in the opening round last March, Calipari’s days as CEO, mayor, and supreme king of Lexington seemed lost forever.
Tired of fan angst and the sense that Kentucky fans had little gratitude for all the winning seasons that came under his stewardship, Calipari shocked the college basketball world by signing a 5-year, $38.5 million contract to coach Arkansas last April.
The move felt like a bitter breakup.
Calipari’s canned statement that the Kentucky program “needs a new voice” landed with the conviction of a scorned lover who joins a dating app to prove they’ve moved on when in truth, they won’t for some time.
At SEC Media Days, Calipari declined to answer questions about his departure from Kentucky, insisting he’d prefer to talk about Arkansas, only to spend his next 2 sentences rattling off the names of NBA Lottery picks he’d coached at Kentucky. The implication was clear: Calipari believes deeply that the stars he coached for over a decade at Kentucky picked him, as opposed to choosing the Big Blue logo and some deep affinity for the blue-blood banners hanging in the Rupp rafters. The sense that Calipari was a scorned man wrestling with the wounds of separation was palpable.
That’s the thing about resentment and bitterness. It’s hard to carry around. Healing takes time.
Has enough time passed for Calipari to be well-received come Saturday night at Rupp?
It might help that Arkansas is suffering through a miserable first season under Calipari and Kentucky is really, really good under its new head coach, Mark Pope.
Imagine if the roles were reversed, as many in the media predicted they would be this past October, when Arkansas was picked to finish top 5 in the SEC while the Wildcats were picked 8th.
After all, Calipari didn’t just leave. He took future NBA talent with him from Lexington to Fayetteville, from 2023-24 Kentucky standouts like Adou Thiero and DJ Wagner to big name recruits like Boogie Fland and Karter Knox. Calipari didn’t just leave — he raided the cabinets on the way out of town.
But therein lies the rub.
Part of whyKentucky fans soured on Calipari was that on the floor results simply didn’t square up with on the roster talent.
Arkansas is now 1-6 in the SEC, with one of the highest NIL payrolls in the sport and a roster that features, at a minimum, 2 likely NBA Draft picks in Fland (currently projected 6th in a Consensus Mock at NBA Draft Net) and Thiero (early 2nd round).
As the wheels continue to fall off the bus in Fayetteville, should bitterness already give way to healing?
9. Mark Pope was just what Kentucky needed — so should Big Blue boo Cal?
The answer to this question is almost certainly boos and jeers, but the question is still worth asking.
Should Kentucky fans truly boo Calipari, given they wanted him to leave?
It turns out that Calipari was right. Kentucky basketball needed a new voice.
Mark Pope, the overwhelming frontrunner for SEC Coach of the Year (see our end of January awards, below), has injected new life into Kentucky’s program with a stylish offense and the care and attention of an alum who is coaching at his dream job at a place he still dreams about. Pope is part of and understands the Kentucky basketball family, which is a big reason he FaceTimes grandmas after games or finds fans in wheelchairs to take a picture. The fact Pope runs modern offense that puts Kentucky on the cutting edge of things, as opposed to playing a style lost in the past as they did in the final few Cal years, is an added bonus.
After Tuesday night’s thrilling win at Tennessee, Kentucky stands 15-5, 4-3 in the SEC.
Kentucky won that game in a place where the team wearing creamsicle almost always wins, and the Cats did so without Andrew Carr and Lamont Butler, 2 of their most impactful players this season. Amari Williams played point guard for 10 minutes in the second half and Kentucky won anyway.
The bottom line? The Wildcats are NCAA Tournament-bound with the talent on offense to make a deep run.
Barring a February collapse, Kentucky will receive a high seed as well, as Big Blue boasts one of the best résumés in the sport, with wins over current AP No. 2 Duke, No. 5 Florida, at No. 8 Tennessee, No. 13 Texas A&M, at No. 14 Mississippi State, and a neutral site game over a more talented Gonzaga team.
Kentucky fans wanted Calipari to leave, and he obliged them.
Now they are chasing greatness in Year 1 under new leadership.
If that doesn’t warrant putting the past in the past and giving Calipari the standing ovation he deserves for leading a remarkably successful era at Kentucky, it’s hard to think of what will.
Perhaps only time.
8. Team of the Week: Auburn Tigers
Picking the No. 1 team in the land because sometimes you don’t need to overthink things.
The Tigers remain the SEC’s lone unbeaten in conference play after a 2-win week that included Saturday night’s epic 53-51 rock fight win in the Jungle over then-No. 6 Tennessee.
I know offense sells tickets, but don’t try to sell me on that game being anything short of incredible.
