SEC Notepad - February 4
Photo by Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee remains the No. 1 team in the nation, after winning 2 road games and scoring a total of 185 points this week. Their win streak is now 16 games, the longest in program history. The Vols handled South Carolina, 92-70 on Tuesday. Tennessee led by 9 points at halftime, but the Gamecocks made it a 1-possession game 7 minutes into the second half. The Vols ended the game on a 27-9 run, tripling South Carolina over the game’s final 11 minutes.
Tennessee traveled to College Station for a meeting with Texas A&M on Saturday. Within 8 minutes, the Vols had jumped out to a 28-9 lead. The Aggies managed to cut their deficit to 4 in the first half and trailed by 7 points at halftime. Tennessee’s lead was cut to 2 with just under 11:00 remaining. The Vols would outscore the Aggies 28-13 over the remainder of the game.
It was an impressive week for the nation’s top team. Here’s what happened around the rest of the SEC.
POWER RANKINGS
1. Tennessee (—): The No. 1 Vols has another dominant week. They went on the road to beat South Carolina by 22 points, before defeating Texas A&M by 17 points in College Station.
2. Kentucky (—): The Wildcats took care of Vanderbilt on Tuesday, winning by 35 points, before their comeback road victory over Florida on Saturday.
3. LSU (—): The Tigers went 1-1 this week. They handled Texas A&M by 15 points, but lost to Arkansas at home, 90-89. They were down by as many as 18 points to the Razorbacks in the second half, but managed to cut it to a 1-point game. They didn’t always look impressive on Saturday, but they hold steady in this week’s power rankings because they fought back into the game. They are clearly one of the best teams in the SEC.
4. Auburn (up 4): Auburn got back on track this week. They entered the week having lost 3 consecutive games, but they beat Missouri 94-58 after holding a 3-point halftime lead. Then, the Tigers beat Alabama by 21-points on Saturday.
5. Alabama (down 1): The Tide picked up a solid home win over Mississippi State, 83-79, before getting dominated by Auburn.
6. Mississippi State (—): The Bulldogs remain sixth in the power rankings this week. They fell to Alabama in a close game early in the week, before getting revenge at Ole Miss.
7. Florida (up 2): The Gators eked out a 90-86 overtime win over Ole Miss on Wednesday, before falling to Kentucky by 11 points. Florida led by 15 minutes of the second half, but couldn’t hold on.
8. Arkansas (up 2): The Razorbacks beat Georgia by 10 and went on the road to upset LSU, 90-89.
9. South Carolina (down 2): The Gamecocks lost to Tennessee by 22 points, before defeating Georgia by 6.
10. Ole Miss (down 5): The Rebels are beginning to plummet, dropping 5 spots this week. They have lost 4 of their past 5 games, including road losses to Florida and Mississippi State this week.
11. Texas A&M (—): The Aggies were dominated in both of their home games this week, falling to LSU and Tennessee.
12. Missouri (—): The Tigers hung around with Auburn on Tuesday, but eventually lost 92-58 after trailing by just 3 at halftime. Then, they beat Vanderbilt by 10 on Saturday.
13. Georgia (—): The Bulldogs have dropped 6 out of 7 games, including a 10-point loss at Arkansas and a 6-point home loss to South Carolina this week.
14. Vanderbilt (—): The Commodores are 0-8 in SEC play, losing to Kentucky by 35 points on Tuesday and falling to Missouri on Saturday.
Jotting down some notes…
Positive Aspects for the Vols:
Tennessee finished their 2 games this week extremely well. Over the final 11 minutes of the South Carolina and Texas A&M games, the Vols outscored their opponents 57-24. Even though the Vols were in a close game in the second half of those games, their ability to win by double digits shows how great their resolve is.
Great teams finish games well and overcome unexpected adversity. This is exactly what Tennessee did this week. Jordan Bowden tweaked his knee just prior to the South Carolina game and was unable to play. The Vols responded and Bowden was back on the court against Texas A&M.
Need to Improve On:
The Vols are doing nearly everything well right now. The biggest aspect of their game that they need to focus on is defense. Offensively, Tennessee is averaging 87 PPG and sharing the ball beautifully. Still, they have found themselves in some tight games in the second half recently. Their defense certainly hasn’t been as dominant as it was last season, but this may be due to the fact that they know how lethal they are on offense.
Tennessee may have the best offense in college basketball. If they can increase their defensive intensity, even just slightly, they will make themselves even more dangerous.
Up Next for the Vols:
Tennessee returns to Knoxville for a 3 game home stand. This week, they host Missouri in a 9:00 PM matchup on Tuesday and Florida at 4:00 on Saturday. The Tigers are 11-9 (2-6 SEC) and are coached by former Tennessee head coach, Cuonzo Martin. Missouri has lost 6 of their past 8 games, after beginning the season 9-3.
Florida visits Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, with a record of 12-9 (4-4 SEC). The fans are going to ‘Checker TBA’ for the sellout. It should be a great atmosphere. The Vols have already beaten Missouri and Florida on the road this season and they will look to complete both season sweeps.
