10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to in SEC Basketball: Late February edition

Are you looking up flights and hotel prices in Cleveland, Ohio?

Planning a weekend getaway to Newark, New Jersey?

Debating where to dine in Providence, Rhode Island?

If you are, it must almost be March.

Unless you are suggesting Joakim Noah is wrong and people do actually plan vacations in Cleveland. You do you, but my guess is you aren’t planning to spend as many as 4-5 days in most these places unless you’re hoping to soak in March Madness, right?

The SEC has been the best league in college basketball all year. It’s probably the best single season for a league in the history of the sport. But now, with February nearly in the rearview, it’s almost prove it time.

With March vibes on our mind, here are 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to this week in SEC basketball.

1. Is Alabama turning the corner defensively?

Nate Oats spent the whole offseason determined to not let bad defense keep the Crimson Tide from winning the national championship. Oats brought in the best defender in the portal in Cliff Omoruyi, winning a heated portal battle with North Carolina to assure his team had the defensive post presence and rim protector in lacked in 2023-2024. Oats hired Brian Adams, the architect of dominant NBA defenses with the Philadelphia 76ers and world champion Boston Celtics, to coordinate the Alabama defense. He adjusted his pick and roll coverage, falling less in love with the drop coverage that became predictable against teams with guards who could shoot over it or penetrate and pass out of it.

But you still have to go execute, and through much of February, while Alabama was better defensively than a season ago, they still weren’t good. Only 3 NCAA Champions in the last 27 years (the KenPom era) have finished with a defense ranked worse than 31st in KenPom defensive efficiency. Alabama has spent most of the year hovering around 50th (no NCAA Champion in the KenPom era has ranked worse than 43rd entering the Big Dance).

Worse, entering Saturday’s home tilt with Kentucky, Alabama’s defense was simply dire against top 50 teams—ranking 93rd in America, per Bart Torvik.

Saturday looked no different for a while. Kentucky, playing without its top 3 options at point guard, stormed to a 12-point lead, scoring 30 points in the first 10 minutes of the game.

That’s when Alabama seemed to figure something out.

Mark Sears and Labaron Philon applied high ball pressure, forcing 4 steals and frustrating Kentucky’s ability to get into its actions. Omoruyi dominated the glass, preventing second possessions for Kentucky, who thrives scoring off of offensive rebounds. And Mo Dioubate hounded and frustrated Otega Oweh, communicating with Grant Nelson beautifully to avoid putting the latter in bad switches. Kentucky scored just 53 points in the final 30 minutes, and Alabama roared back to win by 13 points.

The Crimson Tide were even better on Tuesday, limiting Mississippi State’s high-octane offense to just .95 points per possession and forcing 14 turnovers.

Two consecutive solid defensive performances, while at home, are something Alabama can build on as it heads into March. With games coming up against Florida and Auburn, two of the nation’s top 5 offenses, we’ll know soon enough if real progress has been made, or if the Tide simply had a good week.

2. Kentucky gets Lamont Butler back…which is everything for Big Blue

Sure, it was only 20 minutes, and it’s hard to imagine Butler didn’t play through pain. A torn labrum is as tough an upper body injury as you can have in basketball, especially when you are a gritty on-ball defender like Butler.

But Lamont Butler returned last night in Kentucky’s dramatic 83-82 win at Oklahoma. Butler is Kentucky’s best individual defender and best option at point guard Kerr Kriisa, and he is essential to any chance Kentucky has at a deep run this March. Big Blue guards at an almost 25-spot better defensive efficiency clip with Butler on the floor than off, per Evan Miya, and Butler ranks top 10 in the SEC in defensive win shares and box plus/minus.

Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky’s “other” best option at lead guard, also returned from injury last night. Robinson’s shotmaking makes an already outstanding Wildcats offense even better. But it’s Butler, and the continued sterling play of Otega Oweh (28 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block) who made this grown man game-winning drive, that push Kentucky’s ceiling towards San Antonio.

https://twitter.com/CBKReport/status/1894967276526547035

3. Team of the Week: Tennessee Volunteers

If you can sleep on a team that is ranked in the Top 10 and spent multiple weeks at No. 1 this season, then I’ve got some news for y’all.

Everyone outside of Rocky Top is still sleeping on Tennessee.

Tennessee rolled to 2 wins this week, scoring one of the season’s best résumé victories last Saturday when it rallied to defeat then-No. 7 Texas A&M 77-69 at Reed Arena in Bryan-College Station. A nip and tuck 65-59 road win over feisty LSU followed on Tuesday, but winning road games is hard. Rick Barnes and the boys won’t care about style points, and neither should you.

The victory over the bully ball Aggies was the latest sign of just how multiple this year’s edition of Tennessee can be.

The Vols fell behind 17-8, punked early by the Aggies straight line drives and relentless pressure on the offensive glass. But Rick Barnes switched Jahmai Mashack to primary defender on Wade Taylor IV early in the first half, and the Vols controlled the game from there, bucking up on the glass and limiting A&M’s second-chance possessions while holding the Aggies to just 30% shooting in the second half. Chaz Lanier provided the Vols their offense, scoring 30 for the Volunteers, but it was Mashack’s defense and Jordan Gainey’s play off the bench (14 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) that keyed the win. Gainey and Mashack finished plus-10 and plus-15 while on the floor, the two best totals in the game.

Tennessee’s defense ranks No. 1 in the country in KenPom defensive efficiency, but it’s elite even by the lofty standards Rick Barnes has set in Knoxville. Tennessee’s KenPom defensive efficiency rating of 87.6 is the third lowest in the Rick Barnes era (2022, 2023) and one of the 20 best defenses in the sport this decade. The Vols can guard anyone, anytime.  When Lanier hits shots and Zakai Zeigler distributes at the prolific rate he has been in SEC play (41.7 assist percentage, best in the league), they can also score enough to beat anyone in America.

