The biggest take away from this weekend is the top teams have separated themselves from the rest. Auburn, Kentucky, and Tennessee are on a different level than everyone else in the league. All three have a legit shot of making the Final Four.
After these three teams it's really a guessing game of who the next best team is. I still think either Tennessee and Kentucky are going to win the league, but the performance Auburn put on Saturday night was maybe the most impressive of the weekend.
The gap between these three teams and everyone can not be overstated. I think this was proven by Tennessee’s dominating performance of Alabama.The Tide was considered the fourth best team in the SEC. Now these three teams will drop some games, but make no mistake when they face off against each other it will be the best games in the country.
I can’t wait for these three to play each other as these games will be Final Four level type games. I’m not sure I can remember the last time the SEC had three final four caliber teams.
The SEC is in the conversation as the best conference in basketball. The only other conference is the Big 12, which is probably the best conference based on ranked teams. But what the SEC has done in the past couple of years to improve the level of play in the sport is really good to see. This league is just not about Kentucky anymore.
The atmospheres we saw over the weekend in this conference was unbelievable. Obviously Rupp arena is up there, but the atmosphere down in Auburn is comparable to Cameron Indoor. It’s almost an impossible place to play for a road team to win. Lastly, The Food City Center, which is still weird to say, has become a place where you just do not win. Tennessee fans show out every time no matter the sport.
So good luck to the rest of the SEC because you have just about zero chance of going into these three arenas and winning.
A PROGRAM DEFINING Win For South Carolina
It was a great weekend of SEC basketball and there was some really high level of basketball played. The biggest winners this week are the South Carolina Gamecocks, as they go into Bud Walton arena and pick up a defining win for Lamont Paris.
This is the type of win that can be program changing and also put the Gamecocks in a position to make the NCAA tournament. Last week I talked about how important it was for the Gamecocks to continue to play through their bigs and they did just that. The performance that BJ Mack had was very impressive. He is such a skilled player who can not only score on the low block, but he is a very good passer and decision maker in traffic.
Lamont Paris had an outstanding game plan going into this game and ran so many great sets. I really liked the Gamecocks ball screens actions. Arkansas was guarding the pick and roll in what we call “ice” coverage. This is basically where the defense is forcing the offense to stay on one side of the court.
In order to beat this coverage the big setting the pick will short roll. When a big sets a ball screen normally he rolls all the way to the basket, but with “ice” coverage the big will roll to the elbow area. BJ Mack would set the pick and short roll. He scored in this action and made great passes to backside cutters and found the shooters. He also hit three threes as well.
When the Gamecocks isolated their big man on the block, their spacing and back side movement was much better. This allowed for easier buckets for the big man and in the second half Arkansas started to double the post. With great spacing the Gamecocks took advantage. This has to be a disappointing result for the Razorbacks and I’m not sure this is a loss they can come back from.
This team was already in a big hole and now I’m not sure this is a season that can be salvaged.
"On A Tennessee Saturday Night..."
The Tennessee Vols rolled the Tide in Knoxville in what was an absolute beat down from the beginning. Rick Barnes had his club ready to play and took Alabama completely out of what they were trying to do. Everyone talks about Dalton Knecht, which they should, but the play of Jahmi Mashack can’t be overlooked. Mashack might be the most underrated player in the league and is one of my favorite players on this Tennessee team. In my opinion, he is the best defender in the league and the effort and his ability to guard Marc Sears was unbelievable.
Mashack’s ability to pressure the ball as well as keep the ball in front him is just amazing to watch. He is a strong guard which allows him to switch onto the opposing teams big men as well. With Mashack and Zakai Ziegler on the floor, I’m not sure you will find two better defenders.
Tennessee’s game plan in this game was outstanding. They didn’t let Alabama shoot threes and contested every shot at the rim. Alabama is a very analytical based team and will really only shoot threes and layups. They will not shoot mid range jump shots and Tennessee took advantage of this. The amount of times Alabama guards had wide open mid range jumpers in this game was unbelievable, but the Tide would never take the shot. The defensive performance from the Vols was fantastic against the best offense in the country according to Ken Pom.
Offensively, Tennessee continued to click and Dalton Knecht had only 25 points. Obviously joking about Knecht, but he did look human a little bit in this game. To have an off night and score 25 is not bad. Jonas Aidoo is playing at an all conference level right now for the Vols. The big man is playing very well and is giving Tennessee an inside threat.
Rick Barnes continues to run floppy actions and with Aidoo’s growth, it makes it even harder to guard. Jordan Gainey came off the bench and hit three threes. Gainey, who has been almost unplayable at times this season, hopefully turned the corner on Saturday. If Gainey starts to hit shots, look out the Vols will be hard to beat.
Welcome To Z MANIA
I know its only one game, but the best NBA prospect I have seen this year made his debut for the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday. Zvonimir Ivisic made his long awaited debut Saturday night after being cleared by the NCAA. He only played 15 minutes, but he flashed his potential and it was scary.
In my opinion, he is the best NBA prospect in College Basketball. Ivisic is 7’2 and has guard skills. He made 3 threes and was 5-7 from the field. He also made a great behind the back pass from a pocket pass off a pick and roll. There’s not many players that can make that play at his size.
