Azubuike24
Key wins are defined by those over the top 100 in the current RPI.
1. Kentucky (19-0, 4-0)
Key Wins: North Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville, Florida, Georgia
Week Recap: Ready to be the #1 team, the Cats looked the part with a balanced, butt-whipping of Arkansas. The Hogs have a bad record but have played everyone else close. Not in Rupp on Saturday. It was ugly.
Upcoming: at South Carolina, vs. Vanderbilt
Projection: NCAA Tournament, SEC Overall Champions
2. Vanderbilt (15-3, 4-0)
Key Wins: St. Mary's, Missouri, Arizona, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina
Week Recap: The Dores got down early vs. Auburn but battled back and the better team prevailed. Vandy has a HUGE week upcoming at UT and UK.
Upcoming: at Tennessee, at Kentucky
Projection: NCAA Tournament, 2nd SEC East
3. Tennessee (15-3, 3-1)
Key Wins: Kansas, Memphis, Charlotte, Charleston, Mississippi, Alabama
Week Recap: A grinder of a win for the Vols in Tuscaloosa and doing so without Goins or Tatum seeing the floor. The streak ended in a big way, as it was pretty much due with UGA finally catching a break and getting a big win. The Vols must rebound and get ready for Vandy on Wednesday and Florida next weekend.
Upcoming: vs. Vanderbilt, vs. Florida
Projection: NCAA Tournament, 3rd SEC East
4. Mississippi State (15-4, 3-1)
Key Wins: Old Dominion, Mississippi, Georgia
Week Recap: The Bulldogs got a wake up call on the road at Alabama making only 2 three-pointers. This team doesn’t have enough inside to do that, and will lose if it continues. Still, only a 5-point loss when your bread and butter don’t work isn’t too bad.
Upcoming: at Arkansas, vs LSU
Projection: NCAA Tournament, SEC West Champions
5. Mississippi (15-4, 3-2)
Key Wins: Kansas State, UTEP, Georgia, South Carolina
Week Recap: The Rebels get a nice home win against USC despite another valiant effort by Devan Downey. Chris Warren out-played him however and helped the Rebs stay on track. Ole Miss got down early against LSU, but simply overpowered the Tigers in the 2nd half and got a comfortable victory.
Upcoming: at Auburn, vs Arkansas
Projection: NCAA Tournament, 2nd SEC West
6. Florida (14-5, 3-2)
Key Wins: Florida State, Michigan State, North Carolina State, South Carolina
OOC Games Remaining: vs. Xavier (2/13)
Week Recap: Very nice road win for the Gators away from the O-Dome over a fighting Arkansas team. Erving Walker continues to amaze people with his stellar point guard play and ability to score. After a quick turnaround, the Gators get more heroics from Chandler Parsons at the buzzer and UF wins a big one over USC.
Upcoming: vs. Georgia, at Tennessee
Projection: NCAA Tournament, 4th SEC East
7. South Carolina (11-8, 2-3)
Key Wins: South Florida, Richmond
Week Recap: The Gamecocks lose another tough one to Ole Miss and they could never get over the hump. Not enough Downey all the time and not much from the perimeter really hurts USC. Same problem against Florida on the road, although the Gamecocks were good enough to win this one but came up just short.
Upcoming: vs. Kentucky, vs. Georgia
Projection: NIT, 5th SEC East
8. Georgia (8-9, 1-3)
Key Wins: Illinois, Georgia Tech, Tennessee
Week Recap: The Dawgs finally busted out in a big way and got 40 combined from Thompkins and Leslie and they end the magical streak of Tennessee in Athens. Big week coming up for UGA with roadies against the 2 closest to them in the East.
Upcoming: at Florida, at South Carolina
Projection: None, 6th SEC East
9. Alabama (12-7, 2-3)
Key Wins: Providence, Baylor, Mississippi State
Week Recap: Another shot at a quality win and the Tide really laid an egg at home. It was only a 7-point loss, but they looked bad offensively and it’s clear Anthony Grant really needs to increase the talent, especially on the perimeter. On Saturday, it was a different story as MSU failed miserably from the outside and Bama held on for a key win at home.
Upcoming: vs. LSU, at Auburn
Projection: NIT, 3rd SEC West
10. Arkansas (8-11, 1-3)
Key Wins: Missouri State, Alabama
Week Recap: Again, the Hogs stay very close against a better team, but fall short. Not enough from guys like Welsh, Powell and others tonight in-spite of a good game from Washington, great shooting night from Rotnei Clarke and 11 assists for Courtney Fortson. It then got ugly in Lexington where the Hogs were out-classed in every phase by Kentucky.
Upcoming: vs. Mississippi State, at Mississippi
Projection: None, 4th SEC West
11. Auburn (9-10, 1-4)
Key Wins: Virginia
Week Recap: Auburn finally gets a win, even though it was over LSU. Unlike the Bayou Bengals, Auburn was balanced with 5 players scoring in double digits led by DeWayne Reed’s 21-points. They kept it rolling at home for a half against Vandy but got killed inside in the 2nd half in a fairly close loss to the Dores. Still way too reliant on outside shooting.
Upcoming: vs. Mississippi, vs. Alabama
Projection: None, 5th SEC West
12. LSU (9-10, 0-5)
Key Wins: Indiana State
Week Recap: Poor LSU. They go from SEC king to cellar dweller in only a season. They fall at home to Auburn 84-80 despite a career-high 38 points from Tasmin Mitchell. 67 of the 80 were scored by the big 3, and as I’ve said every week, it remains a death sentence for this team without other talent. They will be lucky to win 2 games in the league. They hosted Ole Miss as well and hung in, but again, not enough firepower to sustain leads against good offensive teams. A woeful season for Trent Johnson doesn’t get easier.
Upcoming: at Alabama, at Mississippi State
Projection: None, 6th SEC West