This could be Tennessee’s first Final Four team.

4. Best League? It’s the most talented, too

The roster of Hall-of-Fame, future Hall-of-Fame, and rising star coaches in the SEC is second to none, but to borrow from the two-time national championship winning coach Billy Donovan, “Coaches look really smart when they have great players.”

According to the Consensus Mock Draft (incorporating mocks at a host of outlets) at NBADraft.net, the SEC is chock full of NBA talent, including projected lottery picks Tre Johnson of Texas (4th), Boogie Fland of Arkansas (5th), Asa Newell of Georgia (9th), and Jeremiah Fears of Oklahoma (13th). That’s more than any other league in America, and the SEC also leads in projected draft picks, with Labaron Philon (Alabama), Chaz Lanier (Tennessee), Collin Murray-Boyles (South Carolina), Amari Williams (Kentucky), Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn), Adou Thiero (Arkansas), Kolby Brea (Kentucky), Andrew Carr (Kentucky), and Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida) all slotted to be selected in this spring’s NBA Draft.

That’s a lot of star players that make the coaches look really smart.

5. New Rule: Picked Last in the SEC? Get Your Dancing Shoes

For the second consecutive season, the team the media geniuses like me picked last in the SEC is a NCAA Tournament lock by late February.

Vanderbilt’s 86-84 win at Texas A&M last night all but assured the Commodores will be dancing in Year 1 under Mark Byington.

All Byington has ever done is win, and  he’s done an exceptional job doing it immediately in Nashville, assembling one of the nation’s most well-rounded transfer portal classes highlighted by steely leaders with Power 6 program experience like AJ Hoggard, Devin McGlockton and Tyler Nickel to walking bucket Jason Edwards and underrated big man Jaylen Carey. Byington has also been able to coax consistent contributions from Chris Manon, a tough defender, and freshmen guard Tyler Tanner, who gives Vanderbilt a third effective lead guard. Vanderbilt plays a crisp, attacking style of offense and they are disruptive defensively, ranking 37th in America in turnover percentage. Vanderbilt turned the Aggies over 12 times at Reed Arena last night, helping pace a needed signature road win.

6. The SEC All-Defensive Team Should Be:

It’s not over yet, and there are at least 8 players with a strong case, but at present, 4 of the top 5 players in the SEC in defensive win share percentage per 40 minutes played and defensive box-plus minus are all the same. That means that in a ruthlessly difficult year for SEC awards, the All-Defensive team is one of the easier ballots:

• Johni Broome (Auburn)
• Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee)
• Alijah Martin (Florida)
• Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee)
• Andersson Garcia (Texas A&M)

7. Hero Baller of the Week: Collin Murray-Boyles (South Carolina)

We don’t spill much ink on a team that’s 1-14 in SEC play, but Boyles is worth our player spotlight this week. First, Boyles posted a double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds) in South Carolina’s upset of Texas, giving the Gamecocks their first SEC win this season. The Columbia, SC, native followed that performance up with 27 points and 7 rebounds at Missouri on Tuesday night. Over the course of the 2 games, Boyles made 19 of 27 FG for a staggering 65% FG percentage.

On the season, Boyles ranks top 20 in the SEC in effective field goal and block percentage and top 5 in defensive rebounding percentage, posting 4 double-doubles and averaging a team-high 16 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest. His signature performance this year, as you might expect, came in defeat, when Boyles scored 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a 3-point loss to No. 1 Auburn.

“He controlled the game,” Bruce Pearl said afterwards.  “Just an incredible basketball player.”

A projected first round draft pick in the consensus mock draft at NBADraft.net, Boyles may be playing his last games as a collegian. Not bad for a kid with 1 SEC offer.

8. Where I eat on a basketball weekend in… Gainesville, Florida

Pizza is the quintessential college town food. If, like College Gameday, you are in Gainesville for this weekend’s Florida-Texas A&M showdown (8:30 PM, ESPN2), make sure to stop at Satchel’s Pizza.

A Gainesville institution, Satchel’s is a whimsical and zany combination of pizza spot, art gallery, greenhouse, and live music venue you could only conjure up in a college town. Satchel’s opened its doors in 2003 and has been selling the city’s best pizza (and that salad, tho!) since 2003. When you arrive at Satchel’s, the one man’s trash is another man’s treasure art hanging from the trees may feel more Jeff Foxworthy meets the MOMA than must-visit restaurant. But from the moment you pass a funky Mystery Machine-esque Ford van out front with hubcaps hanging from the trees, you smell the food and realize why so many people treasure owner Satchel Raye’s pizza parlor.

And yes, the food is that good: Satchel’s Pizza was named “Best in Florida” by Taste of Home and one of the best pizza places in the United States by Zagat in the last 5 years alone. With live music ranging from blue grass to funk, the food and the vibes are second to none.

Satchel’s serves up far and away the best pizza in the SEC—and that’s a title I’m sure just means more.

9. The SEC’s Record-Breaking 12 NCAA Tournament Teams Will Be:

Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Georgia.  

10. SEC Awards Snapshot, End of February Edition

Best 6:

Johni Broome (Auburn)

Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida)

Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee)

Mark Sears (Alabama)

Otega Oweh  (Kentucky)

Caleb Grill (Missouri)

Player of the Year: Broome

Defensive Player of the Year: Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee)

Freshman of the Year: Tre Johnson (Texas)

Coach of the Year: Dennis Gates (Missouri)