“Tennessee has a great team. You know how you know that? Our players were talking about how good they were after the game. That’s a respect you don’t get often. That was just 2 tremendous teams that defended beautifully and played incredibly hard,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the Tigers scored the game’s final 6 points to escape with the win.
Johni Broome returned from a high ankle injury, playing 33 minutes and scoring a game-high 16 points in the Auburn win. Broome also made a ridiculous rebound and pass — surrounded by Volunteers — to set up and assist Miles Kelly’s game-winner.
Broome made an Auburn win possible on a night when the Vols guarded exceptionally and forced Auburn’s guards into their worst game of the season. Auburn went 3-20 from beyond the arc—and only Kelly (2) and Broome made triples. But Broome’s 7 offensive rebounders helped Auburn earn second chance possessions and win on the first night this year where they were held to under 1 point a possession.
Auburn’s 87-74 win at LSU on Wednesday night was another Johni Broome show: the big man poured in 26 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and swatted 3 shots to help War Eagle roll by double digits despite a collective 10-33 shooting from Tahaad Pettiford, Denver Jones, and Chad Baker-Mazara. The Tigers can win in so many ways, but Broome is the sun around which their national title hopes orbit.
All told, Auburn won twice with Broome sidelined and now, with the Wooden Award frontrunner back in the fold, continues to play like the best team in America…because that’s what they are.
7. SEC Freshman of the Year race heating up
Is this Texas guard Tre Johnson’s race to lose?
If it is a sheer numbers, numbers, and more numbers game, Johnson, who leads the SEC in scoring at 18.8 points per game, is probably the winner. The future lottery pick and No. 5 overall recruit in the class of 2024 would be a fine choice, but the race is far from locked up.
Georgia’s Asa Newell was SDS’ choice through the nonconference slate, and while he’s had some tough games against physical frontcourts, like Saturday’s stinker at Florida, he’s also shown out for the Dawgs in big wins over Kentucky (17 points, 7 rebounds) and St. John’s (18, 5 rebounds, 2 steals). Newell is the key to Georgia’s chances to return to March Madness for the first time in nearly a decade (2015).
Auburn fans will rightly point to Tahaad Pettiford as meriting consideration as well.
If I told you that Pettiford took 28.4% of Auburn’s shots when he’s on the floor, would you believe me? That’s the number — and it is a testament to just how critical the 5-star freshman has been to this offense, which too often lacked impact guard play a season ago but now boasts the most efficient offense in America. Pettiford has scored in double figures in all but 1 of Auburn’s SEC games, including 24 in a 2-point win over Georgia earlier this month.
Those are but a few of the contenders, with Alabama’s Labaron Philon and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears on the cusp of breaking into the “best freshman” conversation.
Experience reigns in the SEC, but a dynamic youth movement has helped make this league the best in America.
6. Florida’s backcourt is an efficiency monster
The 2 best backcourts in America reside in the SEC.
Alabama’s relentless depth allows their guards to shine even when Mark Sears is benched for failing to play defense, as he was in Saturday’s win over LSU. (No, we are not worried about Sears. He will be fine and Nate Oats knows what he’s doing).
The other backcourt group that lights up the computers and dazzles in the eye test department is Todd Golden’s special group of senior guards at Florida.
Walter Clayton Jr. was magnificent in Saturday’s 30-point demolition of rival Georgia, scoring 17 points on an efficient 7-for-12, dishing out 5 assists and collecting 5 steals, including this 1, which led to an Alijah Martin dunk.
A physical kid and former 3-star football recruit, Clayton can get into the paint at will and is a nifty finisher who doesn’t shy from contact. Among SEC players, only Broome grades out as more valuable and efficient this year, per KenPom.
Florida’s other guards aren’t too shabby, either.
Will Richard, a 6-5 wing with a 6-9 wingspan, leads Florida’s top-20 defense in steals and is finishing a tremendous 68% of his shots at the rim, among the highest percentages in college basketball. His driving layup and finish over Collin Murray-Boyles gave the Gators a road win at South Carolina.
The third starting guard, Martin, might be the most important of the bunch.
Martin is 1 of the top 5 players in the SEC from an efficiency standpoint, per KenPom. His intangibles as a competitor with Final Four experience led the Gators to chase him in the portal last spring.
Martin is now Florida’s best 3-point shooter in SEC play (39%) while averaging 2 steals per game and playing multiple games (Tennessee, Texas) where he wasn’t scored on in 1-on-1 situations defensively, per Synergy. Florida’s defense has jumped nearly 80 spots (94th to 16th) with Martin in the fold.
