Rush The Court

Don’t look now but the congealed middle that has defined the SEC the last few seasons is beginning to take shape. Nearly half the conference (six teams) have at least three losses, and part of this jumble are two teams in LSU and Mississippi State that we expected to be better. The league also whiffed on two opportunities for statement road wins this past week as Vanderbilt fell to Baylor and Texas A&M lost to Arizona State. Let’s get to the weekly roundup.

Team of the Week. There were relatively slim pickings this week with the Commodores and Aggies falling on the road along with Kentucky losing to UCLA. What is left is Florida, which was borderline dominant in a win over Richmond. The Spiders may not be great, but they were coming off a win over a good Cal team and haven’t had trouble scoring this year (33rd in KenPom’s offensive efficiency ratings). The Gators squashed this momentum by dominating the boards and holding Richmond to just 0.78 points per possession for the game that included allowing just a single offensive rebound in the first half. Florida’s athletic front line of Dorian Finney-Smith, John Egbunu and Devin Robinson has been a load on the glass this year and that should continue to be an advantage the Gators hold over most teams. The big question for Mike White’s team will continue to be the point guard position until either Kasey Hill or Chris Chiozza clearly grabs the reins. Chiozza had arguably his best game of the season in hitting a pair of threes and handing out five assists. There’s still room for improvement, but the Gators have some margin for error on offense when they defend and rebound as well they did against Richmond.

Player of the Week. This one doesn’t take much thought. LSU’s collective effort against the College of Charleston was far from ideal but Ben Simmons still managed a double-double. That was just the appetizer. The Aussie freshman followed that up with the game of the season against North Florida with 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and three blocks. It’ll be hard for anyone else to put up single game stats like that the rest of the year. Simmons missed just five field goals and got to the line 15 times, in large part because LSU made an effort to get him the ball in the post. That strategy might not work as well as the Tigers start to play more talented teams on a nightly basis, but Simmons is such an elite talent that he could still be successful against more well-rounded frontcourts. As a team the Tigers have been dreadful from three (32.0% 3FG), but it’s safe to assume this will improve when Keith Hornsby returns. Antonio Blakeney and Brandon Sampson should also start making more shots after relatively rough starts. This would be a shot in the arm for the Tigers’ offense as Simmons draws more and more attention.

Had a Rough Week. It’s rare that Kentucky lands in this space but that’s where its loss in Pauley Pavilion to UCLA has put them. Part of the disappointment was based on expectations, since UCLA had already lost to Monmouth and been blown out by Kansas. Kentucky, on the other hand, had passed its first major test with flying colors by handily beating Duke. You also couldn’t forget the way the Wildcats had dominated the Bruins a year ago even if many of those players on both sides were now playing elsewhere. Still, there were some global causes for concern that surfaced in this game. We knew the Wildcats weren’t as strong defensively down low, but this was exposed against UCLA when Marcus Lee left the game with a head injury. Skal Labissiere has flashed a smooth offensive game, but he’s clearly not ready to carry the load in the post (one rebound, two blocks in 16 minutes). He and Isaac Humphries were forced to do this while Alex Poythress was in foul trouble, and they were burned by the midrange game of Bruins’ sophomore Thomas Welsh. The offense should improve as Tyler Ulis recovers from his elbow injury but the junior Lee is proving to be another piece Coach Cal can’t afford to lose.

Video of the Week. We don’t want to add insult to injury for the Wildcats — though there are certainly many out there that wouldn’t mind that — but this Prince Ali dunk over Alex Poythress is too good to pass over.

