SEC basketball: Alabama will be tough to catch in conference race
The SEC basketball race has turned into a runaway.
And Alabama is the team running away. The Crimson Tide improved to 10-0 in the conference standings with a 78-60 win over visiting LSU on Wednesday night. With (maybe) eight games left on its conference slate, Nate Oats’ team has a three-game lead on second-place Missouri in the loss column.
Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points and Herb Jones grabbed eight rebounds as Alabama swept the season series from LSU. The Tide whipped the Tigers 105-75 when it made a record 23 three-pointers on Jan. 19 in Baton Rouge. This time, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama was just 6-of-24 from three but it didn’t matter.
Alabama’s underrated defense held LSU to just 30.8 percent shooting from the floor. Trendon Watford was just 3-of-13 from the field. Javonte Smart, who scored 29 points against Texas Tech last Saturday, missed 11 of his 15 shots.
“We went 1-for-17 for a stretch there in the second half, which, we’re just not capable of overcoming that, especially on the road against a very good team,” said LSU Coach Will Wade.
Remember, Alabama had already swept Kentucky, trouncing the Cats 85-65 in Rupp on Jan. 16 before beating John Calipari’s club 70-59 in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 26.
▪ No. 18 Missouri improved to 5-3 in league play with its 75-70 victory over visiting Kentucky. The Tigers got 26 points from Dru Smith. Despite shooting 47.3 percent to Mizzou’s 39.3 percent, the visiting Wildcats again failed to execute at crunch time. UK is now 5-11 overall and 4-5 in league play.
“Any time you can beat a talented team, not only a team with talent, great coaching, but also great history,” said Missouri Coach Cuonzo Martin. “A lot goes into beating a program like that when you train to become that. I’m happy for our guys. Won a game.”
Three takeaways from Kentucky’s loss at Missouri
Kentucky basketball. individual game-by-game statistics
▪ Wednesday night’s biggest surprise was in Gainesville where No. 22 Florida lost to South Carolina 72-66. That’s the same Florida that won at No. 11 West Virginia on Saturday. And it’s the same South Carolina that handed Vanderbilt its first conference win of the season on Saturday.
Well, maybe not the same South Carolina. After giving up 109 points to Auburn and 93 points to Vanderbilt, the Gamecocks limited the Gators to 40.3 percent shooting and just 66 points. Colin Castleton, the star of the Gators’ triumph in Morgantown, missed eight of his 12 shots and finished with just 11 points. Florida guard Tyree Appleby missed seven of his nine shots.
South Carolina was just 4-of-19 from three-point territory but did get 22 points and eight rebounds from A.J. Lawson. South Carolina is now 5-6 overall and 3-4 in league play. Florida is 10-5 overall and 6-4 in the SEC.
“At the end of the day, if you want to win, you better get that ball in the paint,” said South Carolina Coach Frank Martin, whose team outscored Florida 50-30 in the paint.
▪ Arkansas, LSU and Florida are locked in a three-way tie for third at 6-4. Arkansas defeated Mississippi State 61-45 on Tuesday night. State shot just 30.6 percent from the floor. Its leading scorer, Tolu Smith, managed all of 10 points. Arkansas made just two of 17 three-point shots, but played defense well enough to improve to 14-5 overall.
▪ The preseason pick to win the league, No. 11 Tennessee is just 5-4 after Tuesday’s 52-50 loss at Ole Miss. The Vols managed just 22 points in the second half, shot just 35.6 percent for the game, and committed 16 turnovers. “We just kept giving it to them,” said UT Coach Rick Barnes.
▪ Georgia beat Auburn 91-86 on Tuesday. So Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn and Mississippi State are all tied at 4-6.
Texas A&M and Vanderbilt had their Wednesday game postponed because of COVID-19 issues in the Texas A&M program. The Aggies are 2-6 in the league. The Commodores are 1-6.
Here is where SEC teams fall in the NCAA NET computer rankings after Wednesday night’s games:
- Alabama - 8
- Tennessee - 13
- Florida - 27
- Missouri - 28
- Arkansas - 30
- LSU - 43
- Auburn - 63
- Ole Miss - 69
- Kentucky - 77
- Miss State - 84
- South Carolina - 92
- Georgia - 99
- Texas A&M - 138
- Vanderbilt - 150
SEC games Saturday
- 12:00 - Alabama at Missouri (ESPN)
- 1:00 - Vanderbilt at Georgia (SEC)
- 2:00 - Florida at LSU (ESPN)
- 3:30 - Mississippi State at South Carolina (SEC)
- 4:00 - Ole Miss at Auburn (ESPN2)
- 6:00 - Texas A&M at Arkansas (SEC)
- 8:00 - Tennessee at Kentucky (ESPN)
SEC leading scorers
- Cameron Thomas, LSU - 22.3
- Scotty Pippen, Vandy - 21.7
- AJ Lawson, S Carolina - 17.6
- D.J. Stewart, MSU - 17.1
- Iverson Molinar, MSU - 16.9
SEC leading rebounders
- Tolu Smith, MSU - 8.4
- Dylan Disu, Vandy - 8.3
- Jeremiah Tilmon, Missouri - 7.9
- Darius Days, LSU - 7.9
- Emanuel Miller, Texas A&M - 7.7
SEC assists leaders
- Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia - 7.4
- Scotty Pippen, Vandy - 5.5
- Jalen Tate, Arkansas - 4.5
- Ja’Vonte Smart, LSU - 3.8
- Tre Mann, Florida - 3.8
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 10:10 AM.
