Eric Moyer is the RTC correspondent for the Southern Conference and Atlantic Sun Conference and a contributor to the RTC SEC Microsite. You can find him on Twitter @EricDMoyer. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

Vanderbilt @ #11 Florida – 1:00 PM EST Saturday on CBS (****)

• The best of a so-so weekend in the SEC lost a little bit of luster after Vanderbilt lost at Arkansas on Tuesday. As it still stands, the winner moves into second place in conference standings. Vanderbilt would tie Florida at 6-2 with a win, conversely the Gators could take a two-game lead on the Commodores with the home victory.
• Saturday represents the first of two meetings between the Gators and Commodores. Each of the previous three seasons have resulted in season sweeps. The Gators won twice in 2008-09; Vanderbilt took both meetings in 2009-10 while Florida won both regular-season meetings and eliminated the Commodores in an SEC Championship semifinal contest as season ago.
• This contest features the reigning SEC Player of the Week (Jeffery Taylor) and Freshman of the Week (Bradley Beal) and four of the top seven scorers in the conference. Additionally, the Gators and Commodores rank first and second, respectively, in three-pointers made and in three-point percentage.
• The Gators are one of two SEC schools undefeated at home (Kentucky) and Vanderbilt has the second-best road record in the conference at 4-2. Could the experienced-laden Commodores steal a key SEC road win after letting one get away on Tuesday? In their six losses, Commodore opponents have shot almost 39% from the three-point arc as compared to 31.5% in their 16 wins.

Ole Miss @ Alabama – 8:00 PM EST Saturday on ESPN2 (***)

• A pair of teams squarely on the NCAA bubble square off in Tuscaloosa. Both teams enter fresh as neither has played since Saturday. Alabama ended a three-game slide by beating Arkansas. Ole Miss owns a pair of quality conference wins (Arkansas, Mississippi State) but an overtime loss at Auburn will remains a stain on the résumé.
• The Crimson Tide have dominated the Rebels at home, winning 70 of the 80 contests.
• The Tide’s defense remains one of the top in the nation by allowing a scant 57.9 points per game this season,the ninth-best average in the nation and the best in the SEC. Only seven Alabama opponents have even reached the 60-point mark this season and four have failed to score 50 points. The Crimson Tide has held their opponents  to just a 37.3% field goal percentage, the sixth lowest in the country. Ole Miss more than holds its own at the defensive end, holding opponents to 39.4% shooting and the Rebels are 11-2 when holding their opposition to less than 40% shooting.
• History says Alabama is the right choice in this game. In addition to their home dominance, the Crimson Tide are 27-2 in their last 29 games at Coleman Coliseum.

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1. A pair of future Kentucky Wildcats  were named to the West roster for the 11th annual Jordan Brand Classic. Archie Goodwin, from Sylvan Hills High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Alex Poythress from Northeast H.S. in Clarksville, Tennessee, will be on the 10-man team that includes the #1 player in the country, Shabazz Muhammad.  The game will be played at 7 PM on Saturday, April 14 from the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.
2. Two SEC schools, Florida and Kentucky appear among the seven schools vying for the services of Nerlens Noel. Noel made headlines by announcing he would be finishing high school in the spring rather than in 2013, as expected. It would seem that John Calipari would just just have show an endless loop of Anthony Davis‘ exploits of this season as his closing argument to get Noel on board for the Wildcats.
3. On Tuesday, Lexington city leaders approved a $250-$300 million renovation of Rupp Arena that would be occur over three offseasons starting as early as 2014.  Multiple sources would be used to raise the money including “revenue from naming rights of the arena, premium seating, advertising, sponsorships, concert and event promotions, concessions, stock offerings, state road funds, state tourism tax incentives, tax increment financing and new market tax credits.” Basketball is big business in Kentucky — certainly everyone has a financial stake in it one way or another.
4. On the CBS Sports “Eye on College Basketball” blog, Jeff Goodman posed the question of which starting five is better, the Toronto Raptors’ five or Kentucky’s? He wrote the article after seeing Toronto, coached by a former Wildcat, Dwane Casey, open up against Boston by starting Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan (USC), James Johnson (Wake Forest), Ed Davis (UNC) and Aaron Gray (Pittsburgh). The online poll favored UK by a better than 4-to-1 margin which leads to the obvious question — would it be unanimous if the NBA team in the question were the Washington Wizards? Or worse, the Charlotte Bobcats?
5. On FoxSportsSouth.com, Steve Eubanks writes about the varying reasons why SEC basketball gets so little attention and respect. His two top reasons: the dominance of SEC football and the dominance of Kentucky basketball. He writes that much of the rest of the the SEC plays in front of half-empty arenas. Texas A&M and Missouri should help raise the profile of the league as a basketball conference (although the television markets and football have driven the conversations thus far), but neither have such storied backgrounds as to approach Kentucky and if you were to put fans of the two programs on truth serum, both would more likley take football success over basketball (maybe it would be a closer vote with Tiger fans).

1. Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post spotlighted Florida forward Will Yeguete in advance of Thursday’s contest with South Carolina. Yeguete has moved into the starting lineup after Patric Young’s injured ankle forced him to come off the bench. Last year, Yeguete averaged 3.4 turnovers per 40 minutes played; this year, that ratio is down to 1.2 turnovers per 40 minutes. “It became very difficult to play him because when he touched the ball, there was a good chance he was going to turn it over,” said coach Billy Donovan.
2. At DeathValleyVoice.com, a Wednesday story wondered aloud if a 3-6 finish and a 15-15 season would put LSU head coach Trent Johnson on the hot seat. While asking the question, the article does take the time to point out that this year’s squad has shown marked improvement in the national rankings in scoring, scoring defense, rebounding margin, turnover margin and free-throw percentage.
3. In three of their last four games, Vanderbilt has been hurt by its opponent’s three-point shooting. Arkansas and Mississippi State combined to shoot 19-of-43 (44.2%) in defeating the Commodores while Middle Tennessee almost pulled off the upset on Saturday thanks in part to connecting on 7-of-13 from beyond the arc. None of those teams rank in the top 100 in three-point percentage. However, the next team on the Commodores’ schedule, Florida, leads the nation in three-pointers made per game.
4. For the second consecutive weekend, Florida will be part of the controversial Thursday-Saturday scheduling as the Gators host South Carolina today followed by welcoming in Vanderbilt on Saturday. In the last three years, Florida has gone 11-1 in Thursday-Saturday matchups and as Erving Walker said last week,  “The coaches just prepare us well. We’re young kids. We shouldn’t be worn down with a day of rest. We had a day of rest and we were ready to go. We like to play.”
5. In an Opelika Auburn News story, Auburn head coach Tony Barbee anticipated Noel Johnson, the transfer from Clemson, having an immediate impact on Auburn. Instead, over his first nine games as a  new Tiger, Johnson has not met expectations, averaging just 1.2 points in 11.4 minutes per game. Worse, he has shot only 15.6% from the floor. Johnson remained invisible in Auburn’s win against Georgia as he missed his only shot in six minutes of action.

