- Kentucky’s Terrence Jones was named SEC Player of the Week. Jones helped the Wildcats with a 26-point, nine-rebound and four-block performance against St. John’s. He followed that game up with 14 first half points against fifth-ranked North Carolina. Jones finished the week averaging 20 points, eight rebounds, 3.5 blocks and three steals. Ole Miss’ Jarvis Summers was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Summers averaged 19.5 points, three rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals this week. He finished with a career high 27 points in a win against Penn State, and had 12 points, three assists and two steals in a close win at DePaul.
- The Tennessee compliance office sent out a one-page letter to local car dealerships to remind them of the potential dangers that can arise from giving student-athletes improper benefits. “As part of The University of Tennessee’s NCAA rules education efforts, the Compliance Office is reaching out to local car dealers to remind you of the potential dangers in running afoul with NCAA rules when dealing with student-athletes,” the letter reads. “We want to ensure that your business does not receive unwanted attention due to a potential NCAA rules infraction.” If only Tennessee had taken this proactive stance when Lane Kiffin and Bruce Pearl were employed at the university. It is, however, an interesting development that athletic departments now feel the need to educate the community and local businesses from committing infractions that could severely affect the institution.
- The Big East got the best of the SEC in the first complete Big East/SEC Challenge. The Big East finished with an 8-4 advantage, while the SEC secured victories from Kentucky, Mississippi State, LSU and Ole Miss. Coming into the series, both conferences were seen by some to be the top two conferences in college basketball, but this proved that the SEC has a long way to go if it seeks to take over as the nation’s elite conference. The top four teams in the SEC might be among the best any conference has to offer, but they weren’t able to prove it in this event. Alabama lost to Georgetown, Vanderbilt lost to Louisville and Florida dropped a close one to Syracuse.
- Florida‘s loss to Syracuse last week makes the Gators’ upcoming matchup with Arizona even more critical. Billy Donovan’s squad has lost to both #2 Ohio State and #3 Syracuse. While the Gators have tested themselves with tough true road games, they have yet to come up with any quality wins. Florida’s best RPI win up until this point has been a 91-55 victory over North Florida, a team with an RPI of 135. Arizona has since fallen out of the Top 25, but remains a good team with an RPI of 30. The Gators need to get consistency from center Patric Young in order to take some pressure off their talented guards. Young played in only 25 minutes and contributed just six points in the loss at Syracuse.
- Kentucky Sports Radio found a great piece from Hoopspeak U on the experience of being in Rupp Arena as a North Carolina fan. The author, Danny Nowell, recounts the hospitality of Kentuckians, the atmosphere in Rupp Arena and the sheer madness of Kentucky fans. There’s not much of a recount of the game, as it didn’t exactly turn out as Nowell had hoped, but this story isn’t about the game. It’s about Nowell’s experience, and it’s a clever and interesting read. So go ahead and give it a gander because we know you need a different perspective on the Kentucky and North Carolina clash.
Brian Joyce (333 Posts)Brian Joyce is an advanced metrics enthusiast, college hoops junkie, and writer for the SEC basketball microsite for Rush the Court.
