With 25+ games in the books, we now have plenty of data to start objectively measuring strengths and weaknesses for all 16 SEC basketball programs.
Today, we’ll go over the optimistic side of things for every team in the SEC. Every program — yes, even LSU and South Carolina — has something to be proud of. We’ll go over weaknesses later in the week, but for now, let’s focus on the SEC’s strengths.
SEC basketball strengths
Let’s break things down for all 16 SEC teams:
Alabama: 3-point attempt rate
Alabama is the No. 1 team in the country in 3-point attempt rate with a mark of over 54%. That’s a staggering number, even by modern standards of high-volume shooting. Last year, the highest 3-point attempt rate by an SEC team was also Alabama at 46.6%. What’s ironic is Alabama is actually more efficient from inside the arc this season, scoring 1.142 points per shot on 2s and 1.074 points per shot on 3-pointers.
Still, I view Alabama’s 3-point attempt rate as a strength. Unless you’re a top 5 team in the country — which Alabama is not — your goal should be to increase the range of possible outcomes. Crank up the variance. That’s what taking lots of 3-pointers does — that style could lead to an early exit in March or it could result in another Final Four trip for Nate Oats if things break right.
If Alabama gets hot at the right time, maybe its season plays out like 2019 Auburn’s did. That Tigers team had a top 10 offense and a defense outside the top 30, ultimately landing a 5-seed on Selection Sunday. But Auburn got hot in March and made it all the way to the Final Four.Â
Arkansas: Point guard play
Is there any doubt who the best point guard in the country is? Maybe Darryn Peterson will end up being better in the NBA, but Darius Acuff should absolutely be regarded as the best point guard in the country this season. Acuff has scored 20+ points in 6 straight games while posting nearly a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as well. His combination of scoring efficiency and ball security is extremely rare and will be an asset for the Razorbacks in March.
Acuff is currently on track to be the first high-major guard since at least 2002 to hit all of the following benchmarks: 25% usage rate, 60% true shooting percentage, 30% assist rate and less than an 11% turnover rate.
Auburn: Free throw rate
Auburn is top 10 in offensive efficiency almost exclusively because it gets to the line a lot. The Tigers are 134th in effective field goal percentage but 4th in free throw attempt rate and are hitting a respectable 74% of their shots at the charity stripe. Keyshawn Hall is by far the biggest threat to get to the line as he’s attempted 199 free throws in 23 games. But several other Auburn players, including Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton, could cross the century mark before the end of the season.
Florida: Rebounding
Florida is statistically one of the best rebounding teams in recent memory. The Gators are No. 2 nationally in offensive rebounding rate and No. 5 in defensive rebounding rate. It starts with Rueben Chinyelu, who is a complete outlier as a rebounder. He’s top 5 nationally in both of those categories as an individual as well. Florida starts 3 players who are 6-foot-9 or taller and has a 6-foot-4 guard in Xaivian Lee who is a solid rebounder for his position as well.
The question will be whether or not elite rebounding will translate to March Madness success. There’s not much of a sample size to draw on, but there’s good reason for optimism. The last high-major team to make the NCAA Tournament with an offensive rebounding rate of 40% or higher and a defensive rebounding rate of 75% or higher was 2017 North Carolina, which won the entire tournament.
Georgia: Defensive havoc
Georgia leads the SEC in a couple of defensive categories during conference play: turnover rate (16.9%) and free throw rate (31.1%). Both of those are excellent numbers. That means Georgia is playing excellent defense without fouling, which is a difficult thing to accomplish. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they’re still near the bottom of the SEC in defensive efficiency because they’re dead last in defensive rebounding. But if UGA can shore things up on the glass, its defense can be elite.
Kentucky: 3-point shooting
Kentucky has been the best 3-point shooting team in the SEC so far this season. Long-range shooting has often been a hallmark of Mark Pope teams at BYU and in Lexington so far (the Wildcats were top-25 nationally in 3-point shooting last season). UK isn’t quite as good from beyond the arc this season, but it’s still shooting 36.4% from 3-point range in SEC play this season. Collin Chandler (42.7%) is Kentucky’s best individual shooter but the Wildcats have also benefited from solid production from players like Jasper Johnson and Denzel Aberdeen.
LSU: Free throw % defense
This is rather bleak — one of the only bright spots in LSU’s profile is its free throw percentage defense. That’s not defensive free throw attempt rate — I’m referring to the percentage that opponents actually shoot at the charity stripe against LSU. The Tigers are top-10 nationally and No. 1 in the SEC this season at under 70% for the year. Is LSU actually doing anything to keep opponents from making free throws? I doubt it! But there’s not much else in this profile to point to, particularly with point guard Dedan Thomas now out for the season.
