This weekend, SEC Basketball will commence its conference season, attracting considerable attention as one of the premier conferences in basketball.
Let’s take a look at the schedule.
Tennessee, led by Chaz Lanier, will welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks and Boogie Fland to Knoxville in a significant game to commence the conference season. Arkansas is led by freshman Fland, along with Adou Thiero, who is also a contributor for the Hogs. Arkansas’s freshmen will discover their value when they visit one of the toughest environments in the SEC.
Additionally, this will be Calipari’s first trip as the Hogs’ head coach, having been with Kentucky last year. It should be interesting how Arkansas performs under the bright lights.
This matchup promises to be highly competitive. Florida enters the game undefeated, while Kentucky seeks to regain offensive prowess, and return to the form that led to victories over Duke and Gonzaga earlier in the season.
Florida is led by Walter Clayton Jr., one of the top guards in the country. He is a versatile player who can pass, score, and cause havoc on defense. He is one of the players the Cats have to watch, as he caused them many issues last year as well.
Kentucky, on the other hand, needs its three-point shooting to improve and its defense to engage as it did on Tuesday afternoon in the win over Brown. However, this will not be easy, because Florida excels in defense, and is one of the nation’s top teams in rebounding. Kentucky also struggled in this department on Tuesday. Either way, this game should have all the characteristics of a war and attrition type game.
Oklahoma has been remarkable this year, maintaining an undefeated record of 13-0. This upcoming game will be one of the most significant tests of the season so far.
Oklahoma is led by freshman guard Jeremiah Fears, who is an impressive player. He can score at all levels, is versatile, and excels in on-ball defense.
He should make for a great matchup with Alabama. The Tide has another talented guard in Mark Sears, who is one of the conferences best players, and my pick to win SEC Player of the Year. This matchup will be interesting to see where Oklahoma stands, and if they can challenge and become part the middle tier of the SEC.
Another interesting narrative this season has been Vanderbilt, along with LSU. Vanderbilt is led by first-year head coach Mark Byington. After guiding James Madison to one of its best seasons last year, he is now leading the Commodores and has them performing as well as anyone in the conference.
Vanderbilt is led by junior guard Jason Edwards, who is averaging 18.4 points per game, and scored a season-high 30 against TCU. Without Edwards, Vanderbilt might have lost more games than usual. This might be the best Vanderbilt team we have seen in a few years, and they are also entering a challenging SEC schedule.
The Commodores’ performance will be evaluated after the midpoint of the SEC basketball season.
On the other hand, LSU has been quite the surprise. LSU is led by Cam Carter, one of the top players in the SEC. I have often stated that Carter is the driving force behind LSU’s success, and when Carter is performing well, the Tigers are a formidable team. This game should be a dandy, one of the underrated games of SEC basketball opening weekend.
This is the first weekend of SEC basketball play, and while we may not learn much yet, we will observe the talent level, parity, and excitement that will make this league one of the best this season. For that, I am excited.
Each game will be a war, and each night will be a battle, whether you are the away team or the home team. This will be the most competitive conference in the country, along with the Big 12, which is second best. Let’s sit back, enjoy the fun, and have a pleasant weekend. This is merely the beginning of an exciting and SEC basketball season.
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