The SEC Full Court Press is a quick hitting review of my thoughts and observations from the last week, as well as a look ahead.

The Week That Was:

• LSU is quietly on a six-game winning streak after beating #10 ranked Marquette and North Texas this past week. Could the Tigers (9-3, RPI of 53) give the SEC an unexpected sixth team in the NCAA Tournament? A January 2 match-up with Virginia is shaping up to be a much bigger game than anticipated as this could be a huge resume building win for the Tigers.
• Speaking of LSU, center Justin Hamilton has stepped up his play as of late. Hamilton is averaging 13.8 points and eight rebounds per game over his last four contests.
• Freshman Johnny O’Bryant recorded his first double-double of his career in the Tigers’ win over North Texas on Thursday. O’Bryant scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
• The 48.3% field goal percentage Florida shot in its win over Florida State was the highest shooting percentage the Seminoles have given up all year, showcasing why this Florida team is one of the best in the country. In this classic battle of offense versus defense, offense won.
• Kentucky‘s win over Loyola on Thursday has given the Wildcats the longest home win streak in the country at 42 games dating back to March of 2009. The Cats have not lost a game at Rupp Arena in the John Calipari era.
• It isn’t all about the freshmen in Lexington. With Terrence Jones out of the lineup with a dislocated finger, senior Darius Miller has risen to the occasion. This week, Miller averaged 15 points, 3.5 rebounds, and four assists per game.
• We noted Tennessee‘s putrid three-point defense in the latest edition of Freeze Frame. The Volunteers are allowing opponents to shoot 40.3% from beyond the arc, which is 327th in the nation. Tennessee did slightly better this week, holding both opponents under 40%.

1. Mississippi received a nice present under the tree as forward Murphy Holloway‘s MRI revealed that his injury against Middle Tennessee State University was only a bad high ankle sprain. Andy Kennedy said that Holloway can return to practice as soon as he regains “strength and mobility.” Kennedy and the Rebels will need Holloway back as soon as possible. Holloway is the team’s leading rebounder with 9.6 rebounds per game, and he adds in 9.9 points. The Rebs have lost their last two games in a row, and hit the road to face a tough Dayton team that already knocked off Alabama earlier in the year.
2. Mississippi State freshman Rodney Hood may not have come in with the hype that many SEC freshmen had, but his play is making quite the statement. Hood has come along quickly averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He has focused his practice on mid-range jumpers and it shows. Hood has connected on 62% of his two point field goals this year. “The first part of the season, I was just finding my way,” Hood said. “Now I’m coming into my own.” Rick Stansbury obviously likes what he sees as Hood leads the team in minutes at 33.2 minutes per game.
3. Georgia has struggled in the second half of games this year, blowing halftime leads against Colorado, Cincinnati, and Georgia Tech. Just when it looked like the Bulldogs may let another lead slip out of their grasp, the players dug a little deeper to put together a non-conference win against Furman. “Our team executed very well tonight,” coach Mark Fox said. Freshman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stepped up big, showing a major display of leadership. “I realized that we were starting to slack on defense,” Caldwell-Pope said. “So I just tried to help my team by creating steals, help on the drive, and rebound and I did that.” Georgia will need more than just Caldwell-Pope to step up though. The Bulldogs have struggled on offense (131st in adjusted offensive efficiency) with only one other player averaging double figures in scoring (senior Gerald Robinson at 13.6 PPG).
4. Patric Young is a freak of nature. We all know that, right? But did you see his block on Thursday night? It is clear that Young is beginning to turn some heads with his tremendous play as of late. It is clear that he is a much better player this year than the developing freshman that averaged 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last year. Sometimes, a SportsCenter type highlight is all we need to remind us of that. “Whenever you block somebody’s shot and pull it down with one hand, that’s making ‘SportsCenter,'” Young said. Yes, it will. The highlight reels are nice, but I think Billy Donovan will be more impressed with Young connecting on 63.3% effective field goal percentage, and snagging a solid 11.6 offensive rebounding percentage. Those numbers should lead to Young getting more than the 18.9% of shots (sixth on the team) that he takes in the Florida offense.
5. LSU‘s play of late is putting the team in good company. The last time a Tigers’ team won three road wins in non-conference play was 1985-86. You may remember that LSU team was the lowest seeded team at the time (#11 — now tied with VCU and George Mason) to go to a Final Four. The Tigers have won on the road against Houston, Rutgers, and North Texas. Defense has been the key to the Tigers’ successful run. LSU has held six straight opponents under 60 points, in what is believed to be the first time since the 1952-53 Tigers held six straight teams under 60. This team also has a couple of bad losses to go with those wins — a loss at Coastal Carolina and at home against South Alabama. Which version of Trent Johnson‘s squad will show up when the Tigers get the opportunity for quality RPI games against Virginia, Ole Miss, and Alabama in the next two and a half weeks will be a big determinant in how successful the Tigers are this season.

