Thursday Recap

Mississippi State/ LSU

Mississippi State edges LSU in what should be good enough to get the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament. Josh Hubbard continued his great play and was the difference in the game. Hubbard was able to be that go to guy down the stretch and create offense out of nothing. LSU does not have a guy who can get you a bucket when you need it.

Tolu Smith really struggled in this game and LSU did a great job of making Smith play in traffic. I thought Smith shied away from contact and should have gone up strong off two feet and two hands. Mississippi State ran some really good screen the screener action to get Hubbard some looks. 

I am encouraged if I am an LSU fan. The Tigers were vastly improved and had some really good pieces to build around. One thing they need to find is a scorer. Jordan Wright was really good for them, but he is really the only outside threat for them. LSU runs a good offense and plays really hard.

I like where this program is headed. 

South Carolina/Arkansas

Lamont Paris showed why he was coach of the year. He put on a clinic in the second half, with some really good actions. I talked about in the preview about the physicality of the South Carolina bigs.

Colin Murray-Boyles was outstanding. You can not let Boyles get to his right shoulder in the post. South Carolina’s clear out; side dribble hand off with Ta’lon Cooper and the bigs was very good in this game. 

A disaster of a season for the Razorbacks and one has to wonder how many of the guys will be back on this team next year. Watching this team in person, you can see there is something off. The togetherness and body language was lacking today. South Carolina physically dominated them.

I thought the Razorbacks played a pretty good first half, as they got the ball inside and the bigs were playing physical. They also ran a lot of three men, hand off actions. This allowed for Battle to really get downhill. Tramon Mark was non-existent today, which was a shame because he has had a good year. 

Texas A&M/Ole MIss

The afternoon session was a foul fest, as there were over 50 fouls in both afternoon sessions. No one comes to watch the officials. Texas A&M played a solid last 10 minutes to pull away from Ole MIss. The Aggies dominated the glass as they usually do. Buzz Williams was really good at drawing up plays out of timeouts, which was key for the Aggies. HIs twist ball screens with Tyrese Radford and Wade Taylor really opened up the lane for the Aggies.

I thought Ole MIss had a really good game plan for the Aggies. They moved the ball really well, but just did not make open shots. A&M always forces baseline with early help and Ole MIss really used the skip pass well and was able to get the Aggies in scrambling situations. I thought Allen Flannigan played well in the mid-post which was open a lot of times. It came down to the Rebels just not making shots. 

Florida/Georgia

Florida dominated the glass in the second half, as they came back to beat Georgia. Georgia played a matchup zone defense and was daring the Gators to take the mid range shot. I thought the Gators passed up some of those shots in the first half, but really did a good job of attacking the drop coverage in the second. This was not the most high level game played as neither team could make a free throw. Mike White picked up a key technical, which really put the Bulldogs in a whole.

Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton were very good in this game. I thought they played under control and took advantage of the way Georgia was guarding. Tyrese Samuel was a monster on the glass, but is pretty unplayable down the stretch because of his lack of free throw shooting. Florida did a great job on Blue Cain, as well. I thought Georgia had a solid gameplan, but would have liked to see them play a little bigger lineup.

The Bulldogs did not run a lot of their roll and replace action, which was very good against Missouri. They relied on Justin Hill and Silas Demery to get downhill with a flat ball screen and a big posting up in the paint. On the bright side, Georgia can be taken seriously in basketball again and they have a lot of young talent that they can build around.

Friday Action Preview

Tennessee/ Mississippi State

The Vols look to get revenge on the Bulldogs as they fell early in the season to MIssissippi State. Tolu Smith has to play better for the Bulldogs to have a chance. They will also need some of the wings like Jeffries and Matthews to be threats offensively. I think defensively the Bulldogs will have to double Dalton Knecht, as you just have to make someone else beat you.

For Tennessee, I look for the Vols to get Jonas Aidoo some touches early and try to establish him inside. I also think you could see a couple of screen the screener actions to get Santiago Vescovi going. Obviously, Dalton Knecht will get his, but you need to establish some of these other guys to make things easier on Knecht. I think the Vols will pull away pretty early in this one.

Auburn/South Carolina

This is the game of the day in Nashville. The key for both teams is which guards will make shots for both teams. Auburn beat the Gamecocks by 40 points earlier in the season, but this game is not at Auburn. I think South Carolina will be ready for this one. I look for South Carolina to use their clear out; side ball screen actions, to get Johni Broome guarding on the perimeter. I also think Ta’lon Cooper needs to be a really good decision maker in the paint. He needs to be aggressive.

For Auburn, the biggest key is how well the guards will play. Can they get production from the point guard position? Johni Broome will generate a lot of attention and the Auburn guards have to be ready to knock down open shots.Another key is Auburn’s ability to take care of the ball in critical moments. This has been their downfall year after year in tournament play.

Will the Tigers play under control? This is setting up to be one heck of a ball game. 

Kentucky/Texas A&M

The Wildcats take the floor in the evening session and look to rebound from an earlier season loss to the Aggies. The Wildcats are playing really great basketball and are coming off a win in Knoxville. The key for the Wildcats is how physical can the Kentucky bigs play today. A&M is going to crash the offensive glass and Kentucky has to limit them to one shot.

If the Wildcats limit the Aggies to one shot this will allow them to run in transition. I do think Wade Taylor and Tyrese Radford will test the perimeter defense of the Wildcats. They will try to make Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham guard a lot of their middle ball screen actions. 

A&M has to limit the transition opportunities for Kentucky. The Wildcats are too dynamic when the tempo is at a fast pace. I think the Aggies need to play physical and try to make it a grit and grind type of game. Washington and Obaseki need to contribute like they did yesterday. Kentucky is going to score, but the key player is Justin Edwards. Edwards' play of late has really elevated this Wildcats team.

Alabama/Florida

This should be another fantastic game as these teams split in the regular season. This game is going to be a shootout and a very high level shot making game.  For Alabama, they have to find a way to rebound the basketball. Florida dominated Georgia on the glass and is what won the Gators the game last night. Grant Nelson and NIck Pringle are the keys for the Tide tonight. They need to stay out of foul trouble and hold their own inside.

Alabama is going to score, but they have not been good away from home all year. I think the guards of Alabama will obviously match the play of the Florida guards, but what type of production will the bigs provide. 

For Florida, they have to make free throws. If you want to beat a quality team this time of year, shooting 56% from the foul line is not going to cut it. Alabama will probably play drop coverage on their ball screen actions, which will leave the mid range shot open. It will also force Tyrese Samuel and the bigs to be really good decision makers in the mid post area. Florida did a much better job of attacking the big in drop coverage last night.

Defensively for Florida, I think you need to take the Tennessee approach to this game. Run the shooters off the three point line and make Alabama make contested two’s off the dribble. I do not think the Tide can be disciplined enough to take the open mid range shot. 

This is when the tournament really starts, as today’s games and atmosphere will be electric. Make sure to follow along on my social media, as I will be posting live pictures and videos from Nashville. .