Power Poll

1. Kentucky (7-1) – Lee’s status is still uncertain and will be a big concern until he’s back on the court. Here’s hoping he doesn’t have a concussion. One positive that came out of the UCLA loss was Isaiah Briscoe, who scored an efficient 20 points and was the lone source of Wildcats’ offense early in the game.
2. Florida (6-1) – A big stretch against Miami and Michigan State should give us an indication of how high the Gators’ ceiling is this year.
3. Vanderbilt (6-2) – The Commodores have to feel like they let one slip away after taking control in the second half against Baylor. Some sloppy turnovers helped the Bears grab the home win, and Vanderbilt has to rebound quickly with a midweek game against Dayton. Damian Jones struggled to get much going offensively against the best front line he’s seen this far in Rico Gathers and Taurean Prince.
4. South Carolina (8-0) – The Gamecocks are the SEC’s last undefeated team standing. Michael Carrera has quietly been a consistent scoring threat for Frank Martin, notching at least 13 points in the last five games. A player to watch is freshman forward Chris Silva, who has gotten more playing time over the past three games as Martin tries to lengthen his frontcourt rotation.
5. Texas A&M (7-2) – The Aggies got off to a dreadful start against Arizona State and couldn’t recover. Texas A&M’s schedule continues to challenge with games against Kansas State and Baylor upcoming. Of all the good players the Aggies boast, Tyler Davis with his heft down low might have the potential to be the most effective scoring option the team has on the roster.
6. Ole Miss (6-2) – The Rebels got over the hump with a quality road win against UMass. Stefan Moody was excellent as usual (30 points, six assists) and it would appear that Andy Kennedy has settled on a rotation that largely includes his juniors and seniors.
7. LSU (4-3) – Simmons’ huge night aside, the Tigers still gave up 108 points to North Florida. LSU hasn’t defended well this year and has been out-rebounded in over half of its games. Neither of these are things that Hornsby will necessarily help improve when he returns. However, Arizona transfer Craig Victor will be eligible soon, and is the type of “effort” big that could help clean up things down low.
8. Alabama (4-3) – The Tide deserve to rocket up this list after beating Notre Dame and squeaking by winless Southern Miss on the road. Retin Obasohan closed out the Irish and kept it up with 20 points against the struggling Golden Eagles. Alabama is a fun team to watch since they have two forwards (Shanon Hale, Arthur Edwards) lighting it up from distance and a lead guard in Obasohan who is as good as anyone at getting to the basket.
9. Georgia (3-3) – Georgia coughed up what would have been a nice home win against Kansas State. Charles Mann needs to play a bigger role on offense for the Bulldogs — he’s characteristically getting to the line at a great clip (7.3 free throw attempts per game) but not taking advantage of it (63.6 FT%).
10. Tennessee (4-3) – The Vols are in the midst of a two-week layoff before playing a difficult game at Butler.
11. Auburn (4-1) – It’s hard to get a read on the Tigers since they’ve played an easy schedule and lost their only game against a power conference team (Colorado), but you can see the potential for an explosive offensive club here. Tyler Harris and Kareem Canty have been great, and freshman Bryce Brown has impressed (30.0 PER) after missing the opener. Tahj Shamsid-Deen is expected back next week, right as Auburn’s schedule gets tougher with upcoming games against Xavier and New Mexico.
12. Mississippi State (4-3) – Where’s the defense? Ben Howland’s club is riding a three-game winning streak but finds itself rated 203rd in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings. The Bulldogs will need to avoid a tricky game at UMKC before a great opportunity to make up for their sluggish start with a visit to Florida State.
13. Mizzou (4-3) – The Tigers climbed above .500 with wins over Arkansas State and previously unbeaten Northern Illinois. Home wins against mid-majors aren’t worth celebrating too much but these are small steps in Columbia. Jakeenan Gant (11 points, six rebounds) was aggressive with the ball and had his best game of the year against NIU. This is an important sign from a guy that was expected to be a major contributor for Kim Anderson.
14. Arkansas (3-4) – Despite coming back from an early deficit, Arkansas lost to Wake Forest and has now lost three of its last four games. Moses Kingsley is playing at an all-SEC level and Anton Beard will return to the team next month, but the Razorbacks have yet to beat a quality team. The Hawgs have a good chance on Tuesday at home against Evansville.