SEC Notepad - January 14

Photo by Maury Neipris/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee moved to 3-0 in SEC play, with road wins over Missouri and Florida this week. The Vols trailed Missouri by 9 in the first half and were down by 7 to the Gators, but managed to claim double-digit victories in each of those games.

Jordan Bowden’s 12 points over a 2-minute span carried Tennessee to a win on Saturday night. They are 14-1 and are holding steady at No. 3 in the national rankings. The Vols remain No. 1 in our SEC Power Rankings this week.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Tennessee (—): The Vols won 2 road games this week, beating Missouri by 24 on Tuesday and Florida, by 11 on Saturday.

2. Kentucky (up 1): Kentucky handled Texas A&M and Vanderbilt at Rupp Arena this week.

3. LSU (up 2): The Tigers defeated Alabama by 9 points on Tuesday and went on the road to beat Arkansas in a 94-88 overtime thriller on Saturday.

4. Ole Miss (up 4): The Rebels are 13-2 and have gotten off to a 3-0 start in SEC play. They beat Auburn by 15 on Wednesday and took down in-state rival Mississippi State, 81-77 on Saturday.

5. Auburn (down 3): Auburn was upset in their SEC-opener on Wednesday night, before taking care of business in a 15-point home win over Georgia.

6. South Carolina (up 8): After a 4-7 start to the season, the Gamecocks are 8-7 and 3-0 in the SEC. They upset Mississippi State, 87-82 in overtime and beat Missouri by 10 on Sunday.

7. Florida (down 1): The Gators snuck by Arkansas on Wednesday, before losing to Tennessee on Saturday.

8. Mississippi State (down 4): The Bulldogs have gotten off to an 0-2 start to SEC play, with losses to South Carolina and Ole Miss.

9. Alabama (down 2): The Crimson Tide began SEC action with a home upset of Kentucky, but fell on the road against LSU. They lost to Texas A&M on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, 81-80 on Saturday.

10. Arkansas (—): The Razorbacks won their first SEC game on the road, but returned home to lose to Florida and LSU.

11. Texas A&M (up 2): It took a buzzer-beater at Alabama for the Aggies to claim their first SEC win of the season. They are now 1-2 in league play.

12. Missouri (down 3): The Tigers fell to Tennessee at home and then lost to South Carolina by 10 on Sunday.

13. Georgia (down 1): Georgia beat Vanderbilt by 19 points, before losing on the road at Auburn by 15.

14. Vanderbilt (down 3): The Commodores responded to their 19-point loss versus Georgia by losing to Kentucky by 9 on Saturday.

Jotting down some notes…

Positive Aspects for the Vols: Jordan Bowden has stepped up for the Vols during the start of the SEC season. In the Missouri game, Grant Williams managed just 4 points, but Bowden recorded his second consecutive 20-point performance. Then, in the win over Florida, he scored 17 points, including 12 straight for the Vols that gave them all of the momentum. Bowden scored the majority of his points from beyond the arc last season. This year, he is driving to the basket and making midrange shots to help the Vols. With Lamonté Turner regaining his shot, Bowden will continue to be another offensive threat that opposing defenses have to worry about.

Need to Improve On: At this point, finding any negatives is a stretch. Still, Grant Williams needs to work on controlling his fouls. He fouled out in the 2 biggest games of the season thus far, Kansas and Gonzaga. He also fouled out on Tuesday at Missouri, with over 6:00 left. He fouled 3 times against Florida, which is a more acceptable number. Tennessee will have the edge on every team for the remainder of the season, as long as Grant is on the court.

Up Next for the Vols: No. 3 Tennessee hosts a 10-5 Arkansas team on Tuesday night. The Razorbacks have dropped 2 consecutive SEC games and the Vols will look to hinder them from getting back on track. Then, Alabama visits Thompson-Boling Arena for an afternoon meeting with Tennessee. The Crimson Tide have also dropped 2 straight SEC games, but upset Kentucky on January 5. Alabama was home for this upset and they have proven that they play worse on the road.