Thoughts on the Sec
-Clearly the best team in the SEC right now. The defending National Champions are undefeated in SEC play at 9-0 and have won 15 games in a row. Their entire starting five is averaging double figures in points and they’re as good defensively as any team in the SEC. With Joakim Noah and Al Horford on the interior, Florida has two very solid and capable low post scorers that open shots up for their guards Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey to hit from the outside. They also have two players that can put the ball on the floor and generate offense for either themselves or their teammates in Corey Brewer and Taurean Green.
Defensively, this is a very big, physical and experienced team. They don’t pressure the basketball that much and prefer to defend in the half court setting. With Noah, Horford and Brewer, Florida has arguably the most athletic and best defensive front court in the entire country.
If this team has a weakness right now it’s the fact that they dont’ have a true go to scorer on the perimeter that they can consistently go to late in games. They’re also not a very good full court team. Most of their offense comes from within the flow of their half court sets. The best way to beat Florida is to try and pressure their guards, force turnovers and turn the game into a full court, transition basketball game.
#2 Kentucky
It appears as though Kentucy is back to their winning ways after taking last season off. They’re winning with defense and balance offensively. This is a team that likes to slow the game down and force to teams to score on them in the half court setting. They have a much improved interior defender in Randolph Morris and their guards are really getting after it defensively and forcing teams into difficult shot attempts.
Offensively, this team has three players that have really picked up their play from last year in Randolph Morris, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford. Morris has become a true low post scorer that can be relied upon consistely to score on the interior. Having that consistent interior scoring threat has opened up the perimeter for Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley and both have responded by having nice offensive seasons thus far. Bradley has been key because he’s been able to hit shots from the outside while also being a driving threat. His improved play has probably been just as valuable as the improved play from Morris. Crawford gives Kentucky a third scorer that can shoot from the outside but also is an athletic finisher around the rim.
Kentucky is a half court basketball team. They defend at a very high level in the half court setting and that has been the main reason for their success this year. However, their half court offense has also been fairly efficient and with their ability to score inside and outside they have the type of offensive balanced to make a serious run in March.
The way to beat Kentucky is very similiar in the way to beat Florida. You’re going to want to make it a full court game because Kentucky is too good defensively in the half cour setting and Kentucky’s guards are not the best ball handling guards and they’re likely to turn the ball over if pressed effectively.
#3 Alabama
-The Crimson Tide’s two best players have had extremely rough and difficult years but for completely different reasons. Center Jermareo Davidson had his girlfriend and brother die in the span of a week this year and point guard Ronald Steele has been nagged by injuries all year. However, with everything that has happened to Alabama this year they’re still 18-5 overall and a virtual lock for the NCAA Tournament right now.
Alabama is another half court team that needs to play at a slower pace in order for them to achieve success. Defensively, they’re solid because of their size and shot blockers on the interior and they’re also a very good rebounding team. If you’re unable to get Alabama out of a half court game it’s very unlikely that you will stand much of a chance of beating them.
The problem with Alabama though is that their best guard and arguably best player, Ronald Steele, has been injured all year and has been playing well below his potential. Steele has been playing at 50% right now and has been nowhere near 100% all year. Without his ability to handle and take care of the basketball as well generate offense teams have been to do whatever they want against Alabama at times this year. While Alabama may only have five losses, all five of them have been blowouts.
The good news though is that this team is a good defensive team, that rebounds the ball very effectively and they can go to either one of their post players in Davidson and Hendrix and get consistent production offensively. They also have two athletic 6′6 wing players in Alonzo Gee and Mykel Riley that can score from the perimeter. The key for this team will be the health of Ronald Steele because when he’s healthy he’s as good as any lead guard in the country and he’s good enough to make Alabama a final four contender.
#4 Tennessee
-The Vols may have the best player and best coach in the conference. Chris Lofton has arguably become the best shooting guard in the nation and Bruce Pearl is arguably the hottest coaches in the country. However, Lofton is currently banged up and it’s obvious that Tennessee needs his services in order to make the NCAA Tournament. This is not a team that is likely to make a run for the final four but they’re a team that can create match-up problems and take just about any team out of their comfort zone with their pressure defense and perimeter shooting.
Obvioiusly, when Lofton is healthy this is a very dangerous offensive team because they have a player that can score from literally anywhere on the court but they also have scorers in the back court with Jujuan Smith and freshman Ramar Smith, both of of whom have really picked up their play when Lofton was out. They also have two freshman on the interior that are starting to develop into decent post options in Duke Crews and Wayne Chism. However, in the end this is a team that relies very heavily on their pressure defense to score points because they just do not have enough offense balanced to be able to effectively score in the half court setting.
Anytime you have a team that needs to play such a fast pace and needs to force turnovers in order to score points you’re going to have a team that will allow a lot points from to time as well as easy buckets in transition defensively. It’s also typical for a full court team to be a rather smallish team that struggles rebounding the basketball. These are perfect examples and weakenesses of this Tennessee team.
#5 Arkansas
-This is one of the more inconsistent teams in the country. They’ve beaten good teams like West Virginia, Alabama(twice) and Southern Illinois but have also lost to teams like Ole Miss and South Carolina. One of the main problems this team has had this year is winning basketball games on their opponents home court. They seem to play great at home but then struggle on the road which is not an uncommon thing in college basketball these days but it’s also not a sign of a team is ready to be considered a top 25 caliber team.