“Martin’s so competitive. His ability to guard the perimeter has absolutely changed their defense. That guy is why you use the transfer portal. He plays with incredible physicality and intelligence. He not only hits big shots, but he wants to take big shots. He’s a difference-maker,” Rick Barnes told SDS after Martin and the Gators pounded then No. 1 Tennessee by 30 earlier this month.
Martin’s impact on the Gators’ ability to guard should place him at the center of SEC Defensive Player of the Year conversations.
5. Should Oklahoma be worried about being left out in the cold again on Selection Sunday?
Oklahoma might be feeling a sense of déjà vu as they creep slowly toward the bubble.
A season ago, the Sooners were a top-10 team entering the Jumpman Invitational in December. They lost a tight game to North Carolina but still entered Big 12 play 12-1 and were 13-1 after a Big 12 opening win over Iowa State. That’s when the wheels slowly came off. Battling injuries and a tough schedule, Oklahoma won just 7 more games, finishing 20-12 and ending the year as the “First Team Out” on Selection Sunday.
Fast forward a year later, and there’s a lot of “here we go again” sentiment in Norman. On Tuesday night, the Sooners lost at Texas A&M, falling to 2-5 in the league after another sizzling start.
Jalon Moore was spectacular in College Station, scoring 22 points on a tidy 6-for-8 from the field and 9-for-10 at the charity stripe. When it isn’t star freshman Jeremiah Fears’ night (0-for-5, 0 points Tuesday), it tends to be Moore’s. But while the Sooners have electric guards, the frontcourt is not getting it done. Texas A&M grabbed a staggering 55% of its misses on Tuesday night, which allowed them to win comfortably despite shooting 4-for-24 from deep. This has become a troubling trend for the Sooners, who rank 315th in defensive rebounding rate this season, grabbing only 33.6% of opposing shots.
Oklahoma has a terrific out-of-conference résumé, thanks to wins over Arizona and Louisville at the Battle 4 Atlantis and a big win over Michigan at the Jumpman Invitational.
But at 2-5 in the SEC, will 7 or 8 wins be enough for the Sooners to feel safe on Selection Sunday?
4. Hero Baller of the Week: Josh Hubbard, Miss State
Hubbard dropped 38 points on a staggering 28 shots in Miss State’s 88-84 loss to Alabama on Wednesday night in the Hump.
I get that it’s hard to take the ball away from Hubbard when he’s hot — and he certainly was throughout Wednesday night’s highly entertaining game.
But the reality for Chris Jans and State?
They are at their best when Hubbard shoots less — because that means others are contributing offensively.
In fact, in Miss State’s best wins this season (Pitt, Memphis, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss), Hubbard has attempted an average of 11.5 shots. He’s also only averaging 11 points per game in those contests.
Jans knows that when Hubbard is quieter, it usually means the group he assembled around the sophomore star is pulling their weight, too.
3. Where I eat on a SEC Basketball Weekend in … Lexington, Kentucky
There’s plenty of great dining options in the SEC’s basketball capitat, from big breakfasts at Winchell’s on Southland Drive to Coach Cal’s preferred steakhouse, Malone’s, where until last April, you could dine on “Coach Cal’s Chicken” (a chicken linguine) or “The Calipari” — a filet mignon with a broiled lobster tail and plenty of swag.
But for me, a trip to Rupp is best served with dinner and drinks at OBC Kitchen. Named after the stamp “Old Bourbon County” placed on barrels of bourbon shipped down the Mississippi River from Kentucky in the 19th century, OBC Kitchen features one of the rarest bourbon collections in the world and a creative, outstanding cocktail selection that will not disappoint.
If teetotaling is your thing, the food is innovative farm-to-table cuisine that will satisfy almost any craving. Try the pork belly burnt ends as an appetizer and dive into one of the unique chef selections for dinner. If, like Coach Cal, you are back in town this weekend, there’s gnocchi with bulgogi-infused short ribs, lemongrass, spinach, shaved carrots and garlic confit that sounds as heavenly as Mark Pope’s offense. For dessert, the chocolate pistachio bar or warm buttermilk donuts — both made in-house — are a hit. This is one of the premier dinner and cocktail spots in the SEC.
2. The SEC’s record-setting 12 NCAA Tournament teams will be
Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas A&M, Mississippi State ,Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Oklahoma.
1. SEC Awards, end of January edition
Best 6:
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Mark Sears, Alabama
Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee
Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Player of the Year: Broome
Defensive Player of the Year: Alijah Martin, Florida
Freshman of the Year: Tre Johnson, Texas
Coach of the Year: Mark Pope, Kentucky
Neil Blackmon covers SEC football and basketball for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
