As I have stated in the past, I am the SEC correspondent for www.rushthecourt.net and will be providing weekly updates to the site. Here is part of my first weekly update on the SEC conference thus far:
CURRENT SEC STANDINGS:
EAST
Kentucky 4-0
Florida 3-0
Tennessee 4-1
South Carolina 3-1
Vanderbilt 2-1
Georgia 1-2
WEST
LSU 3-0
Mississippi 4-1
Mississippi State 2-1
Arkansas 2-1
Alabama 2-1
Auburn 2-3
Coming into this season, there were two main storylines to watch for the conference as a whole. The first was if the SEC, after a “down year” and having only three NCAA teams last year, could rebound and regain it’s status as an “elite conference”. The second one was if the influx of new talent in the SEC, both in the coaching and player ranks would help to raise the prestige level of the SEC.
The jury is out as to whether the SEC is going to be an “elite conference” this year. So far, the SEC has an unimpressive 32-12 record so far. There have been embarrassing losses, the key one was #19 Mississippi State losing to Rider by 14. Add to this the fact that the SEC have not knocked off a “name team” yet. Just last night, #9 Tennessee lost to #6 Purdue and #24 Vanderbilt lost to Cincinnati. The East conference is clearly the class of the league with a 17-5 record and all three of the SEC’s ranked teams residing in that division. So far, only Kentucky, Florida, and LSU have escaped the first two weeks of the season unscathed.
The SEC saw a great influx of new talent this season with 8 Top 50 recruits and three new coaches calling the SEC home. Even with all the expectations in Kentucky, John Calipari has the Wildcats at 4-0 for the first time since 2005 and the #1 recruiting class has been a smash hit so far. John Wall is a bonafide superstar, while DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Eric Bledsoe have show brilliance at times and have become Rupp Arena favorites. John Hood is struggling for playing time for the Wildcats. Both of the Florida Gator’s talented newcomers have been as good as advertised. Kenny Boynton oozes star power while Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin has been solid. John Jenkins is averaging around 8 points a game off the bench for Vanderbilt and is slowly discovering his 3-point stroke. Reginald Buckner is averaging about 4 points and 6 rebounds a game coming off the bench for the Ole Miss Rebels. The ninth big name in the SEC, Mississippi State’s Renardo Sidney is still battling eligibility issues and has not seen the court for the Bulldogs.
While Calipari is the dean of the new SEC coaches, there are two new faces to look at in the coaching ranks. Anthony Grant has his Crimson Tide playing prety well after an embaressing season opening loss to Cornell. The Tide has been a scrappy team however and they won their next two games. Mark Fox has a slightly bigger challenge at Georgia and Georgia has had a rough start to the season with an embaressing loss to Wofford and a blowout loss to CUSA member UAB. Fox has the Bulldogs fighting hard, but as of now, their talent level is at the bottom of the SEC.
GAMES TO LOOK FORWARD TO THIS WEEK:
It’s a varied slate this week as most teams are still feasting on cupcakes both before and after the Holidays but there are a few SEC teams taking on some interesting opponents and a couple of Holiday Tournaments where the SEC can garner some hardware. Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting matchups this week:
Florida vs Florida State, 11/24, 7 PM ESPN 360
LSU vs #13 Connecticut, 11/25, 7 PM, ESPN2 – Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Classic in NYC
Alabama vs Baylor, 11/26, 6:30 PM, ESPN – Old Spice Classic in Orlando
Florida vs #2 Michigan State, 11/27, 8 PM
In addition, Kentucky is playing in the Cancun Challenge with games against Cleveland State on 11/24 and Stanford on 11/25. Vanderbilt will be looking to advance through the losers brackert in the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Alabama will be looking to advance in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando. On Friday, 11/27, Mississippi State tips off against Rider in the South Padre Island Invitational. p
TEAM BREAKDOWNS (National rankings are AP and ESPN/USA TODAY)
EAST
Kentucky (#5, #5) – The John Calipari era got underway minus John Wall with a 75-59 victory over 2009 NCAA Tournament Team Morehead State. The win was a nice mixture of the old (Patrick Patterson – 20 points) and the new (Eric Bledsoe – 24 points) as Calipari’s blended his 7 returning players with the 6 new faces in a new offense. John Wall made his Wildcat debut a memorable one as he had 19 points and sank a last second jumper to give UK a 72-70 win over the hot shooting Miami Redhawks who blistered the nets for 15 treys. Both Patrick Patterson and freshman DeMarcus Cousins had double doubles for the Wildcats. Kentucky had a second straight opponent come into Rupp Arena and blister the nets from beyond the 3 point arc, but in the end, the Wildcats overcame the 18 3-pointers by Sam Houston State 102-92. UK had three players with 20 points or more (DeMarcus Cousins – 27, John Wall – 21, Patrick Patterson -20) and the Cats got 0 points from their bench in this unique game. The Wildcats got a more complete game in their 92-63 win over Rider. Patrick Patterson had 19 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to their first 4-0 start since 2004.
TO SEE THE REST OF THIS ARICLE, GO TO:
http://rushthecourt.net/2009/11/24/checking-in-on-the-sec-5/#more-13152
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