Mississippi State: 3-point defense
Mississippi State has been excellent defensively beyond the 3-point line this season. That goes for preventing attempting and limiting makes. Mississippi State is 4th in the SEC in 3-point attempt defense and No. 1 in the league in 3-point percentage defense during conference play. SEC foes are hitting under 30% of their deep shots against the Bulldogs. Unfortunately for Mississippi State, its offense has been even worse with just a 29.1% success rate on 3-pointers.
Mizzou: 2-point defense
Mizzou’s defense has not been great overall this season, but the Tigers have been stellar below the arc. They’ve allowed SEC opponents to hit just 47.8% of their shots from 2-point range, which ranks No. 2 in the league. Mizzou is also top-30 nationally in the same category. Mizzou is also 50th in the country in average 2-point distance allowed, which is a good indicator that its defensive efficiency is no fluke.
Oklahoma: Backcourt offense
Oklahoma’s guard play has been excellent this season. Transfers Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack have both been good offensively both as scorers and distributors. That’s led to Oklahoma having the No. 2 3-point percentage in SEC play so far this season. The Sooners are also in the 87th percentile nationally in drive-and-kick success, averaging 1.05 points per possession on those plays (per Hoop-Explorer). Defense has been more of an issue, but Oklahoma’s guard play is the primary driver behind the best offense of the Porter Moser era (1.22 adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom).Â
Ole Miss: Ball security
By far the best part about Ole Miss’s offensive profile is its lack of turnovers. The Rebels have a turnover rate of just 11.6% in conference play, which leads the SEC. Among the 4 factors (effective field goal percentage, rebounding rate, turnover rate, and free throw attempt rate), this is the only offensive category that the Rebels are not bottom-2 in over the course of conference play. Unfortunately for the Rebels, their ball security isn’t always leading to fruitful offense — they’re dead last in the SEC in 2-point percentage and 2-point attempt distance.Â
South Carolina: Free throw percentage
South Carolina makes its free throws at a 79% clip. That’s a top-5 mark in the entire country. The rest of the profile has fallen off a cliff in conference play — the Gamecocks are dead last in offensive and defensive efficiency. But at least they’re making their free throws.
Tennessee: Offensive rebounding
I wrote earlier that Florida is one of the best rebounding teams in recent memory, but Tennessee has actually been better on the offensive glass this season. The Vols have vacuumed up nearly 45% of their misses on offense this season. It’s not a tremendously-high bar, but this appears to be Rick Barnes’ best offense since 2019 and the biggest reason why is Tennessee’s proficiency on the offensive glass. Tennessee is scoring 1.24 points per possession on rebound & scramble plays, according to Hoop-Explorer.
Texas: Free throw rate
Texas’s offense is 6th nationally in adjusted efficiency on KenPom and the biggest reason why is the Longhorns’ free throw attempt rate, which is 3rd nationally. Dailyn Swain has attempted an impressive 126 shots at the charity stripe this year. But that pales in comparison to Matas Vokietaitis, who has shot a whopping 205 free throws so far this year. That’s an insane number, especially considering he only has 180 field goal attempts this season. Vokietaitis is 1 of only 2 players in all of college basketball with more free throw attempts than shot attempts (min. 150 FTA), per Radar360 (the other is Appalachian State’s Luke Wilson).Â
Texas A&M: Shot diet
You’d be hard-pressed to find a team with a more optimal shot diet than Texas A&M this season. What do I mean by that? The Aggies are clearly focused on generating the most efficient shots in basketball: 3-pointers, shots at the rim and free throws. Let’s break down what that looks like for Texas A&M. The Aggies are 26th nationally in 3-point attempt rate (2nd in the SEC), 4th in average 2-point distance (1st in the SEC) and 136th nationally (14th in the SEC) in free throw attempt rate. There’s obviously room for improvement at the charity stripe, but I have no doubt that Bucky McMillan’s program will get there eventually. McMillan’s Samford team finished in the top 15 nationally in FT attempt rate as recently as 2023. Texas A&M may not have the roster to be an elite contender this year, but the offensive process has been fantastic in 2026.
Vanderbilt: Guard play
Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles should probably be talked about as one of the best back courts in the country. Both Tanner and Miles hit all of these benchmarks (or better): 59% true shooting percentage, 100+ free throw attempts, 25% assist rate, 14% turnover rate, 4% steal rate. There are good teams out there who wish they had 1 guard who is that versatile and impactful on both sides of the ball, but Vanderbilt has 2. Tanner, especially, looks like one of the absolute best players in all of college basketball this season. He’s scored at least 17 points in 10 of his last 12 games and has almost as many steals (27) as turnovers (28) over that span as well.Â
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
