I think it is time we start talking about Dalton Knecht being the best college basketball player in the country.

The national media has already crowned Zach Edey, but this Knecht guy is unbelievable. Edey is fantastic, but he can not take over a game like Knecht. Saturday was just another reminder of how great of a player Knecht is. He is a three level scorer and I’m not sure how you try to stop this guy. He can drive it and finish with both hands. He has a great mid- range and he can pull it from 30 feet. He is great with the ball in his hands and great moving without the ball. This guy is a complete cheat code when it comes to scoring the basketball.

He can dominate the game in multiple ways. Zach Edey is a great player, but he can not create his own shot and he’s not someone you can just give the ball to and say get me a bucket. Just look at the NBA draft boards. Knecht is going to be a lottery pick for sure and if he keeps putting up these numbers, he will be a top 10 pick come draft time. This is why Tennessee has a chance to cut the nets down in March. They have a guy who can take over a game and there’s nothing a team can do to slow this guy down.

I will talk about the game itself later in the article, but let’s enjoy watching this guy play because these types of players do not grow on trees.

Starkville Madness

This is a great resume builder come March for the Bulldogs, as they now have home wins over Tennessee and Auburn. There are not too many bubble teams that will have that type of resume. If Mississippi State can get into the tournament, I think they will be a trendy team that could cause some upsets.

This team has athletes all over the place and can guard as well as anyone. They can be a hard watch on offense at times, but have a really good inside out duo with Tolu Smith and Josh Hubbard. I thought the defensive pressure for the Bulldogs really gave Auburn trouble and forced them to take quick and out of rhythm shots all night.

Now for the Auburn Tigers, I do not want to sit up here and say I told you so, but I did try to warn everyone about some of the concerns that I have for this team. The big question that I have is how will Auburn play away from home and can they execute their offense in a close game when every possession matters. This proved true again on Saturday.

Auburn turned the ball over and some of the tough, contested shots that have been made in the past, haven’t been going in when they need them too.

In the second half Auburn continued to take quick shots. That’s fine when you are up, but in late close games you have to run offense and take rhythm shots. Until the Tigers can prove they can do this, I will not consider them a threat in the SEC. Auburn still doesn’t have a quad 1 win.

Eventually you have to beat someone good to be taken seriously.

The Gamecocks are more than just a good story

The South Carolina Gamecocks picked up a win over the MIssouri Tigers at home and I fully expect South Carolina to be ranked this week.

This is a very good team who understands who they are and gets teams to play their style of game. South Carolina isn’t the best offensive team or the best defensive team, but they are physical and make teams guard the entire shot clock. Now, Saturday's game was not the best looking win or best played game, but to come off such an emotional win over Kentucky and win this game is big for the Gamecocks.

BJ Mack continues to play well and I think gives teams trouble. He isn’t the biggest or quickest, but uses his body very well and can step out and shoot the three ball. I’ve said for weeks that when Mack touches the ball, good things happen for South Carolina. They are getting great weak side actions when Mack gets the ball. I am also very impressed with the play of Ta’lon Cooper who played very well in both games this week. I think he needs to shoot more, as he is shooting over 40% from three.

Kentucky pulls it out in Bud Walton

Antonio Reaves continues to play like a first team all SEC player and Reed Sheppard had a huge second half. For Kentucky to win this game without Rob Dillingham is very positive. This was the first time all year that the Wildcats won an ugly game and didn’t just rely on out scoring everyone. I thought early in this game Kentucky was really over penetrating and was passing down some open outside shots.

The young big men for Kentucky continue to struggle with physicality, but Tre Mitchell is playing very well for them. I’m not sure Kentucky fans are appreciative of how big Tre Mitchell is for this team. Mitchell is the most important player on this team. Kentucky did a great job of guarding and making the Razorbacks settle for late shot clock jumpers. I do think Arkansas’s inability to run any type of offense played a role in this, but this is still an encouraging sign.

I think its safe to say that this Arkansas team is just not good. I wouldn’t be surprised if this team only wins three more conference games. Everyone talks about the internal problems, which are true, but this is what happens when you rely on the transfer portal to rebuild your team every year. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. You have to have a culture of reliable guys who have been in your program and know the system.