Ivisic will have his struggles as everyone does as a young player. Teams will have film and have a scouting report for him, but there’s just not too many guys that are 7”2 and have a shooting stroke that looks that good. His jump shot is a thing of beauty and this Kentucky team just got even better. There's no denying that the Wildcats have the most talent in the SEC and probably in the country.
The offensive clinic that they put on against Georgia was just so fun to watch. The ball movement and shot making of this team is what basketball is supposed to look like.
What makes the Wildcats so scary on offense is that they have five shooters on the floor basically at all times. They play four bigs and three of them can shoot the three at a high clip. With five threats from the perimeter this allows Kentucky’s guards to attack without having to worry about an opposite teams big man contesting their shot at the rim. As a defense you have to pick your poison, do you help off shooters to prevent dribble penetration or just rely on your team to guard Kentucky one on one? The only part of the game that could prevent Kentucky from winning the league is their defense.
The Wildcats just have to be better and are allowing teams to score at will. As a defense you have to at least take something away, on Saturday Kentucky gave up dribble penetration as well as outside shots. The Wildcats do not have to be great on defense, but they do need to improve it and it will start by just guarding the ball better.
A BEAT DOWN In The Jungle
I will just go ahead and say Auburn has the best environment in the SEC. The energy that is created there is so fun to watch. This proved true on Saturday as Ole MIss stood zero chance in the Jungle. This game was over in the first five minutes of the game as Ole MIss looked totally overmatched and looked scared to play in that environment.
Ladies and Gentlemen, if Auburn continues to run offense like they are this team will be a force to reckon with. I have obviously been pumping the brakes on the Tigers recently, but there’s no denying the greatness of this team.
I still do not think that they have really been tested, but Auburn has been too dominant to not pay attention to them. This team is eleven deep and can win in so many ways. The way Bruce Pearl has this team guarding the basketball and disrupting the other team's offense is what makes them click. Unless you have a great one on one scorer, it will be hard to score on the Tigers.
This team just does not let you run your sets on them. They pressure the basketball, gets in passing lanes, and fight through every screen the offense sets. What I love about the guards of Auburn is how they do not get screened. Young players if you want to be a great defender then refuse to get screened.
Lastly, let's pump the brakes on Ole MIss as a ranked team. This team is a good story and is a solid middle of the pack school in the SEC, but to get on the road and get dominated the way they did against Auburn and Tennessee is quite embarrassing.
Chris Beard is an excellent coach, but the lack of offensive execution on the team is sometimes unwatchable. There’s little to no ball movement, no player movement or off ball screening. It’s like watching a pickup game at your local YMCA. Whoever brings the ball up the court ends up shooting the ball.
Best Of The Rest
Texas A&M goes into Baton Rouge and gets a much needed win. I still believe in this team and the talent it has. Wade Taylor continues to make big plays and he never sees a shot he does not like. This team wins games because of their rebounding. I’m not sure I have ever seen a team crash the offensive glass like the Aggies. A&M finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds and outrebounded LSU by 14.
I also want to talk about the Aggies defense. Buzz Williams' defensive structure is very interesting. The Aggies are a no middle team, which means they force the ball to the baseline. They also are an early help team. If you watch them there is always a help defender sitting in the paint, it's almost like they are icing the ball handler with no ball screen being set. I thought this really slowed down LSU as they over penetrated a lot in this game.
With this defense it is crucial to not over penetrate. When driving the basketball the player should take one dribble and get rid of it.
Mississippi State picks up a much needed win against Vanderbilt. I still believe the Bulldogs can upset more teams and make some noise in the league. For Vanderbilt, Jerry Stackehouse is officially on the hot seat.
Florida went to Missouri and picked up a much-needed win. I still believe Todd Golden is one of the bright young coaches in the game. The MIssouri Tigers continue to be one of the biggest disappointments to this point in the season.
A Look Ahead
We do not have any ranked matchups this week, but the game of the week is none other than the Iron Bowl. Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama. The Tide look to bounce back after losing in Knoxville.
Alabama still has not had that signature win this season and this is a prime opportunity on your home court to do so. This game will tell me a lot about Auburn. I know they have looked dominant, but this is their biggest challenge yet and like Alabama they do not have that signature win.
Kentucky travels to South Carolina in what I think could be an upset. I think this is a prime opportunity for South Carolina. Kentucky has struggled against the Gamecocks in the past and South Carolina is riding high off their win against Arkansas.
LSU travels to Athens to take on Georgia in what I think is a big game for both schools. Both teams are coming off losses and are both fighting to make the NCAA tournament. I am really high on this Georgia team and Jordan Wright is playing great ball for LSU.
Arkansas travels to the Grove to take Ole MIss, in what is a must win for both. If Ole MIss wants to make some noise in the league, they have to win this game.
Missouri travels to College Station and Mississippi State goes to Gainesville to play Florida in another very intriguing game.
There is a lot of games involving teams that are all about the same caliber, which is going to make for exciting games to watch. I’m afraid that there are so many solid teams that these teams will beat up on each other. I look for the home team to win most of these evenly matched games.