1. The Anthony Davis season-long block party continued in Lexington last night as he blocked seven shots in Kentucky’s 69-44 win. Davis increased his block total to 108 on the season, good for 10th on the SEC single-season list. He trails only Shaquille O’Neal for the SEC freshman record, when he blocked 115 shots in the 1989-90 season. For the first time in more than 1,800 games, the Wildcats held three straight opponents to 50 or fewer points (Georgia 44, LSU 50, Tennessee 44). Kentucky had not limited three teams to 50 or fewer points in three consecutive games since the 1950-51 season. On the offensive side, UK hit its first 11 shots and jumped out to a 26-8 lead.
2. Arkansas remained perfect at Bud Walton Arena this season beating Vanderbilt, 82-74, thanks to a 50-point effort in the second half. The Razorbacks improved to 16‐0 at home this season, tying the school record for the most consecutive home wins to start a season (matching the 1993-94 national championship team). The Razorbacks now own home victories against Mississippi State, Michigan and Vanderbilt; the last time that Arkansas defeated three ranked teams in the same season came in 2007‐08 when it beat Mississippi State, Florida and Vanderbilt.
3. The only contest on Wednesday night features Georgia traveling to Auburn to face the Tigers at 8 PM on the SEC Network. Although neither team is threatening the top of the SEC standings, the series is extremely tight as the Bulldogs took a two-game lead in the series (89-87) after a pair of wins last year. Over the 176 games, Georgia leads the all-time score, 10,427-10,223, a difference of a mere 204 points. The home team has won 16 of the last 20 contests.
4. Florida has moved to the top of the national leaderboard in assist/turnover ratio at 1.55. The Gators have increased that mark over their last four games (wins against South Carolina, LSU, Ole Miss and Mississippi State) by dishing out 66 assists against only 33 turnovers. Point guard Erving Walker paces the team with 106 assists and the senior has only 43 turnovers, good for a 2.47 A/TO ratio. He entered his final season sporting a 1.67 A/TO ratio. In the previous two seasons, the Gators sported a 1.14 A/TO ratio, a mark that ranked just outside the top 50 in the NCAA.
5. Since starting 12-1, Mississippi State has gone just 5-4. In defense of the Bulldogs, the losses are all to RPI top-50 schools (Baylor, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Florida). However, Brad Locke surmised that the Bulldogs’ lack of depth could be showing itself. The top three minute-loggers in the SEC come from Mississippi State with Dee Bost (35.0), Arnett Moultrie (34.2) and Rodney Hood (34.2) seeing significant minutes. The Bulldogs feature just 10 scholarship players, and that still includes Renardo Sidney, who as Locke writes is “clearly out of shape and overweight, and he seems incapable of handling any bigger of a playing load.”

1. Vanderbilt returned to the AP top 25 rankings, checking in at #25 after a week that saw the Commodores defeat a pair of in-state foes – Tennessee on Tuesday and 20-3 Middle Tennessee on Saturday. Their stay inside the top 25 will depend on how they fare in a pair of tough road contests this week. First, Vanderbilt travels to Fayetteville for their one regular-season meeting with Arkansas then follow up that trip with a road contest at #12 Florida on Saturday. Combined, the Razorbacks and Gators own a 27-1 mark on their home floors.
2. Tuesday also gives a chance to react to the many bracketology projections around the web. Here on RushTheCourt.net, Zach Hayes gave six SEC schools dance invitations: Kentucky as a #1; Florida and Vanderbilt #4s, Mississippi State a #6, Alabama a #11, and Ole Miss a #12 playing in one of the “First Four” contests. He put Arkansas as one of his last four out. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi puts five SEC teams in the field, led by Kentucky as a #1. Vanderbilt and Florida received #4 seeds, Alabama drew a #7 seed, Mississippi State garnered a #8 seed. He put Ole Miss as one of his “Next Four Out.” On SBNation.com, the same five Lunardi put in the field earned spots: Kentucky a #1, Vanderbilt a #4, Florida a #5, Mississippi State a #6, and Alabama a #10. Ole Miss ranked as one of Chris Dobbertean’s Next Four Out.
3. On the SEC coaches teleconference, Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury was asked by Brad Locke, of the NEMS Daily Journal about the Sunday report that had Renardo Sidney considering leaving Bulldogs either for the NBA or as a transfer. “Not at all. I don’t know where all those reports come from. No discussion at any time,” Stansbury said. He also asked if the two had discussed Sidney’s future at all. Stansbury: “We haven’t talked one bit about his future plans at all. We’re just trying to get through this season.”
4. Tuesday’s other SEC contest features a rematch between Tennessee and Kentucky. The Volunteers led by six at halftime and nearly stunned the now top-ranked Wildcats before losing 65-62. Terrence Jones made some interesting comments to Lexington Herald-Leader in regards to Jarnell Stokes. Stokes, who made his collegiate debut in the first Kentucky game, drew a pair of fouls on Jones and finished with nine points and four rebounds in 17 minutes. Despite that, Jones said “I don’t think he really made that big an impact.” In other quotes, Volunteer head coach Cuonzo Martin said “We’re a better team, but now you have to go on the road in a hostile environment and prove it.” Kentucky has won 47 straight at home and hasn’t lost to Tennessee at Rupp Arena since Chris Lofton scored 31 points in a 75-67 win on Feb. 7, 2006.
5. The third installment of ESPN’s SEC Storied series will premiere on Saturday, February 11. It features Nolan Richardson and his famed “40 Minutes of Hell” style of basketball that culminated in a national championship in 1994. Arkansas fans will be able to catch a screening before the 9 p.m. airing on ESPNU as it will air on the Bud Walton Arena video boards. From the ArkansasSports360.com account, the movie “produced by NASCAR Media Group and directed by Kenan Harris-Holley, includes interviews with former President of the United States Bill Clinton, Richardson himself, former Arkansas Chancellor John White and current Arkansas coach Mike Anderson. Players Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman, Corey Beck, Al Dillard, Ken Biley and John Engskov contribute to the film, as well as radio announcer Mike Nail, author Rus Bradburd and ESPN’s Dick Vitale and Ryan McGee.” You can watch the trailer here.

1. Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele knows his role on the team, as do his teammates and coaches. “I’ve always said that Jalen (Steele) is the one guy that does something different on this basketball team,” coach Rick Stansbury said. “He is capable of doing what he did, jump up and make shots. He’s the one guy, if you ask me what his role is — it is to make shots.” And that is exactly what Steele did on Wednesday night against LSU. While the Bulldogs were just five of 14 from beyond the arc, Steele contributed to more than half of MSU’s outside points going three of four from three-point land. The Bulldogs are solid in the frontcourt, but could use a consistent outside threat as they are fifth in the conference with a 35.3% three-point accuracy. Not bad, but not terribly threatening either. Steele becomes even more valuable for the Bulldogs if he can continue to knock shots down from long range.
2. LSU forward Johnny O’Bryant was medically cleared to play on Tuesday for his first action since the beginning of January. O’Bryant suffered a fractured hand in practice on January 4, which kept him on the sidelines for five straight games. He saw playing time on Wednesday night against Mississippi State and its formidable frontline of Arnett Moultrie and Renardo Sidney. And it looks like O’Bryant will need a few more games to get back in the swing of things. He played a solid 20 minutes, but finished with just six points and four rebounds. The key to the game was rebounds, and LSU wasn’t able to keep up with Mississippi State. The Tigers had a 51.4% defensive rebounding percentage and just 21.6% on the offensive end. LSU will need O’Bryant and the rest of the LSU frontcourt to shore up its rebounding to stay competitive in the conference.
3. With Wednesday’s win over Alabama, South Carolina avoided an 0-5 start in SEC play. It would have been their worst start in the conference since an 0-6 start in 1998-99. Coach Darrin Horn admits his Gamecocks need the kind of atmosphere that was displayed in the Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday night. “We need our fans,” Horn said. “We need some atmosphere. I appreciate them finally getting up and doing that.” South Carolina also needed a little Bruce Ellington. The sophomore guard hit the game-winner with 1.3 seconds remaining. He finished with 12 points for the Gamecocks, but more importantly, appears to be getting into a solid groove as he becomes more comfortable on the basketball court (after playing football for Steve Spurrier through early January). Ellington has averaged 14.5 points and three assists over his last four games, and will need to continue to be a focal point for South Carolina to win another conference game (or two).
4. After a four game losing streak, Alabama has gone from SEC title contender to no longer even a lock to make the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide’s only win over an RPI top 25 opponent came against Wichita State in mid-November. For a team with an RPI of 40, the problem is that there aren’t too many more opportunities for that big victory. The Tide have Florida and Mississippi State at home, as well as two games against Ole Miss. Anthony Grant‘s squad was left out of last year’s Big Dance because of a low RPI and very few marquee wins. It would be a shame for a team that started out so strong in 2011-12 to meet the same fate. It is, of course, very early to be talking about which teams are in and which ones are out, but isn’t that part of what makes college basketball so fun? However. there won’t be anything fun about March for Grant and company unless Alabama is able to  string together wins in the SEC.
5. Florida freshman Bradley Beal played poorly over two consecutive games in early January shooting 6-27 without scoring in double figures. After three solid games in a row, Beal says his slump is over. “He’s got a better feel and understanding of when and where shots are coming for him,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “I don’t know if he ever really felt comfortable with that. I think he’s getting better at that. I think he’s understanding when to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive, but he’s not allowing some missed shots or plays that maybe don’t go his way to affect him on the next play.” Even with a couple of difficult games mixed in, Beal has had a terrific first (and maybe only) year for the Gators. He has managed to score 14.1 points per game playing in a backcourt with Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton with Mike Rosario coming off the bench. That is impressive for anyone, but especially a freshman.

