The SEC:
It’s no secret or debate that the SEC is the best conference in college hoops this year. The conference's overall record is an absurd 217-55, with each team having 10+ wins on the season. Now that conference play is in full swing, we are getting a top 25 matchup almost every night from the SEC. As of today, the conference is projected to have 11 out of its 16 teams make the tournament, but could have up to 14 depending on how conference play finishes. The record for teams from a conference to make the tournament is 11, which is currently held by the Big East in 2011. Currently, Auburn is leading the way, which is no surprise because they are simply the best team in the country and look like a team that might be unstoppable come March. Right behind them is Ole Miss, who is currently undefeated in conference play and just picked up a massive 10 point road victory in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels were a 10 point underdog and ended up not just beating Alabama, but controlling the entire second half and winning by 10 points. Chris Beard has the Rebels in a great position in his second year as Head Coach. Ole Miss hasn’t had a NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019, but are currently projected as high as a 5 seed come March and have already established themselves as an auto bid. This conference is by far the most fun to watch and brings YouTube re-watch worthy games night after night. There is also just no surprise that the schools that bring in the most money through football are now beginning to build power house college basketball programs and get the best coaches/recruits in the nation. They have SEVEN legit Elite 8 caliber teams and at least three Final 4.
Rutgas:
This Rutgers team is finally starting to look like what they were projected to be, pre-season. Dylan Harper finally looks like he is back to 100% after missing a couple games and not looking fully healthy in others due to illness. The outstanding Freshman duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper lead the team in every significant category, except for steals. Ace is averaging 19.3 PPG and 7.9 RPG, while Dylan is averaging 20.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG. The next closest player averages 7.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG, which is why this team will probably not end up doing anything in March. Who cares though? These kids are incredibly fun to watch, so let’s all just enjoy watching Rutgers be fun while we can. If it weren’t for Cooper Flagg, both of these kids could be the #1 pick in the NBA draft this year. They will likely be the second and third picks behind Flagg this year, and I hope we get to see them play in March because they’re awesome.
What happened this week?!?!
Monday:
UCLA @ Rutgers: Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper combine for 38 points in Rutgers 7 point win over UCLA. The wheels have officially fallen off as UCLA drops its 4th straight.
Final Score: UCLA 68 - Rutgers 75
Tuesday:
Xavier @ Villanova: Ryan Conwell scores a game high 34 for Xavier in route to a 6 point victory over the Wildcats. It is going to be tough to win on the road in the Big East this year
Final Score: Nova 63 - Xavier - 69
#19 Illinois @ Indiana: Illinois dominated Indiana from start to finish at Assembly Hall. Illinois was led by Tomislav Ivisic (17), Kylan Boswell (22) and Kasparas Jakucionis (21). You can make good money fading Indiana all year.
Final Score: Illinois 94 - Indiana 69
#7 Marquette @ Depaul: Marquette narrowly espaces the upset at DePaul in an OT thriller. David Joplin scored a game high 30 points in route to the OT victory for Marquette. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s going to be tough to win on the road in the Big East this year.
Final Score: Marquette 85 - DePaul 83
#11 Texas A&M @ #8 Kentucky: Kentucky basically controls from start to finish as Mark Pope starts conference play off with a 3-1 record in his first year as Head Coach.
Final Score: Texas A&M 69 - Kentucky 81
#15 Miss State @ #1 Auburn: In a game that many thought Auburn might drop due to Johni Broome’s injury, they beat the 15th ranked team in the country by 22. Auburn had 5 players score in double figured and one finish with 9. This team is ranked #1 for a reason, auto Final 4.
Final Score: Miss State 66 - Auburn 88
#21 Ole Miss @ #4 Alabama: Mark Sears continues to struggle this season, as Bama falls at home. Malik Dia led all scorers with 23 in route to the Rebels 10th straight victory. If you would have told me a year ago that Sean Pedulla was going to outscore Mark Sears in a game in Tuscaloosa, I would have laughed in your face and told you to check into a mental institution.