1.  In Mississippi’s 68-56 loss to Middle Tennessee State, the Rebels’ guards failed to take care of the basketball turning it over 21 times. Freshman Jelan Kendrick, playing in just his second collegiate game ever, might be the answer Andy Kennedy needs at point guard. Kendrick turned the ball over just one time while scoring eight points, dishing out three assists, grabbing four steals, and securing three rebounds.”I’m just looking for somebody that doesn’t throw it to the other team,” Kennedy said. “I don’t mean that flippantly, but that’s the truth.” Although that might be the first time we have ever heard a coach use the term “flippantly”, the point, both literally and figuratively, is not lost. Kennedy gave Kendrick a chance to restore his troubled career, and he may give the 6’7″ guard a chance to run this Rebels team at the point guard position.
2. Kenny Boynton‘s increases in field goal and three point shooting percentages are not by chance or simply another year of experience. Boynton reviews film after each game to improve upon his shot selection. “I watch the whole game,” Boynton said. “Every game. I’m looking at the shots I’ve taken. Were they open shots or tough shots? I didn’t do that my first two years. It’s really helped me a lot, because it’s helped me learn about shot selection.” Boynton is averaging 18.3 points and 3.0 assists per game. His extra time has not only made him a better player, but has made Florida a legitimate SEC title contender.
3. It’s the holiday season, and what Florida really needs in its stocking is a focus on entry passes to the low block for its big man Patric Young. Young is currently shooting 63.3% from the field, but his touches have been limited by an abundance of overzealous shooting guards on the perimeter. He is highly efficient and helps open up the three point shot in the inside-out game. Young’s best game of the year came against Arizona when he took 15 shots, converting on 12, to score 25 points and grab 10 rebounds. Now Florida’s guards need to make sure those kind of performances come more often for the center. And if it isn’t too much to ask, all I really want for Christmas is for Young to keep wearing those protective glasses. He is so much more intimidating in a cool pair of shades.
4. Mississippi State’s Renardo Sidney continues to make strides on the basketball court, and he is now making solid contributions for the Bulldogs. In his last three games, Sidney has averaged 14.6 points and 7.7 rebounds. “I’d like to still get more minutes from him but, again, I’ll take less minutes as long as they’re more productive,” Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury said. “There have been signs of him getting better.” While Sidney still breathes towards the end of games like a dog in 110 degree heat, he is averaging 21.8 minutes this season. Sidney’s increased presence in the post could give Mississippi State one of the most dominant frontlines in the country as forward Arnett Moultrie continues to be one of the most consistent performers in the SEC. Moultrie got his seventh double-double of the season against Northwestern State on Thursday.
5. Speaking of Mississippi State, senior point guard Dee Bost still feels like the Bulldogs are underrated despite staking a solid spot in the polls. “I feel like people don’t respect us enough,” Bost said. “We just have to keep winning to get people’s respect. With polls, that’s people’s opinions. We have to keep winning because that’s all we can control.” MSU is playing top-10 ranked Baylor next week, and Bost, for one, is looking forward to the opportunity to knock off a talented team. “We have another chance to prove where we are in the nation. People don’t respect us. If we win that game, people will respect us.” Alright Bost, it’s a deal. Beat Baylor next week and you will have our respect. Fall short, and we reserve the right to keep questioning the Bulldogs’ legitimacy.

With final exams taking places at many colleges throughout the nation, it was a relatively quiet week in the college basketball world as there were only a handful of games. One major change in this week’s poll is Syracuse’s elevation to the #1 team in the country as they garnered five first place votes. Meanwhile, Xavier has fallen out of the Top 10 after dropping their first game of the season against Oral Roberts—mind you, the Musketeers were without the services of Mark Lyons and Tu Holloway. You may have heard that they were in a minor altercation with Cincinnati not too long ago. As 2011 winds down, so do many of the marquee non-conference games leading into league play as no Top 25 games grace the slate this week.

