SEC Notepad - February 25
Photo by Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee might have had the toughest week of the season up to this point. They survived Vanderbilt for the second time this year, before falling to LSU in overtime on Saturday. The Vols shot just 41% in their 58-46 victory over the Commodores and 45% against the Tigers. Tennessee fell to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 on Monday.
Currently, Joe Lunardi lists Tennessee as a No. 2 seed in his latest bracketology, with Kentucky sitting on the No. 1 line. That can change as the Vols face the Wildcats in Knoxville on Saturday.
Here’s what took place around the SEC this week.
POWER RANKINGS
1. Kentucky (—): The Wildcats stay at the top of our power rankings this week. The Wildcats survived a road test at Missouri early in the week, winning by 8, before beating Auburn by 27 points on Saturday.
2. LSU (up 1): The Tigers played in 2 overtime games this week. They lost to Florida on Wednesday, but responded by beating Tennessee 82-80 on Saturday.
3. Tennessee (down 1): The Vols dropped one spot for the second consecutive week. After beating Vanderbilt by 12 points on Tuesday, they were handed their second loss in 3 games, falling to LSU by 2 points on Saturday.
4. Mississippi State (—): The Bulldogs squeaked by Georgia on Wednesday, winning 68-67, before dominating South Carolina by 15 points.
5. Florida (—): The Gators upset No. 13 LSU on Wednesday, before beating Missouri by 4 points.
6. South Carolina (up 3): After dominating Ole Miss by 15 points early in the week, the Gamecocks lost to Mississippi State by that same total of 15 points on Saturday.
7. Ole Miss (down 1): The Rebels did not impress this week. They fell to South Carolina by 15 points and narrowly defeated Georgia by 1 point on Saturday.
8. Texas A&M (up 2): The Aggies moved up 2 spots after performing well this week. They beat Alabama, 65-56, before going on the road to take down Arkansas, 87-80.
9. Auburn (down 1): Last week, the Tigers beat Arkansas by 23 points, before getting smoked by Kentucky, 80-53.
10. Alabama (down 3): Alabama has dropped 3 spots for the second consecutive week. They were defeated by Texas A&M on the road, 65-56, and looked unimpressive in a 7-point home win over Vanderbilt.
11. Missouri (—): Missouri is going nowhere fast. They’ve dropped 9 of their past 11 games, including a loss to Florida this week, along with a 68-49 loss to Mississippi State.
12. Arkansas (—): The Razorbacks lost to Auburn by 23 points and fell to Texas A&M by 7.
13. Georgia (—): The Bulldogs are 10-17 (1-13 SEC) after losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss this week. They lost each of those games by just 1 point.
14. Vanderbilt (—): The Commodores remain at the bottom of the league, still not having won a game in 2019. Their latest losses came at the hands of Tennessee and Alabama.
Jotting down some notes…
Positive Aspects for the Vols:
Rick Barnes spoke on the fact that Tennessee’s assist numbers have been down lately. Although that’s not encouraging, the team is staying locked in, battling to overcome both mental and physical fatigue. The team is not playing like they did to begin the season, but they will look to turn it on over the final 4 games of the regular season. Rick Barnes was proud of his team’s maturity after a loss that included many controversial calls, especially from LSU fan, Anthony Jordan who was one of the 3 refs in the contest. Barnes said, "I think these guys know that they'll come in, we'll look at it and do what we have to do. I know this, they want to win and they know it's not going to be easy. We just have to keep moving forward."
Need to Improve On:
After poor shooting performances against Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the Vols could not get over the 50% mark, as they have for the majority of the time this season. Still, they were much more efficient. The shooting woes are not completely resolved, though, as most evidently seen in the play of Lamonté Turner. In the losses to Kentucky and LSU, Turner is a combined 1-14 from 3-point range. Another shooter that has been struggling is Jordan Bowden. Rick Barnes addressed this in his press conference on Monday, saying, “It's up to him (Bowden) to do his job. We can't put everything on certain guys every night, but we need everybody to do their job. Inconsistency is a key word with him and has been a key word throughout his whole career. When he has been at his best is when he is totally locked in on the defensive end, getting out running the lanes like he is capable of, and so I don't have any question he is going to do that. But we need him to do it right now."
Up Next for the Vols:
Tennessee travels to Oxford to battle Ole Miss on Wednesday night. The Rebels jumped into the Top 25 earlier this season, but have not returned since their brief stint. Ole Miss is currently 19-8 (9-5 SEC) after beginning the season with a record of 13-2. The Vols will return to Knoxville for a matchup with No. 4 Kentucky on Saturday. It should be a raucous environment inside of Thompson-Boling Arena, as Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU are in a 3-way tie for first place in the SEC. This is an important week for the No. 7 Vols to get back on track and remain in the race for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the SEC Tournament.