Over the past few days, ESPN has taken to looking back at the 25-year history of three-point shot, so it seemed only appropriate to give our own rankings of some of the best shooters from distance the SEC has seen since the introduction of the shot in 1986. So in alphabetical order, here is one man’s list.

You Know the SEC's All-Time Three-Point Marksman Would Be On This List

• Barry Booker, Vanderbilt, 1986-89 (246 3FG, 46.0%). Booker arrived in Nashville the same year the three-point shot arrived in college basketball. All he did was establish the conference record for three-point proficiency (minimum 300 attempts) and helped start the Commodores’ streak of three-point field goals. Vandy has made a trey in all 816 games they’ve played since 1986-87, joining UNLV and Princeton as the only three schools to make at least one in every game the arc has existed.
• Pat Bradley, Arkansas, 1996-99 (366 3FG, 40.0%): Bradley arrived on the scene the year after Scotty Thurman departed. Bradley shattered Thurman’s records for makes and attempts and set the SEC record for consecutive games with one three with 60 straight, 13 better than the previous record.
• Travis Ford, Kentucky, 1991-94 (190 3FG, 44.5%): Paired with Jamal Mashburn, the Missouri transfer helped the Wildcats return to the Final Four in 1993. He established the SEC’s single-season three-point percentage mark that season shooting an incredible 52.9% from the arc (101-for-191).
• Shan Foster, Vanderbilt, 2005-08 (367 3FG, 42.1%): While Chris Lofton shined as the league’s pre-eminent three-point marksman, within the same state, Foster more than held his own. Entering his senior year as a 39.7% shooter, Foster made an SEC single-season record 134 threes in 2008 en route to earning SEC Player of the Year.

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1. The SEC will expand to at least 18 games next season, and a 19-game schedule is a strong possibility. The additional games would enable the league to keep the same scheduling format, and help SEC teams add marquee home games (and potential TV games on ESPN and CBS) to the schedules. Every team (sans Kentucky because of the potential to be forced to discard a marquee game with North Carolina or Indiana) is likely to favor the additional league games. Expanding the SEC format should help keep the conference strong in the RPI category, by playing in-conference games against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Missouri or Florida rather than Radford, South Carolina State or Alabama A&M.
2. Kentucky and Florida are two of just nine schools that will unveil new Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms during one conference game this season. According to Nike, these aren’t just for the futuristic look, but are “designed to create a new level of performance based on superior innovation.” The uniforms will feature “advanced ventilation and a unique platinum color that speaks to the exclusivity of those chosen to wear it.” And don’t you worry, fans will be able to purchase t-shirts from the new Elite Platinum brand. Both schools have chosen to wear their new unis against Tennessee. Kentucky will unveil its new duds on January 31, while the Gators will break them out on February 11. Why Tennessee? Maybe it’s a coincidence, but the Volunteers have a strong relationship with Adidas. Well played, Nike… well played.
3. Vanderbilt’s 65-47 drubbing of Tennessee on Tuesday night showcased again what a solid season senior Jeffery Taylor is having for the Commodores. Taylor put up an impressive 23 points, nine rebounds and four steals, bringing his averages to 17.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on the season. Most SEC fans consider junior guard John Jenkins to be the premier three-point shooter for Vanderbilt and the entire conference, but Taylor is second in the league with a 48.6% three point rate. In fact, Taylor hasn’t shot less than 50% from beyond the arc since a January 2 win over Miami (Ohio), and was a perfect 3-of-3 from long range against the Volunteers. His recent play reminds us how important center Festus Ezeli is to the Vanderbilt offense. Ezeli’s return to the lineup coincides with Taylor’s improved play because of the attention given to the big man inside. The Commodores have won nine out of their last 10 contests after a disappointing 6-4 start.
4. Arkansas freshman Hunter Mickelson enjoyed a breakout game against Michigan with 11 points off the bench. Mickelson’s contributions are much needed considering the Razorbacks’ thin frontline. Coach Mike Anderson was happy with what he saw from Mickelson, but hopes for more. “Sometimes when you make that first shot, man, you get confidence,” Anderson said. “I thought that relaxed Hunter. He looked more relaxed than anything else in the game against Michigan. Hopefully we’ll see much more of that Hunter Mickelson.” And we just might. Arkansas has just three healthy scholarship players in its frontcourt after the injury bug hit the Razorbacks hard. Forward Marshawn Powell is gone after a season ending knee injury, and forward Marvell Waithe is doubtful for Wednesday’s game after a calf strain sustained in the Michigan win.
5. When coaches say to take each game “one game at a time,” it is really more of a practice of the old saying “do as I say, not as I do.” Gator Zone takes an interesting look at the scouting habits of the Florida Gators. The effects of the quick turnaround (Thursday/Saturday combination) of conference games has forced the Gators’ coaching staff to be more prepared for upcoming games. Florida’s staff is looking five to 10 games out as each coach has an assignment to scout a future opponent. Billy Donovan wants what he calls “absolutes,” which means, “we absolutely have to do these things to win the game.” Just because scouting requires a lot of patience and energy doesn’t mean Donovan just accepts what his staff comes up with. “I ask a million questions,” Donovan said. “My favorite is, ‘Why?’ I want to hear why. I want them to explain to me why we’re going to do that. I want answers.” The article is an interesting read on an area of the game that we don’t often hear much about, and displays an inside look in how the Gators took down the Tigers on Saturday.