The Quick ‘n Dirty after the jump…

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The SEC has been firmly divided into three solid groups all season. There were four upper echelon SEC teams (Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida and Alabama) all ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason (three of which were in the Top 10), and they are generally considered amongst the best teams in the country. Even Vanderbilt critics have to admit that with injured center Festus Ezeli back in the lineup, the Commodores are a Top 25 mainstay and a tough team to beat in the regular season (the NCAA Tournament is a different beast and I think we have to disregard their lack of postseason success in a discussion on regular season supremacy). The lower tier (all the other SEC teams) consists of teams that can barely make an argument to be in a power conference, much less the upper tier of one. With losses to Elon, Coastal Carolina, and Austin Peay (just to name a few), the bottom seven teams in the SEC won’t sniff the Top 50 this year, much less the Top 25. But then there’s Mississippi State in a class by itself. Are the Bulldogs in a third tier in the SEC all by themselves? Or have the Bulldogs done enough to be considered amongst the SEC’s top tier teams this year?

The Bulldogs' inconsistencies make it difficult to know their potential

The Bulldogs have risen into the Top 25 (20th in the RTC Top 25, 17th in the AP Top 25, and 16th in the ESPN/USA Today poll) with a 10-1 record and wins over West Virginia, Arizona, and Texas A&M. Both Arizona and A&M were ranked at the time, but the Aggies were playing without star forward Khris Middleton and Arizona might have been slightly over-ranked (no bad losses, but no good wins either – the point is, like Mississippi State, we don’t know a lot about the Wildcats at this point). West Virginia has an early loss to Kent State, so it is uncertain how much of a quality win that was for the Bulldogs. We must give credit where credit is due, the Bulldogs needed to win those games and they did. But are they quality wins? There is a lot of uncertainty about this Mississippi State team, and that leaves more questions than answers.

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1. Is 2011 the worst year in the history of Tennessee athletics? Bruce Pearl resurrected a Tennessee basketball program from the depths of the SEC, building the program from the ground up, only to singlehandedly burn it to the ground with a BBQ in his backyard. As much good as Pearl did for the state of UT basketball, he did far more to tear it down after the NCAA forced the Volunteers’ hand in firing him. The state of the Tennessee basketball program has fallen to the point where the Vols lost to a 1-9 Austin Peay team last week, and nobody gave the box score a second look. New coach Cuonzo Martin will restore Tennessee to a place where it has become accustomed, but it cannot be stressed enough just how far the Volunteers have fallen.
2. Kentucky’s loss to Indiana on Saturday was an instant classic. The atmosphere in Bloomington, the buzzer-beating shot to win it all and the fall of the number one program in the land made for must-see TV. The game drew 3.5 million viewers, which is impressive, but as Gary Parrish points out, the series could be canceled because of the imminent addition of two SEC games to UK’s schedule. My knee jerk reaction is the same as Parrish’s — college basketball is better because of home-and-home series with bitter rivals. And so are the teams that get the experience of playing on the road in a hostile environment. Kentucky may have lost the game last Saturday, but the Cats will likely be a better team come March because of it.
3. Much has been made over the last several days on the microsite regarding Terrence Jones‘ disappearance in Kentucky’s last game. Jones didn’t show up, and nobody, including Jones, is arguing that point. But it wasn’t just fans and overzealous bloggers who took notice of his disappointing play. Several NBA scouts are divided on where to take Jones in the next NBA Draft. Some indicate they would take him in the top half of the lottery while other scouts would pass on Jones altogether. The sophomore forward returned to Kentucky to win a National Championship and to raise his stock in the NBA Draft, and he can’t continue to play with the poor attitude he displayed on Saturday if he wants to reach either of those goals.
4. Florida Atlantic gave Mississippi State everything the Bulldogs could handle Tuesday night until MSU pulled away in the final minute for a 75-68 win. Rick Stansbury’s club obviously missed the production of forward Arnett Moultrie, who sat out with knee tendinitis. Moultrie averages 17.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game on the season. Overweight forward Renardo Sidney did everything he could to fill in for Moultrie with 10 points and eight rebounds, but looked exhausted in the final few minutes. Sidney walked up and down the court in the second half, and still doesn’t have the conditioning or desire to be a star for the Bulldogs. Instead he has settled in nicely as a role player that complements Moultrie’s production. However, it is clear that Sidney doesn’t have the motor to provide the hustle and effort that Moultrie gives day in and day out for Mississippi State.
5. South Carolina got a much needed 66-55 win over Presbyterian College on Tuesday night. Bruce Ellington came off the bench to give a steady influence the Gamecocks need at the guard position. Ellington scored 15 points and committed only two turnovers in 25 minutes of play. The Gamecocks have won two games in a row after a three-point win over Clemson on December 4. But wait… do the Gamecocks really think they can beat Ohio State on Saturday if they play like they did in the second half of the PC game? To be fair, the author says USC has “a proverbial puncher’s chance” and Ellington’s return has South Carolina looking like a much better team. At this point, there is no word on Jared Sullinger’s return from a back injury that sidelined him for the Buckeyes’ loss last weekend to Kansas. Maybe South Carolina’s chances aren’t such a longshot after all.

