Rush The Court

Kentucky and LSU separated themselves from the pack on a pivotal weekend in the SEC title race. If both teams hold steady the rest of the way, we could have a gigantic game between the pair in Rupp Arena to close out the regular season. Plenty of drama is also heating up near the bubble, with Alabama staking a claim to a spot in the conversation. Here’s what went down last week in the SEC and what to look for in the week ahead.

Trending Up. Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s RPI surged up to #37 after four straight wins, including two victories last week over likely tournament teams (Texas A&M and Florida). It’s easy to forget that Avery Johnson’s club started SEC play at 1-4, but that looks understandable in hindsight, considering those games included losses to Kentucky, Vanderbilt and LSU. The fourth loss (at Auburn) is really the only dark spot on the resume, although the Tigers had the services of Kareem Canty in that one. Welcome to the bubble, Alabama.

Trending Down. Texas A&M‘s seed. Just a few weeks ago the Aggies looked like a solid #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with a realistic shot of climbing up to the top line if things broke their way. Their recent four-game losing streak hasn’t put an invitation at risk, but it has done great damage to what could have been a historic placement for the program. With the exception of a home game against Kentucky, the schedule eases up quite a bit and should allow A&M to build some confidence before heading to Nashville.

Midweek Storyline To Watch. The SEC’s class of bubble buddies seems pretty clear at this point: Alabama, Vanderbilt and maybe, if you squint hard enough, Georgia. The Tide and Bulldogs can add to their resume at midweek with games against LSU and Florida, respectively. Meanwhile, the Commodores need to avoid a road loss in a tricky game at the Hump. Mississippi State is better than its record reflects, but Kevin Stallings‘ team doesn’t have much margin for error. A loss in Starkville would be Vanderbilt’s worst of the season, at least according to KenPom.

Things We Like.

1. Tyler Ulis to Marcus Lee.
2. Keith Hornsby‘s hustle.
3. Rally for Rhyan.

Things We Don’t Like.

1. Three ugly blowouts in one night.
2. Doug Sirmons (via John Calipari).
3. Canty’s draft prospects.

Power Poll

1. Kentucky (19-6, 9-3) Three blowout wins over quality teams is one way to start feeling better about your season. Alex Poythress‘ absence figured to make a difference against a physical South Carolina team on Saturday, but the Wildcats more than held their own on the boards and got one of Marcus Lee‘s best efforts of the season (13 rebounds, two blocks). Skal Labissiere and Charles Matthews are getting more minutes and experience, but you really hope for Poythress’ sake that the senior is able to get back and play an important role on a surging team.
2. LSU (16-9, 9-3). Want proof that LSU’s offense is improving? The Tigers were incredibly sloppy in their first game against Texas A&M, turning it over 39.8 percent of their possessions in a loss. In the teams’ second meeting last weekend, LSU took much better care of the ball, turning it over on just 13.5 percent of its possessions.
3. South Carolina (21-4, 8-4). The Gamecocks followed up one of their best offensive nights of the year in the win over LSU (54.0% eFG) with one of their worst in the Kentucky loss (36.4% eFG). Florida is the lone top-80 KenPom team that South Carolina faces the rest of the way.
4. Texas A&M (18-9, 7-5). The Aggies gave up too many second chances in both losses last weekend and now will take on a solid-on-the-glass Ole Miss team. But three in the row at home, with two of those games against the Mississippi schools, should help Texas A&M recover (even if that other game is against Kentucky).
5. Florida (16-9, 7-5). If the West Virginia game was the Gators’ offense at its best, then the Alabama game might have been the other end of the spectrum. It seemed inevitable Florida would retake the lead late in that game, but it never happened. Florida will have a tough time weathering less than stellar offensive nights from KeVaughn Allen and Dorian Finney-Smith.
6. Alabama (15-9, 6-6). It didn’t look good for Alabama when Retin Obasohan and Arthur Edwards fouled out with the Tide up four with nearly five minutes to play in Gainesville. But this team has been resilient and was able to rely on Jimmie Taylor‘s inside presence enough to get a crucial road win on the heels of a huge home win over Texas A&M. Few teams in the league have as fearsome a rim-protecting duo as Taylor and freshman Donta Hall.
7. Vanderbilt (15-10, 7-5). The Commodores avoided inflicting a lot of damage on themselves by beating Auburn and Missouri last week. They’d be wise to take care of business this week against Mississippi State and Georgia given that Kentucky, Texas A&M and Florida all still ahead on the schedule.
8. Georgia (14-9, 7-5). The Bulldogs did a nice job not letting the Kentucky blowout beat them twice by winning in Starkville. The Gators may present a good matchup simply because they also struggle to score, which should make for a tight, ugly game. Georgia has turned the ball over at the second worst rate in the league, and can’t afford to give Florida any easy opportunities.
9. Ole Miss (16-9, 6-6). How about that Stefan Moody/Dusty Hannahs three-point festival last weekend? In the end, the two combined to go 0-of-9 from three, and Moody was held to 17 points on 4-of-17 shooting. That usually means a loss for the Rebels, but they were able to beat Arkansas behind a tremendous effort on the glass. If they win the games they should the rest of the way, an NIT berth seems very likely.
10. Tennessee (12-13, 5-7). The Vols have a tough schedule ahead with consecutive games against Kentucky, LSU, and South Carolina. This coupled with the loss at Missouri makes a trip to the NIT a farfetched possibility. That’s too bad, since it would’ve been a nice prize for Derek Reese and Armani Moore after four years in Knoxville.
11. Mississippi State (10-14, 3-9). Whereas Malik Newman has struggled over the past weeks, fellow freshman Quinndary Weatherspoon has excelled, scoring in double figures in three of four games.
12. Arkansas (12-13, 5-7). The Razorbacks had their two worst shooting performances of the season over the past week in losses to Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Hannahs was held without any points mainly due to foul trouble in Oxford and scored just five against the Bulldogs. Arkansas should get healthy against depleted Auburn, but an NIT invitation that once looked realistic could be slipping away.
13. Auburn (9-15, 3-9). Adding to Auburn’s personnel woes is Tyler Harris‘ back injury which has rendered him ineffective the last few games. If there’s room for a bright side, the Tigers might be getting T.J. Dunans back soon.
14. Missouri (9-16, 2-10). Ryan Rosburg has seen a lot at Missouri. The senior was a part of an NCAA Tournament team as a freshman, and as a sophomore played big important on a Tigers team that just missed the Tournament. Missouri’s self-imposed postseason (see SEC Tournament) ban affects him most, so it’s nice to see the senior playing his best basketball. This includes 45 combined points against Vanderbilt and Tennessee, including an 8-of-9 effort from the field against the Vols in a game that meant much more than simply snapping a nine-game losing streak.