SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Kentucky continues to struggle, Georgia shines and Mizzou surprises
By this time next week, every team in the SEC should finally have played in actual games. We’re still waiting on Tennessee and Ole Miss to join the 2020-21 party, as both programs have had to pause due to COVID-19 issues.
In this latest AP Poll, only Tennessee is ranked, checking in at No. 12. Kentucky, after an awful loss at Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon, fell out of the rankings and currently sports a 1-3 record.
So, how far did the Wildcats fall? Which teams stand atop the SEC as we enter the second week of December?
Here’s a look at this week’s SEC basketball power rankings:
14. Mississippi State (2-2 overall, Last week: 14)
The Bulldogs got a nice boost when Iverson Molinar returned to the lineup in a 69-63 win over North Texas. But they should have been beating a team like North Texas by a lot more than 6 points. DJ Stewart Jr. led the Bulldogs again with 16 points. He has been their top scorer in all 4 games. Keep an eye on him moving forward.
13. Vanderbilt (1-0, LW: 13)
The Commodores still haven’t played another game since a season-opening 77-71 win over Valparaiso on Nov. 27. They were supposed to play a pair of games before next Tuesday — vs. NC Central on Friday and vs. Mississippi Valley State on Sunday. However, on Monday, the Commodores had to cancel the NC Central game due to COVID-19 issues in the program. We’ll see if they can play on Sunday.
12. Ole Miss (0-0, LW: 12)
Still waiting for my first chance to see Romello White in an Ole Miss uniform. He was one of the transfer players I was most excited to watch this year, but COVID-19 issues have prevented that from happening thus far. Fortunately, the Rebels are scheduled to play 3 home games (vs. Jackson State on Thursday, UNC Wilmington on Saturday and Central Arkansas on Monday) before the next power rankings come out.
11. South Carolina (1-2, LW: 9)
The Gamecocks held a 35-31 halftime lead at No. 10 Houston (which is up to No. 7 in this week’s AP Poll) over the weekend but completely imploded in the second half of the 77-67 road loss. South Carolina desperately needs AJ Lawson to step up. He had only 5 points in 29 minutes of action against the Cougars. He went 2-for-10 from the field, 0-for-5 from 3-point range and 1-for-3 from the free-throw line in that game. He needs to be way more consistent if the Gamecocks are going to turn things around in time for SEC play.
10. Auburn (2-2, LW: 10)
The Tigers’ strategy this year is once again going to be live by the 3, die by the 3. Well, on Friday night, they lived with it against South Alabama. The Tigers made a school-record 22 3-point shots. Freshman Justin Powell took 9 shots, and all 9 were from long range. He made 7 of them for a total of 26 points. Look at this range from the sharpshooting freshman:
Justin Powell was on fire last night. What I really liked was his feel for zone rotations. He set up most of his own looks by anticipating when the man covering his area of the perimeter would sink too hard and wait for the swing back in quick trigger position with clean footwork pic.twitter.com/bBYV3hJ1Wx
— Drew (@orangeanddrew) December 6, 2020
If the Tigers make 3s, they can beat anyone. The defense needs some work, though, because only beating South Alabama by 9 is concerning. We’ll see what happens this week against Memphis on Saturday.
9. Georgia (3-0, LW: 11)
Here’s a fun stat courtesy of the Georgia media folks: Sahvir Wheeler is the first SEC player to start the season with 3-straight points-assists double-doubles since at least 2000. He had 21 points and 10 assists in his latest effort against Jacksonville. This only counted as 1 assist, but what an assist it was:
Sahvir Wheeler is going to go down as the guy who resurrected this program. He’ll be 4 year guy and he will lead the Dawgs back to be IGA consistent tournament team pic.twitter.com/SnX0faYWCt
— Graham Coffey (@DawgOutWest) December 5, 2020
He’s quickly becoming one of the best players in the SEC. We’ll see if he can keep his double-double run going against Montana and Samford this week.
8. Kentucky (1-3, LW: 2)
The Wildcats are as careless with the basketball as I was with the first pair of Oakleys I ever owned. I got them for high school graduation and they were broken before I set foot on Mizzou’s campus that fall. I’ve learned my lesson about taking care of my belongings. Will the Wildcats learn to take care of the ball?
Here’s a montage of some of Kentucky’s 21 (yes, 21) turnovers in Sunday’s inexplicable loss against a previously winless Georgia Tech team:
B.J. Boston has to make the bounce pass. His defender’s hands are up and he is off the floor. Pass fakes, faking up & passing down, & faking down & passing up are fundamentals this team is going to have to learn on the fly. @KentuckyRivals pic.twitter.com/RxwWWwI0P6
— David Sisk (@CoachDavidSisk) December 7, 2020
Decision making. Clarke has to see Sarr Open in the lane when he dribbles up. Askew can’t leave his feet to make passes. Individual confusion lead to desperation, bail outs, and poor fundamentals. They also led to easy GT scores. @KentuckyRivals pic.twitter.com/0aKzTEV2I8
— David Sisk (@CoachDavidSisk) December 7, 2020
Another turnover that leads to a bunny. Georgia Tech trapped the corner the whole game. Should not be caught off guard. Clarke immediately puts ball over his head. Can’t put anything on the ball. A dying quail thrown across the floor. Easy steal & finish. @KentuckyRivals pic.twitter.com/dMIVjI6BVl
— David Sisk (@CoachDavidSisk) December 7, 2020
This is a bad bounce pass from Devin Askew. Not a catchable ball. Hits his man in the shin from short range. It creates a transition opportunity for Georgia Tech. Even though it is a miss, it’s still a wide open three. @KentuckyRivals pic.twitter.com/myEvyXBDWU
— David Sisk (@CoachDavidSisk) December 7, 2020
These are mistakes middle school basketball teams don’t make too often. Kentucky still has plenty of talent, but if the younger guys can’t figure out how to stop giving the ball away, it could be a long season in Lexington. This squad has really been hurt by limited practice time due to COVID-19.