Arkansas is just a collection of guys out there and have zero interest in sacrificing for the program.

On offense there isn’t any ball or player movement. The offense is whoever has the ball and they are going to try and make a play. This team has quit and it's pretty obvious watching them play. Devo Davis, who has been a staple for the Razorbacks, stepped away from the team before the game. This is sad to see because Davis has been the heart and soul of some of the great memories the past few years.

Rebels end their road woes

I’m still not sure how the Rebels won this game, but Jaylen Murray hit the go ahead three for the Rebels. Murray was fantastic in this game and is incredible at his size, being able to use his body and understand angles to get shots off. Even though Moussa Cisse only had four points, his impact on this game was a big factor in this win. Cisse’s ability to protect the rim really bothered A&M. Cisse had six rebounds and three blocks on the night.

For the Aggies, this is a game you just can’t lose at home and is a good lesson for every young basketball player and team. When you have a chance to put a team away, you better do it. A&M let Ole Miss hang around and it cost them. Buzz Williams has to find someone other than Tyrese Radford and Wade Taylor to make a shot. Watching this team on offense is a hard watch. If these two guys do not score over 20 points they will not win.

Other than Radford and Taylor, there was only one made perimeter shot from everyone else. This is something that will not beat good teams. I have been somewhat critical of Taylor and some of the shots he takes, but how can you blame him when no one else can make an open shot.

Best of the rest

I mentioned in my last article that I had been hearing from a source that there would be a big orange takeover in Nashville and even I couldn’t believe how many Tennessee fans were there. Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt in what was a close game. You could tell the Vols were rusty after not playing a mid-week game, as they were trailing by five at half.

Then the Dalton Knecht show happened and everything went back to normal. There is really nothing else to talk about regarding the game itself, but I want to say that it's a shame that Vanderbilt allows these things to happen.

I feel awful for those players who work so hard and put everything into the sport, just to have an opposing fan base takeover your entire gym. Late in the second half, you could hear the Tennessee fans singing Rocky Top and the PR system had to turn the music up to blare it out.

Jerry Stackhouse is actually a good coach and he runs really good sets, but the fact that he just doesn’t recruit is a shame. I think Vandy fans sent a clear message to administrators about their feelings for their basketball team.

Florida knocks off Georgia in overtime and avoids a total collapse at home. In what might have been the most entertaining game of the weekend, Florida dominated the boards to beat Georgia. I still never understand why late in games teams just run the shot clock way down and they never get a good shot. Just continue running good offense and take what the defense gives you. This is a huge win for Florida.

Alabama continues to stay hot as they blowout LSU in the second half. Watch out because the Tide are starting to figure things out and learning how to play with each other. Mark Sears continues his elite play and Grant Nelson is starting to figure out how to play at this level.

Look ahead to mid-week games

The game of the day in the mid-week games will be in Knoxville as I envision it being the only ranked matchup.

This is a huge opportunity for the Gamecocks to make some serious noise. I expect the Gamecocks to try and slow this game down and make it as ugly as possible. The problem is that it's almost impossible to go into Knoxville and win. For Tennessee, this is the ultimate trap game as everyone will be talking about their trip to Lexington on Saturday.

The basketball version of the Egg bowl is also on Tuesday, in what is a very intriguing game. This has the making of being an all-time classic game. It’s cool to see the Mississippi schools taking basketball seriously.

Alabama goes to Athens to take on Georgia and I think this is the most likely upset in the set of games. Georgia has been very good at home and Alabama hasn’t guarded anyone on the road this year.

Florida travels to Rupp to take on Kentucky and just like the Vols, this is a trap game for the Wildcats. Everyone knows what is happening on Saturday and needs to take care of business and then let the hype begin.

Auburn hosts Vanderbilt in what could get ugly very quickly and Arkansas travels to MIssouri in what I think could be the Tigers first conference win.

Get ready SEC fans, as Saturday has the making of being all time for SEC basketball. If Tennessee and Kentucky can take care of business, we could be looking at the game of the year so far in college basketball.

Not too many times Duke-North Carolina isn’t the prime time game, but it will not be on Saturday.