by Paul Jordan
So, you’re the Kentucky Wildcats and you are off to the best start in 40 years and what do you get? A firm golf clap from John Calipari and a firm reminder that the season is just half over. So what does the rest of the season hold for UK? A trip thorough the SEC conference of course. So without any further ado, let’s see what the next half of the season holds for Calipari’s Cats.
Georgia Bulldogs (7-5)
1/9 Rupp, 3/3 @ Georgia
QUALITY WINS: Illinois, St Louis
BAD LOSSES: Wofford, Missouri by 28
For their credit, these don’t appear to be last year’s Bulldogs. New coach Mark Fox has the Bulldogs playing scrappy ball this season and they could pull off an upset or two in the SEC. Trey Thompkins is having a nice season with 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds and Travis Leslie is a good second scoring option. That said, the Dawgs should not be able to hang a “L” on the Wildcats this season.
Florida Gators (11-3)
1/12 @ Florida, 3/7 Rupp
QUALITY WINS: Florida State, Michigan State
BAD LOSSES: Richmond, South Alabama
Simply by attrition, the Gators may have become the Wildcat’s main rival in the SEC East. Next Tuesday’s game at Gainesville could be UK’s biggest road test of the season and the Gators always play well at home versus UK. The Gators have five players that average double digits and are led by freshman Kenny Boynton. The Gator’s are thin at the guard position and are not an especially deep team and not a good 3-point shooting team thus far (29.3%)
Auburn Tigers (8-6)
1/16 @ Auburn
QUALITY WINS: Virginia
BAD LOSSES: Troy, Sam Houston State
The rebuilding Tigers have been inconsistent so far this season, beating Virginia, playing FSU tough, and getting blown out at home by Sam Houston State. They have a few good players that can hurt you, but have more turnovers than assists and are not an especially good shooting team. They are pretty much an average team this year and they have been loading up on the cupcake wins. This is maybe a 6-10 team in the SEC.
Arkansas Razorbacks (7-7)
1/23 – Rupp
QUALITY WINS: Missouri State
BAD LOSSES: Morgan State, E Tennessee State
You have to feel for John Pelphery as he struggles through another rough season in Arkansas. His team was left shorthanded due to suspensions right before the season started and they have had sever embarrassing losses. Rotnei Clark is a 3-point machine and Powell and Washington are nice players, but on some nights, that is all that shows up for the Hogs.
South Carolina Gamecocks (8-5)
1/26 @ USC, 2/25 – Rupp
QUALITY WINS: WKU, Richmond
BAD LOSSES: Wofford
At one point, the Gamecocks were 6-1 and appearing to be a legitimate challenge for UK. Now, Dominique Archie has been lost for the year to injury and Mike Holmes was just kicked off the team. The Gamecocks have the feel of a team in turmoil but they still have Devan Downey who gives UK nightmares.
Vanderbilt Commodores (11-3)
1/30 – Rupp, 2/20 @ Vandy
QUALITY WINS: Arizona, Missouri
BAD LOSSES: WKU
The ‘Dores suffered a rough stretch in December, dropping back to back games, but seem to be gearing up for SEC with five straight cupcake routs. This was a bit of ‘team turmoil’ situation which resulted in A.J. Ogilvy being relegated to the bench but he has played strong in his new role. Sharp shooting freshman John Jenkins is becoming a star. Vandy will definitely have a say in how the East is won.
Mississippi Rebels (11-2)
2/2 – Rupp
QUALITY WINS: Kansas State, Indiana
BAD LOSSES: Villanova by 12, WVU by 10
The Rebels have been very impressive versus the lower tier teams by MIA in prime time matchups. Regardless, the guard tandem of Chris Warren and Terrico White are outstanding. Mississippi State does not have a lot of quality of depth in the bi
g men department and that will lead to trouble versus teams such as Kentucky and Mississippi State.
LSU Tigers (9-5)
2/6 – @ LSU
QUALITY WINS: WKU
BAD LOSSES: UConn by 26, Xavier by 24
So far this season, the Tigers are a lot of style and no substance. They have feasted on a variety of cupcakes, but to this point their big win has been Western Kentucky. They have been blown out by a few quality teams and you have to wonder if LSU is headed for a bottom half season in the SEC. The Tigers have Tasmin Mitchell, Bo Spencer, and Storm Warren …. and unfortunately nothing else.
Alabama Crimson Tide (10-4)
2/9 – Rupp
QUALITY WINS: Baylor, Michigan
BAD LOSSES: Cornell
Now you can see why some Gator fans did not mind losing Billy Donovan to the Magic if Anthony Grant would have been his replacement. Grant has his Tide the surprise team of the SEC this season. This team plays hard every night and is capable of a big upset. JyMychal Green and Mikhail Torrance are a nice inside/outside tandem.
Tennessee Volunteers (10-2)
2/13 – Rupp, 2/27 @ UT
QUALITY WINS: DePaul, Memphis
BAD LOSSES: USC by 22
The Vols have been dominate early in the season sans that head scratching loss to USC. But the big story here is off the court as Tyler Smith, Melvin Goins, Brian Williams, and Cameron Tatum have been suspended indefinitely for drug and weapon arrests, That is almost 33 points a game off the team and it is hard to imagine any scenario that the players return. The first Tennessee game is over a month away so it’s hard to speculate what may happen by then.
Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-3)
2/16 @ Mississippi State
QUALITY WINS: NONE
BAD LOSSES: Rider, Richmond
Jarvis Varnado is big, bad, and a block and rebounding machine. Raven Johnson can light up the scoreboard. And after that, the Bulldogs have a stable of nice players, but no one that can scare you. It’s hard to get a handle on this team as they really have played no one yet. You would think that on any given night, they can shock a Kentucky or Mississippi in the SEC, or lose to Auburn or Georgia. The game at Starkville will be in front of a raucous crowd however.
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