7. Alabama (3-1, LW: 8)
I was really down on the Crimson Tide after an 18-point loss to Stanford in the Maui Invitational. However, Alabama bounced back nicely, taking down UNLV and Providence to finish the tournament on a high note. John Petty was back to his normal self in those games. Look at this wild, off-balance 3 he hit against Providence:
.@jpetty2324 saves the loose ball, waits a second and drains a corner 3! pic.twitter.com/NqWzbrvGGj
— Crimson Crossover (@CrimsonXover) December 3, 2020
If he’s making shots like that, he can carry Alabama to victory on a nightly basis. When he struggles like he did against Stanford (7 points), the Tide will have trouble winning. We’ll see how he fares against Clemson on Saturday.
6. Texas A&M (3-0, LW: 7)
After he missed the season-opener against New Orleans, sophomore Emanuel Miller has been dominant in the past 2 games. He had a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double against Tarleton State on Wednesday and a 21-point, 10-board double-double against UT Rio Grande on Sunday. If he keeps playing like this, the Aggies should continue to win even as their schedule gets tougher. We’ll see how this team fares against 4-1 TCU on Saturday.
5. LSU (3-1, LW: 5)
Freshman guard Cam Thomas is a pure scorer, plain and simple. He loves his step-back 3-point shot and can knock it down from anywhere behind the arc:
Cam Thomas has also been good in this LSU vs Saint Louis game. Showing nice shotmaking by knocking down some tough shots OTD and also C&S 3s
Creates a lot of space on this stepback vs the big to knock down the 3 pic.twitter.com/9RBe4tIcWJ
— Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13) December 3, 2020
For the first time this year, though, Thomas didn’t lead the Tigers in scoring against Louisiana Tech. That honor went to Trendon Watford, as the sophomore big man put up 18 points and 8 rebounds.
The reason LSU isn’t ranked higher is that the Tigers lost their only game against a decent opponent (Saint Louis). We won’t see them face tougher competition this week, either, as their only game is set for Saturday against USF.
4. Arkansas (4-0, LW: 4)
Since last Tuesday’s power rankings, Arkansas freshman Moses Moody has burst onto the scene. He led the Hogs in points in wins over UT Arlington and Lipscomb, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors in the process. He scored 24 points and had 9 rebounds against UT Arlington and added 18 points and 8 boards against Lipscomb. Here’s a look at the offensive versatility he brings to the table:
In 4 games with #Arkansas Moses Moody is averaging 17.5 PPG on 37.5% 3PT% + 7.3 FTA per contest (86.2%) to go with 4.6 RPG, 1.9 SPG + 1.8 APG. The 6-6 + 18 y/o wing has been very aggressive in the early season. @DraftExpress will see if he can keep it up vs. better competition pic.twitter.com/3S0oJbLFQQ
— DraftExpressContent (@DXContent) December 7, 2020
He is a deadly jump shooter, but he can also attack the closeout and get to the rim. And he’s a threat in transition, too. He’s going to be in the mix for SEC Freshman of the Year before the season is over. Count on that.
3. Mizzou (3-0, LW: 6)
I mentioned Kentucky being hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic more than other teams due to their lack of experience. Well, the Tigers weren’t hurt nearly as much, since nearly every contributor from last year’s squad is back.
That has already shown itself to be effective this season, as the Tigers are off to a 3-0 start. Since last week’s power rankings, Mizzou took down No. 21 Oregon in Omaha and beat Wichita State in Wichita. Those are 2 convincing wins away from Columbia and it’s time we took Cuonzo Martin’s squad seriously.
After a 19-point, 6-rebound effort against the Shockers, Mark Smith earned SEC Player of the Week honors:
? OCEAN GANG ?#Mizzou’s Mark Smith is the @SEC Player of the Week! #ToTheFinishLine ?? pic.twitter.com/rr4adhOthq
— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) December 7, 2020
Mark Smith, Dru Smith, Mitchell Smith, Jeremiah Tilmon, Xavier Pinson, Kobe Brown, Parker Braun, Javon Pickett, Drew Buggs … the Tigers are deep this year. We’ll see how long they can keep the wins coming.
2. Tennessee (0-0, LW: 1)
The Vols didn’t do anything to lose their No. 1 spot from last week. As a matter of fact, they didn’t do, well, anything. That is supposed to change this week, though, as Tennessee will host Colorado tonight and Cincinnati on Saturday. Finally, we’ll get a look at the 1 SEC team that was ranked in the AP Poll this week.
1. Florida (3-0, LW: 3)
I was low on Florida after it struggled to beat Army in the first game of the year. However, that seems to have been mostly just a team that was rusty after a COVID-related interruption of the practice schedule. In their last 2 games, the Gators have been amazing, routing Boston College and Stetson.
How’s that hyped up new offense under coach Mike White going? The one that was supposed to be more fast-paced than in years past? Well, take a look for yourself. This is Tyree Appleby throwing a pass off the backboard in transition to a trailing Scottie Lewis, who throws it down for a monster alley-oop:
Good morning, #Gators!@Lil_App04 ⏫ @Scottie23L ⏬ pic.twitter.com/prDjYC0Gjv
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 7, 2020
Meanwhile, Keyontae Johnson continues to look like a superstar. He led the Gators with 24 points and 12 rebounds against Boston College and 19 points against Stetson.
We’ll learn a lot about where this team stands on Saturday, when the Gators travel to take on rival Florida, State, the No. 20 team in the nation. That should be a fun game!