STF Conference Reports: SEC 2/21

Can you believe it's almost March? Conference tournaments, filled-out brackets, and upsets galore. Oh my! What grade would you give your conference? For the SEC, a solid B seems fitting.

While some of the traditional powers may be down, Tennessee is ranked number 2 in the country with a chance to beat number 1 on Saturday. We also have the return of teams like Arkansas and Ole Miss. If this is the result of UK being down, perhaps they should take more seasons off... Nah, maybe not. ;) So what did we learn last week:

Team of the Week - Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee hasn't lost a game since they left Rupp Arena back in late January, winning seven in a row. This past week, their 2-0 record (23-2, 10-1) included wins over Georgia in Athens and last night's beatdown of the Auburn Tigers. Next up for the Vols? The Memphis Tigers, otherwise known as the number 1 team in the land.

It's the ESPN Saturday night game, so don't miss it.

Worst Team of the Week - LSU Tigers
After building a large cache' of goodwill for interim coach Butch Pierre by stomping the Florida Gators in Gainesville, the Tigers squandered it by losing to UK in Baton Rogue (with UK coming off of that 40-point demolition at Vandy) and then last night, they got stomped in Fayetteville, Arkansas (87-61). While there is talent in Baton Rogue, they are certainly missing pieces as well... obviously.

Player of the Week - Tyler Smith
Apparently, the Tennessee players have decided to make this little award their own. The last two weeks, it was Chris Lofton and while he may be worthy this week, I thought it better to recognize the workman-like effort of Smith. In the two most recent Volunteers wins, Smith posted consecutive double-doubles, combining for 23 rebounds and 25 points.

While it's Lofton's sweet shooting that gets a lot of the focus, the Vols wouldn't be nowhere near as successful without Smith's efforts.

Games to Watch
2/23 - Arkansas at Kentucky [CBS] 2:00
2/23 - Georgia at Vanderbilt
2/23 - Mississippi State at South Carolina
2/23 - Ole Miss at LSU
2/23 - Tennessee at Memphis [ESPN] 9:00
2/24 - Alabama at Auburn [CBS] 2:00
2/26 - Tennessee at Vanderbilt [ESPN] 9:00
2/27 - Florida at Georgia
2/27 - LSU at South Carolina
2/27 - Arkansas at Alabama
2/27 - Auburn at Mississippi State
2/27 - Ole Miss at Kentucky