SEC – Facts, Stats, and Attempted Analysis

Before I get to the SEC, I need to address some comments from Bobby Knight this week. Coach Bobby Knight believes that the rule mandating that players can’t enter the NBA until they are 19 is a disservice to college basketball, because people like Kevin Durant can choose to not attend any classes 2nd semester.

Bobby Knight is wrong in this instance though. While what he says about Durant could happen, such an occurrence would only harm Texas’s academic rating and could even result in the loss of scholarships. The NCAA has placed an incentive on the schools in ensuring that players remain academically eligible. http://www.doubleazone.com/academics_and_athletics/ (“With the NCAA’s new APR data, teams will be held accountable for student-athletes who leave school early for professional leagues and aren’t in good academic standing. Coaches must recruit players who will go to class and do the work. Otherwise, they will lose scholarships.”) Maybe Bobby Knight meant to say he wants “stricter” penalties for having a player leave after 1 year. Anyways, I just thought it was interesting how if Bobby Knight wants to criticize the NCAA, he can get a front-page NCAA article.

Now that that’s off my chest, on to the SEC (through Tuesday’s results)!

Florida, Sag #2, 1st in conference at 11-1,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Ohio State, UAB, Tennessee, Kentucky
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: Kansas, Florida St., Vanderbilt (that’s it!)
3P% - 42.5%, Reb. Margin = +8.1 , FT 68.1%, FG 53.4%, Opp. FG 40.4% –
A sweet shooting guard in Green, an energy guy in Noah, a big-man in Horford, and they are the defending champs. We know they are the #1 seed and I am usually morally against picking a team to go back-to-back because it just hasn’t happened in 15 years (Duke did it), but this team makes me think that I will entertain the possibility, depending on the draw, injuries, and other weird superstitions I develop between now and the tourney.

Vanderbilt, Sag #50, 2nd in conference at 8-4,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Florida, Georgia Tech, Toledo, Kentucky, Tennessee
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: FURMAN! !, Appalachian St., Georgetown, Wake Forest,
3P% - 37.8%, Reb. Margin = -1.8 , FT 71.8%, FG 46.6%, Opp. FG 42.9% –
Two terrible losses out of the conference, but they have been playing well in the conference, and even beat Florida last week. Top player is a 6’7” swingman, Derrick Byars, who will shoot 3s, but also shoots relatively well from the floor (48.5%) (he had 24 pts, 8 assists, 5 steals, 6 Tos against florida). The 2nd leading scorer, a 6’6” G/F, Shan Foster, also went for 24 against Florida that night (he hit 5 threes, but normally only shoots 33% from beyond the arc).

Kentucky, Sag #16, 3rd in conference at 8-5,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Indiana, Santa Clara, Louisville
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: UCLA, Memphis, UNC, Georgia
3P% - 35.1%, Reb. Margin = +3.5 , FT 68.5%, FG 47.8%, Opp. FG 39.7% –
They lost to all the better teams they faced, but they did edge out Indiana. They rely on a 3-pronged scoring attack with a big-man (Randolph Morris), a 6’5” sharpshooter (Joe Crawford), and a PG (Ramel Bradley).

Georgia, Sag #38, 4th in conference at 7-5,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Gonzaga, Kentucky
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: Western Kentucky, Wisconsin, Clemson
3P% - 38.6%, Reb. Margin = +6.8 , FT 67.9%, FG 47.0%, Opp. FG 42.5% –
Very few quality wins, if any… looks like a real balanced scoring attack between 4 players averaging between 10 and 14 ppg, with no real dominating threat on the inside or outside. But, basketball is a team game and if you believe a “team” can succeed, than this is the team for you to believe in!

Tennessee, Sag #34, tied for 5th in conference at 6-6,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Memphis, Texas, Kentucky
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: Butler, UNC, OSU, Auburn
3P% - 36.6%, Reb. Margin = -1.1 , FT 66.0%, FG 45.0%, Opp. FG 45.2% –
They lost to Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Florida while superstar Chris Lofton was out with an injury, and none of the games were close. More importantly, as long as Lofton and his 20.7 ppg, and 45.6 3P% are in the game, Tennessee can be one of the better teams in the nation (though they have a mysterious 14-0 record at home, a 1-7 record on the road, but a 3-2 neutral court record). Last year, they were a #2 seed and got bounced by Wichita State in the 2nd round. I want to say that their experience from last year will be very motivating for them this year but the numbers aren’t too pretty for them as they don’t appear to play much defense or rebound that well.

Alabama, Sag #39, tied for 5th in conference at 6-6,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Iowa, Xavier, NC St., Oklahoma, Kentucky
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: Notre Dame, Auburn, Ole Miss
3P% - 36.7%, Reb. Margin = +4.5 , FT 71.2%, FG 46.4%, Opp. FG 41.1% –
They have been struggling since conference play began. Not sure what it means. Their top 2 players are huge guys on the inside – Richard Hendrix, a big 6’8” sophomore averaging 15 ppg and 9 rpg, and Jermareo Davidson, a 6’10” senior averaging 15 ppg and 9 rpg. Hendrix shoots has a whopping 62.6 FG%, but a 63.5 FT%. Davidson somehow is only shooting 41% from the floor and has taken the most shots from the field.

Ole Miss, Sag #68, tied for 5th in conference at 6-6,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois-Chicago
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: Uconn, Memphis, Saint Louis, LSU
3P% - 36.6%, Reb. Margin = +0.6 , FT 69.7%, FG 44.7%, Opp. FG 44.8% –
Played an incredibly weak non-conference slate, so they have to continue performing to have any chance of making the tourney. They use a balanced attack of a 6’1” senior guard, Clarence Sanders, and a 6’4” senior guard Bam Doyne. I think this is the first professional sports athlete I have heard of with the first name “Bam” since Bam Morris of the Steelers and the Ravens, who then left the NFL to serve time in the slammer.

Arkansas, Sag #49, 9th in conference at 5-7,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: W. Virginia, S. Illinois, Bama (twice)
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: Missouri, Texas Tech, Texas
3P% - 36.7%, Reb. Margin = +2.6 , FT 70.3%, FG 47.1%, Opp. FG 41.5% –
I’m always a bit curious about Arkansas – their coach was coach of Kent St. for only 1 year before an Elite 8 appearance allowed him to jump ship for Arkansas. It’s kind of a case study in why jumping on a hot coach before you see his recruiting skills (or lack thereof) can be a poor decision. Arkansas really has yet to turn the corner, and this year has brought more inconsistency for the team, who aren’t even slated to make the tourney at this point. Their best player is a 6’1” freshman who average 14 ppg, 3.3 apg, 43.4 3P%.

LSU, Sag #73, 12th (dead last) in conference at 3-10,
Non-conference wins & key conference wins: Texas A&M (wow), Uconn,
Non-conference losses & key conference losses: Wichita St., Texas, Washington, the whole SEC
3P% - 35.1%, Reb. Margin = +5.4 , FT 70.6%, FG 45.3%, Opp. FG 40.0% –
The poop has hit the proverbial fan if you well. They entered the SEC season 11-3. In the SEC? 3-10 ! From the Final 4 to an NIT 1st round exit! I knew that Glenn “Big Baby” Davis wasn’t anything much!

Upcoming games to watch:
Sat. 2/24 – Tennessee @ Arkansas – Noon
Sun. 2/25 – Kentucky @ Vanderbilt – 1PM
Tues. 2/27 – Florida @ Tennessee – 9PM
Wed. 2/28 – Georiga @ Kentucky – 8PM