What this Arkansas team can do though is they can play at different tempos and with different styles depending on match-ups. They do not need to slow the game down or rely on forcing turnovers to win basketball games because they have the ability to defend in the half court setting but also the ability to score in transition. They also have the best freshman in the SEC in Patrick Beverely. Beverely is a very intelligent combo guard that is extremely versatile and capable of doing a number of different things. He’s good defensively, he can handle the rock, he can run the offense, he score in transition, he can shoot from the outside and he’s Arkansas best all around player. The fact that Arkansas’ best player is a freshman maybe a reason as to why they’re inconsistent.
As stated earlier this is a good half court defensive team but not a great half court defensive team. They do rebound the basketball at a high level and they do have the ability to pressure the basketball and force turnovers if needed. They also have two of the very best individual defensive players in the SEC in Steven Hill and Sonny Weems. Hill is one of the most underrated post defenders in the country and Weems is an absolute lock down perimeter defender.
Offensively, this team relies a lot on Beverely to makes things happen for them but they also have two solid post scores in Charles Thomas and Darian Townes. Neither player is a dominant low post scorer but they do give Arkansas balance offensively to even out Beverely on the perimeter.
The way to beat this Arkansas team though is to attack their point guard Gary Ervin because he’s known for his erratic play and poor decision making. He’s a very talented guard but he’s also a very volatile guard that at times can take his team out of the game. As long as you can pressure Ervin and force Arkansas to become a perimeter shooting team and take away Thomas, Townes and Hill on the interior you have a very good shot at beating Arkansas.
#6 Vanderbilt
-This is your Dr. Jeckle and Dr. Hyde of the SEC. When this team is hitting shots from the outside and actually attempting to play defense they’re good enough to beat anyone in the conference. However, this is a team that relies too heavily on perimeter shooting and are not a consistent defensive team.
One of the main reasons why Vandy is off to a hot start in the SEC is the much improved all around player of forward Derrick Byars. Byars is an athletic 6′7 forward that can handle the rock and shoot from the outside but this year he’s also defending and rebounding the basketball. He’s developed himself into a possible first team All Sec player this year. The other key player for Vandy is their 6′6 shooting guard, Shan Foster. He’s been a little inconsistent this year but he’s a very dangerous scorer and shooter.
This is truly one of the best perimeter shooting teams in the country and unless you’re able to get out on their perimeter defenders and force them into putting the ball on the floor they’re likely to get hot from the outside and when that happens they’re a very difficult team to beat. They have four players that start for them in Byars, Foster, Cage and Gordon that are all threats to score from the outside.
The problem with Vanderbilt is that they don’t get a lot of scoring on the interior and they tend to live and die by the long ball. They’re also a very inconsistent defensive team and they don’t rebound the basketball at all. If you want to beat Vanderbilt you simply need to beat them up inside, dominant the glass and defend the perimeter.
#7 Georgia
-Even thoug the Bulldogs may not have the most impressive record at 13-9, none of their nine losses can be considered bad losses and they have decent wins over Gonzaga, Kentucky and Arkansas. They’re still very much in the thick of things for an NCAA Tournament birth and certainly have the players to finish the year strong.
This is one of the deepest teams in the Sec and their guards are as good as just about anyones guard in the Sec. The development of Takais Brown on the interior has been key because that gives Georgia an interior post option that they haven’t in a long, long time. With Brown on the interior that opens up things for their guards and they have good guards in Mike Mercer, Sundiata Gaines, Levi Stukes and Billy Humphrey. All four of those guards are capable of hitting shots from the outside, especially Stukes. Their best guards though are Mercer and Gaines but neither of them are consistent enough to be considered reliable scoring threats. Mercer got off to a hot start in non conference play but hasn’t been nearly as effective in SEC play.
This is a rare team in the fact that they really like to get after you defensively with their guards but they’re also athletic enough to be able to hold on their own on the boards. Surprisingly, Georgia is one of the best rebounding teams in the SEC which is odd for a team that is considered to beat guard dominated. The fact of the matter though is that they have guards that can rebound the basketball as well as pressure the basketball.
The problem for Georgia is that they don’t have a shot blocker on the interior and they’re suspect defensively on the interior because of that. They’re a also a very turnover prone team. In the end, this is a borderline NCAA Tournament team. They’re certainly good enough and talented enough to make the NCAA Tournament and if they do get into the Tournament they’re a team that needs to be taken seriously.
#8 LSU
-I realize that they’re tied for last place in the SEC but I just can come to the conlusion that teams such as Ole Miss, Auburn, Mississippi State and South Carolina are better teams. Last year this team had a very successful season and made it all the way to final four. They did it with defense and balanced offense. This year they’re still playing decent defense but they’re without a true playmaker this year, they don’t have any consistent perimeter scoring options, they turn the ball over too much and they’re extremely inefficient offensively.
It’s not that this team is voild of talent. They have talent, it’s just that the pieces do not fit together. They’re stockpiled with 6′6 underachieving wing players that all want do to the same thing. Their point guard is Garrett Temple but he is far from a true point guard. Their shooting guards are both incoming transfers that are new to the program and have struggled finding themselves within the offense. Their center position has been a complete mess all year and none of their starters have been to even come close to making up for the loss of Tyrus Thomas.
They do have two of the best players in the SEC though in Glen Davis and Tasmin Mitchell but without any sort of chemistry offensively neither player has been to play up to his potential this year. Davis is still having an All Sec type of year but he cannot do it alone.
This team is probably going to have to win the Sec tournament in order to get in the NCAA Tournament and they have a shot at winning the Sec Tournament because they do rebound and defend the basketball at a high level and they do still have arguably the best player in the conference in Glen Davis.
#9 Ole Miss- Not an NCAA Tournament team
#10 Auburn- Not an NCAA Tournament Team
#11 Mississippi State- Not an NCAA Tournament Team
#12 South Carolina- Not an NCAA Tournament Team