Students across SEC schools are finishing up their term papers and cramming for finals before the Christmas break. To help their students, most schools have scheduled a bunch of high-calorie cupcakes for this week’s game. Beware of the sugar crash! A team might sleep through their on-court exam and end up with an embarrassing grade.

Which games are worth the extra case of Red Bull, and which you should just sleep through?

Tennessee at Charleston — Wednesday, December 14 at 9 PM on ESPN2 and ESPN3 (***)

In the midst of a three-game losing streak — including an embarrassing 74-70 home loss to Austin Peay last Saturday — Tennessee has squandered a scrappy, feel-good start to the season. In order to build any momentum for being included on the NCAA Tournament bubble come March, Cuonzo Martin‘s team must stop the slide in the Carolina First Center. The College of Charleston has racked up an impressive 7-1 record this season with wins at Clemson and on a neutral court against UMass. They should win the Southern Conference and by extension make a potential win by Tennessee look especially good to the NCAA Selection Committee.

Tennessee Is the Only SEC Team Facing A Legitimate Threat This Week

Tennessee will need to find the defensive pressure of olden times to pull off the upset. For the season the Cougars are shooting 46.6% from the field and all five starters shoot better than 45%. Tennessee is 0-4 when allowing their opponents to shoot better than 43% from the field. Charleston is getting out-rebounded by their opponents by an average of three per game. If Tennessee can use their athleticism and length to contest shots and dominate the defensive glass, it will fuel their transition game and possibly help them avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006.

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After one of the most extraordinary weekends of college basketball in recent memory — for good and bad reasons alike — there is a real logjam with the top three teams in the RTC poll as Ohio State, Kentucky, and Syracuse are all bunched together. The Buckeyes have a slim edge as our pollsters deemed that a road loss to Kansas without Jared Sullinger did not warrant Syracuse jumping past them into #1 position. Two teams from the Big Ten made a splash into this week’s Top 25 in a big way as Indiana and Michigan State have joined the party after posting big wins.

The Quick ‘n Dirty after the jump…

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1. Kentucky played really well on Saturday considering it was without its best player playing in a hostile environment against Indiana. Ok, so technically Terrence Jones played for the Wildcats, but he performed quite a disappearing act. “These guys are not machines, guys,” John Calipari said. “They’re not computers. They have bad games. You move on. Hopefully he plays better from here on. Maybe five games from now he has another bad game. You try to win without him.” In the end, the Hoosiers were too much to handle for the Cats with Jones playing the worst game of his career. Jones was limited to 28 minutes, four points on only three shot attempts, one rebound, and six turnovers. He failed to hedge on pick-and-roll situations multiple times leaving his teammates out of position on penetration. Jones’ defensive deficiencies helped create a 10-point deficit mid-way through the second half. What was even more alarming was Jones’ attitude as he sulked his way through almost the entire second half.
2. The sky isn’t completely falling in Lexington. There were some positives from the Indiana loss for the young Wildcats, mainly the emergence of Marquis Teague in the second half. Teague played about as badly as I have seen a point guard play in the first half. He missed several open layups, he turned the ball over, and he failed once again to lead his team. But the second half was a different story. During the second 20 minutes, Teague was 6-6 for 15 points and one assist in 16 solid minutes. Anyone can see that Teague’s development at point guard is key to Kentucky’s play this season.
3. Florida coach Billy Donovan had a heart-to-heart with his starting guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton regarding ill-advised shot selection following a combined 5-27 shooting night against Arizona. Walker and Boynton received the message loud and clear as both responded with improved play on Friday night against Rider. “I think sometimes those two guys get misconstrued of what they are about,” Donovan said. “They want to win and they have a strong desire to win. I do think that’s what makes them both great players is there is a fearlessness there of wanting to go out there and do it.” Boynton finished with a season-high 26 points and Walker added 12 points and four assists. Florida’s guard play has been both a strength and a weakness at times this year. The Gators have the talent to be a team that could win the SEC, but their guards can be overly selfish and can rely too heavily on outside shooting.
4. Andy Kennedy‘s Mississippi Rebels have been a surprise so far this season at 8-1 overall, but the Rebels still have to work on their offensive efficiency. Ole Miss is shooting 27% from three-point range and 59% from the free throw line. “We’ve really struggled,” Kennedy said about Ole Miss’ offensive struggles. The Rebels currently average 69.3 points per game which is 153rd in the country and an adjusted offensive efficiency of 99.7 for 171st in the country. 5’11” guard Dundrecous Nelson takes 31.4% of the Rebels shots, but he has an effective field goal percentage of just 43%. Look for Kennedy to work forward Murphy Holloway more into the Rebels offense as his efficiency is much higher than the remainder of his teammates, yet he is only averaging just over 11 points per game.
5. Mississippi State enjoyed a 106-68 blowout win over Troy on Saturday. Despite their usual reliance on the inside game, the Bulldogs tied a school record with 16 three-pointers. Forward Arnett Moultrie still did plenty to establish himself on the low block with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but it was the outside shooters who helped MSU run away with this one. Senior Dee Bost was 7 for 13 from beyond the arc on his way to 28 points. Even Renardo Sidney got in on the action with a three of his own, his first of the season, mid-way through the first half. The 51.6% shooting clip was the first time Mississippi State has shot over 50% from three-point range this year. The Bulldogs are now 9-1 on the season. Not coincidentally, in their lone loss this year against Akron, the Dogs shot 2 of 13 (15.4%) from three.

