Rush The Court

We’re less than two weeks into the season and the losses are starting to mount in the SEC, as just five of the 14 teams remain undefeated. If we’re looking on the bright side of things, there is really only one truly inexcusable result: Mississippi State falling to Southern. Keeping with the positive vibes, Kentucky yet again dominated the Champions Classic, and LSU and Texas A&M have tantalized with promise. Let’s hand out some hardware for the first week and a half of action.

Team of the Week. Kentucky is probably going to get ink in this space more than a few times this season, so why not start right away? The Wildcats’ win over Duke is easily the best the league can offer thus far, and freshmen Skal Labissiere, Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe have all shown dynamic flashes. Kentucky is already defending at an elite level even though John Calipari lost his entire starting frontcourt and didn’t add an elite defensive big man (as he often does). On a micro level, Alex Poythress has settled very well into a “supporting” role, putting up at least nine points and seven rebounds in each of the last three games. Labissiere is going to need help in the paint and on defense, but Poythress and Marcus Lee have been up to the task thus far.

Player of the Week. Ben Simmons. LeBron James, Magic Johnson and — on the “low” end — Lamar Odom, are just a few of the comparisons we’ve have heard for Simmons. With the understanding that these were more about a skill set than anything else, the Aussie freshman has nonetheless lived up to expectations in his first three games. He has proven to be an alley-oop waiting to happen so far and is averaging 18.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He has also been the main presence for LSU on the glass despite frequently being featured in the pick and roll on offense. His matchup with Marquette’s super freshman Henry Ellenson this week will be our first glimpse at whether he has lockdown defender potential in him, as well.

Had a Rough Week. College basketball in the state of Mississippi. Ben Howland made headlines last week when he bolstered an already stellar 2016 recruiting class by signing Abdul Ado. But while everything has gone great off the court, the Bulldogs have struggled to a disastrous start on the floor, with three losses coming before Thanksgiving. They’ve struggled defensively, and the home loss to Southern shouldn’t have happened to such an experienced team. Things have gone only slightly better in Oxford, as Ole Miss‘ 1-2 showing in the Charleston Classic included a disappointing loss to George Mason.

Moment of the Week. Simmons and fellow long-limbed freak athlete Tim Quarterman should produce plenty of fun moments this year, like this transition alley-oop against Kennesaw State.

Power Poll.

1. Kentucky – Don’t tell Tyler Ulis he’s not big enough to score in the paint. He’s the least physically intimidating of the Wildcats’ main guards, but there he was attacking the basket to close out Duke in Chicago.
2. LSU – Josh Gray (13.5 PPG) has excelled with less pressure in his role as a change-of-pace, instant offense kind of option.
3. Texas A&M – The Aggies haven’t played a team ranked better than 246th, according to KenPom, but they’ve taken care of business and blown everyone out so far.
4. Vanderbilt – Stony Brook’s Jameel Warney had his way (22 points) against Damian Jones, Jeff Roberson and Luke Kornet, and the Commodores will need to do a better job corralling NBA-caliber big men as the season progresses. They will see a few in conference play.
5. South Carolina – Laimonas Chatkevicius scored 27 points against Oral Roberts on 9-of-14 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long range. He is a nice weapon for Frank Martin to pair with his talented guards.
6. Florida – The Gators ran into a bad matchup against Purdue’s bruising frontcourt over the weekend, but it’ll be fun to watch the deep, athletic team run Mike White‘s up-tempo system.
7. Auburn – The Colorado loss is a little harder to swallow because it came at home. T.J. Dunans looks like he’ll be an elite, efficient scorer for years to come on the Plains.
8. Tennessee  – No shame in losing to Georgia Tech at this point in the year. The Vols’ schedule picks up with games against George Washington, Butler and Gonzaga over the next month. Kevin Punter and Robert Hubbs have been a nice scoring duo thus far.
9. Ole Miss – Stefan Moody has been predictably dynamic on offense thus far, but he needs help. J.T. Escobar and Sam Finley have shown flashes of being capable running mates.
10. Mississippi State – Malik Newman looked good in the final two games of the Puerto Rico Tipoff, but the Bulldogs were certainly expecting better than a seventh place finish. Gavin Ware needs to play a more central role on offense.
11. Georgia – The Bulldogs didn’t want to open the season losing at home to a mid-major, but Chattanooga should have a great year. Kenny Gaines (35 points) almost single-handedly beat Murray State to salvage the first week and a half of the season.
12. Missouri – The Tigers hung with Xavier for 30 minutes before falling to a better team. All of the Missouri newcomers have contributed and Kim Anderson could get a big win when the Tigers take on former Big 12 rival Kansas State in Kansas City.
13. Arkansas – Moses Kingsley has been great, but the Razorbacks haven’t shown much depth. Upcoming games against solid but unspectacular teams like Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Evansville should indicate whether Arkansas can compete in conference play.
14. Alabama – The Tide are relying almost entirely on young guards. That inexperience proved to be too much of a challenge in a lopsided loss to Dayton.