Kevin Doyle is an RTC correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @KLDoyle11. He filed this report from the Kentucky-Georgia game in Athens Tuesday night.

Shortly after the Top 25 poll was released for the week of January 23, Kentucky head coach John Calipari was no doubt a bit uneasy seeing his Wildcats perched atop of the rankings. In Kentucky’s first stint as the #1-ranked team in America back in December, they fell to an upstart Indiana team in what has been, without question, the game of the season to date. The Wildcats led in the final minute, but two late missed free throws allowed the Hoosiers to have one final shot to win it and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast forward a month and a half and 11 games — all UK victories, by the way — and Kentucky found themselves in a similar position. In an article released by The Louisville Courier-Journal recently, Calipari explains how experiencing adversity and knowing what it feels like to lose again may not be the worst thing in the world:

I did tell them the way this is going, we probably need a loss so that we’ll come together and say, ‘We’re not losing like this.’ In other words, getting manhandled. We’re getting manhandled and winning close games, so they think it’s OK. So my thing is, let’s take it on the chin. Now whatcha gonna do? You going to say it’s OK? I don’t think they’re going to say it’s OK.

In last night’s contest at Stegeman Coliseum before a sold-out crowd of Georgia fans (although Big Blue Nation certainly made their presence felt), Kentucky was the team that did, as Calipari would call it, “the manhandling.” It was not the most aesthetically pleasing basketball game to watch as the teams combined for a mere 101 points, but Kentucky powered their way to a comfortable 13-point victory, 57-44. Georgia hung around for much of the first half, but after the under-four media timeout Kentucky exerted their will and coasted. The Bulldogs never got within single digits in the second half.

The Unibrow Is a Dominant Defender Only Scratching the Surface of His Ability

Looking back at Cal’s remarks, it is easy to side with him and say that a tough loss may be good for team morale as it would ostensibly rally the squad together and force them to refocus. He can say that the target is even bigger on their backs now since they are riding a 12-game winning streak, undefeated in the SEC, one of only three 20+ game winners, and the #1 team in the country. But, let’s be honest, they are the University of Kentucky — Big Blue Nation — the target is always on their back and every time they step on the floor the spotlight is squarely on Cal & Co. Would a loss change Kentucky’s mindset as to how they approach a future game?

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