1. Sebastian Pruiti wrote an excellent piece on the pros and cons of Kentucky‘s Anthony Davis, complete with boxes and arrows. Pruiti breaks down how Davis has been able to excel at offensive rebounding, while remaining somewhat limited in defensive rebounding. Davis averages almost three offensive rebounds per game, using his speed and athleticism to chase down the Wildcats’ missed shots on the offensive end. However, those are not the same skills needed to box out an opposing player. Davis’ improvement was noted in the article by showcasing his effort against North Carolina, but effort doesn’t always grab defensive rebounds. Look for Davis to continue to improve over the course of this season as he is tested by stronger low post threats.
2. Florida may have beaten Arizona 78-72, but the game easily could have gone the other way. Up three with 3.9 seconds left, Billy Donovan instructed Gator forward Casey Prather to foul Arizona forward Solomon Hill for a one-and-one situation. Instead, Hill was ruled to be in the act of shooting and was given three free throws to tie the game.  “He did exactly what we wanted to do,” Donovan said. But of course Donovan and the Gators didn’t agree with the call. “Nobody agreed with the call but you just have to turn around and start focusing on overtime,” Florida guard Brad Beal said. “Basically, just staying composed and playing basketball.”
3. Freshman BJ Young has stepped in to fill much of the scoring void left by injured Arkansas forward Marshawn Powell. Young scored a career-high 28 points against defending national champion Connecticut. He is averaging 15.4 points per game thus far this year, while shooting an even 50% from the field. Coach Mike Anderson is hoping opposing defenses don’t just zero in on Young. “We have some other options,” Anderson said. “And so hopefully those other options are clicking like he was clicking the other night.” So far for the Razorbacks, those other options haven’t been able to get going on the offensive end.
4. John Calipari has coached a number of talented teams in his career, but this year’s Cats may be Cal’s best. A rundown of Kentucky’s roster is enough evidence, but it’s Kentucky’s team defense that makes this claim legitimate. The Cats are holding opposing offenses to 32% shooting from the field, and easily outrebounding opponents on the season. While the author calls Kentucky’s game with Indiana on Saturday a “test”, it might be more of a practice run for the true test at the end of this month with in-state rival and top 10 team, the Louisville Cardinals.
5. Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury has to be happy with the production off the bench from forward Wendell Lewis. Lewis averaged 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds a game last year, but has increased his numbers to 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds this year. Bulldogs’ forward Arnett Moultrie gave Lewis some confidence when Lewis needed to step in for the injured Moultrie. “This is your time to step and show the coaches you can play,” Moultrie told Lewis, who showed what he was capable of with 11 points and 11 rebounds, which was good enough for his first career double-double. Lewis has to be knocking on the door of a starting role with starter Renardo Sidney struggling to find his role. Sidney is averaging 8.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for the 8-1 Bulldogs.