by Paul Jordan
Make no mistake. The “real season” for the Wildcats starts very soon as UK enters the meat of its schedule over the next 2-3 weeks. Make no mistake, the SEC East is going to be a real dogfight the rest of the way and as much as we like to think Kentucky is in the driver’s seat, they really have very little room for error the next couple of weeks. However, the next three games do give Kentucky a a=chance to get a little separation heading into the real crucial part of their schedule.
The balance of power has shifted overwhelmingly to the SEC East with three teams (Kentucky, Vandy, and Tennessee) in the top 25 and a couple of other teams that can worm their way back into the race or play spoiler at any time (Florida, South Carolina). And then there is the team that nobody really wants to play (Georgia). SEC basketball is heading down the stretch and to be honest, it’s up for grabs. As of now, here is what the SEC East looks like:
- Kentucky 6-1
- Vanderbilt 6-1
- Tennessee 5-2
- Florida 5-3
- South Carolina 4-3
- Georgia 1-6
At this point, you really can not discount anyone except Georgia from winning the SEC East. Florida and South Carolina are on the verge of falling into a spoilers role fulltime. But all three teams have the firepower to give any given team fits at any time. Now that the calendar has turned to February, it’s time to take a look a the SEC and how this race may shape up. Let’s start with this weekend:
Kentucky @ LSU
South Carolina @ Tennessee
Vanderbilt @ Georgia
Mississippi State @ Florida
Vandy and UK should advance to 7-1 and I will say that the Vols keep the pressure on UK and Vandy and they drop the Gamecocks at home. Florida has a tough game at home and I think that a hungry Mississippi State team and Jarvis Varnado will be too much for UF this weekend. Now let’s look at the mid-week games next week:
Alabama @ Kentucky
Tennessee @ Vandy
Florida @ South Carolina
Looks like a “win-win” week for Kentucky as they should handle Bama at home and either Vandy or UT will lose. Let’s say that an inspired Vols team shows up and they pull off the win at Vandy. Florida needed a miracle to beat South Carolina at home, so lets say Downey and company return the favor this week. Let’s move ahead to 2/13 now::
Tennessee @ Kentucky
LSU @ Vanderbilt
South Carolina @ Georgia
Florida is out of conference that weekend, but the Kentucky/Tennessee game will be huge. I really don’t see UK losing at home this season and that includes versus the Vols. Both Vandy and the Gamecocks should emerge with a “w”. Now, let’s look at the SEC East and how I think it will shape up:
- Kentucky 9-1
- Tennessee 8-2
- Vanderbilt 8-2
- South Carolina 6-4
- Florida 5-5
Granted, UK still has a very tough road with road games at Vandy and Tennessee but the SEC East is shaping up as Kentucky’s to lose heading down the stretch. We will be back to look at the rest of the SEC season after the 13th.
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