Alright folks, the holiday season is OVER. It's time to get back to basketball. As we get into the new year, conference basketball starts to take over. It's a time for match-ups like USC/UCLA and UNC/Duke. It's also a time when all road wins are valuable, no matter what the RPI of the opponent is.
As a UK fan that's used to being the start and finish of all SEC discussions, it's kind of a weird time for me. As we all know, UK is struggling mightily right now and enters SEC play of--gasp--not being one of the favorites. In fact, the Wildcats of Kentucky will need at least at 10-6 SEC campaign, followed by a strong SEC Tournament showing to even start thinking about an NCAA Tournament appearance. Of course, if the Louisville game was anything to go by, UK won't be 10-6 in the SEC...
Anyway, as the pre-conference season winds down, it's apparent some prognostications may have to be changed. Is Tennessee still the clear-cut favorite in the SEC East or will Vanderbilt be a thorn in their sides all season long? Is Ole Miss for real? Can they maintain their incredibly hot start as the SEC tips off?
Because this week signifies the start of the SEC, I'm going to do some things a little different this week, but don't worry, I'll be back in the standard format after today:
Hottest Team Going Into Conference Play - Vanderbilt
With their surprising 15-0 start to the season, the Commodores look like they are capable of challenging for the outright SEC title. Head coach Kevin Stallings has a better-than-advertised roster, led by Shan Foster and potential newcomer of the year, A.J. Ogilvy. Foster, with already three SEC Player of the Week awards, is also a favorite for the SEC Player of Year award.
Besides Vanderbilt, Tennessee has 12-1 record and has been playing well of late. Recent victories over Xavier and Gonzaga indicate Coach Pearl and his Vols are ready for conference play. Florida also boasts a 13-2 record but young teams often struggle when the conference kicks off. Can Florida avoid these pitfalls?
In the West, be sure to watch out for the aforementioned Ole Miss (13-0???? Who knew?) and Arkansas (11-3). Auburn and Alabama have also had decent non-SEC results and look to challenge in a wide-open SEC West.
Hottest Player - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt
Where, oh where are thou, Chris Lofton. Surely you won't let a Vandy guard beat you for SEC POY honors... As mentioned above, Foster already has three SEC POW awards and is the only SEC player who has repeated in this selection so far.
Coldest Team - KENTUCKY!!!11!1!!1!1!!
That's right folks, the flagship school of the SEC (look it up if you doubt me) is in need of a huge conference showing, but it doesn't look like the Cats have the horses to do so. Teams like Vandy and Tennessee appear to be clearly better than UK, as the Cats struggle to adjust to Billy Gillispie's approach. UK gets a immediate chance to hush some of their critics this coming Saturday when they host the undefeated Commodores. It's probably not going to be pretty as the Cats will, in all likelihood, lose their fifth straight against Kevin Stallings and company.
Besides UK, LSU enters conference play needing to make a splash as well. However, unlike Kentucky, at least Louisiana State can boast that they are still hovering right at the .500 mark. UK is the only team in the SEC to start conference play with a losing record...
Games To Watch
There are a lot of them this week, so stay tuned:
1/8 Florida at Alabama - ESPN, 7:00
1/9 Georgia Tech at Georgia
1/9 Mississippi State at LSU
1/9 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
1/9 Ole Miss at Tennessee
1/10 Arkansas at Auburn - ESPN 2, 8:00
1/12 Auburn at Florida
1/12 Vanderbilt at Kentucky - CBS, 1:30
1/12 Georgia at Mississippi State
1/12 LSU at Ole Miss
1/12 Tennessee at South Carolina
OK folks, that's it for me this week. Enjoy all the college roundball you can get your hands on. See you all next time.
As a UK fan that's used to being the start and finish of all SEC discussions, it's kind of a weird time for me. As we all know, UK is struggling mightily right now and enters SEC play of--gasp--not being one of the favorites. In fact, the Wildcats of Kentucky will need at least at 10-6 SEC campaign, followed by a strong SEC Tournament showing to even start thinking about an NCAA Tournament appearance. Of course, if the Louisville game was anything to go by, UK won't be 10-6 in the SEC...
Anyway, as the pre-conference season winds down, it's apparent some prognostications may have to be changed. Is Tennessee still the clear-cut favorite in the SEC East or will Vanderbilt be a thorn in their sides all season long? Is Ole Miss for real? Can they maintain their incredibly hot start as the SEC tips off?
Because this week signifies the start of the SEC, I'm going to do some things a little different this week, but don't worry, I'll be back in the standard format after today:
Hottest Team Going Into Conference Play - Vanderbilt
With their surprising 15-0 start to the season, the Commodores look like they are capable of challenging for the outright SEC title. Head coach Kevin Stallings has a better-than-advertised roster, led by Shan Foster and potential newcomer of the year, A.J. Ogilvy. Foster, with already three SEC Player of the Week awards, is also a favorite for the SEC Player of Year award.
Besides Vanderbilt, Tennessee has 12-1 record and has been playing well of late. Recent victories over Xavier and Gonzaga indicate Coach Pearl and his Vols are ready for conference play. Florida also boasts a 13-2 record but young teams often struggle when the conference kicks off. Can Florida avoid these pitfalls?
In the West, be sure to watch out for the aforementioned Ole Miss (13-0???? Who knew?) and Arkansas (11-3). Auburn and Alabama have also had decent non-SEC results and look to challenge in a wide-open SEC West.
Hottest Player - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt
Where, oh where are thou, Chris Lofton. Surely you won't let a Vandy guard beat you for SEC POY honors... As mentioned above, Foster already has three SEC POW awards and is the only SEC player who has repeated in this selection so far.
Coldest Team - KENTUCKY!!!11!1!!1!1!!
That's right folks, the flagship school of the SEC (look it up if you doubt me) is in need of a huge conference showing, but it doesn't look like the Cats have the horses to do so. Teams like Vandy and Tennessee appear to be clearly better than UK, as the Cats struggle to adjust to Billy Gillispie's approach. UK gets a immediate chance to hush some of their critics this coming Saturday when they host the undefeated Commodores. It's probably not going to be pretty as the Cats will, in all likelihood, lose their fifth straight against Kevin Stallings and company.
Besides UK, LSU enters conference play needing to make a splash as well. However, unlike Kentucky, at least Louisiana State can boast that they are still hovering right at the .500 mark. UK is the only team in the SEC to start conference play with a losing record...
Games To Watch
There are a lot of them this week, so stay tuned:
1/8 Florida at Alabama - ESPN, 7:00
1/9 Georgia Tech at Georgia
1/9 Mississippi State at LSU
1/9 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
1/9 Ole Miss at Tennessee
1/10 Arkansas at Auburn - ESPN 2, 8:00
1/12 Auburn at Florida
1/12 Vanderbilt at Kentucky - CBS, 1:30
1/12 Georgia at Mississippi State
1/12 LSU at Ole Miss
1/12 Tennessee at South Carolina
OK folks, that's it for me this week. Enjoy all the college roundball you can get your hands on. See you all next time.
1 comments:
Even when it's not what you expect, the SEC is always exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing a few big games this year.
Post a Comment