Final Score: Ole Miss 74 - Bama 64
Ohio State @ #24 Wisconsin: I can’t stand watching this Ohio State basketball team. I think they are awful and have been fading them every game. Wisconsin has 3 players score in double figures as they win by 2.
Final Score: OSU 68 - Wisco 70
Missouri @ #5 Gator: Trouble at home on Tuesday for the Gators as Caleb Grill, who I think looks like the guy that killed those college girls in Idaho, scores 22 and hits a big time 3 with under 3 minutes left to extend their lead to 7. Gators make a late push but unfortunately needed another 30 seconds. Uh oh Gators!
Final Score: Missouri 83 - Gator 82
Arkansas @ LSU: Panic for John Calipari as his teams starts off SEC conference play 0-4.
Final Score: Arkansas 74 - LSU 78
Miami @ #3 Duke: Kon Knueppel had 25 points, no additional coverage needed for this one as Duke beats Miami by 35 points at Cameron Indoor.
Final Score: Miami 54 - Duke 89
#25 Baylor @ Arizona: Arizona picks up their first victory against a ranked opponent this year in an 11 point win against Baylor. Henri Veesaar led all scorers with 19 points.
Final Score: Baylor 70 - Arizona 81
Weekend Lookahead
It’s looking like most of these biweekly recap/lookahead pieces are going to focus a lot on the Southeastern Conference, and for good reason. There will be 3 SEC top 25 matchups, including a Top 10 showdown in Rupp Arena, the biggest home basketball game for Georgia in a LONG time, and another chance for the Ole Miss Rebels to steal a huge win on the road. There are (very fair) worries that there could be to some extent some SEC cannibalization because the league is talented top to bottom and because of how hard it is to win on the road, and there are signs of that early as the 3 teams with the longest active winning streaks all are outside of the SEC. Let’s take a look at those 3 squads and see how much (if any) danger they are in to their win streak dropping back to nil, as well as some more action to look forward to this weekend.
The Winning Streaks
#2 Iowa St @ West Virginia: The Iowa State Cyclones have the longest active win streak in D1 basketball at 12 games, thanks to a comfortable win over the Kansas Jayhawks at home earlier this week. This Saturday, they’ll head to Morgantown to play a feisty Mountaineer team that already went into Allen Fieldhouse and beat Kansas themselves. Ask Jon Rothstein how tough it is to head to West Virginia for a game. This outing will be an intense matchup, one featuring the best WVU team in years. Iowa St danger level: 8/10
#19 Illinois @ #12 Michigan St: The Spartans, holding a 10 game win streak, will be hosting an Illinois team coming off a two game stretch that included an inexplicable 10 point home loss to USC and an absolute beatdown in Assembly Hall over Indiana. Which Illinois team will show up at the Breslin Center? Who’s to tell. All I know is the atmosphere will be ELECTRIC in one of the best places to play in all of the big ten. Michigan St danger level: 7/10
#3 Duke @ Boston College: The Blue Devils will head up to the Northeast riding an 11 game win streak. The Blue Devils had their first fairly close game in some time against Notre Dame last weekend and followed that up with a beatdown against a turbulent Miami team. Boston College simply is not good. Stranger things have happened, but this doesn’t feel like the type of game Duke will let slip, especially with a stretch of games @ Wake Forest, NC State, and UNC looming. Duke danger level: 2
More Weekend Action
#4 Alabama @ #8 Kentucky (12:00PM): Is there a better way to kick off the weekend than these two high power offenses butting heads right at noon in Rupp Arena? No. I don’t think there is
Creighton @ #14 UConn (12:00PM): Two of the best teams in the Big East taking the stage in Connecticut. Ryan Kalkbrenner finally doesn’t have to deal with Donovan Klingan or Adama Sonogo, expect him to feast.
Clemson @ Pitt (12:00PM): It’s a sad reality that this, a game between two unranked teams, is nearly as good of an ACC matchup as we can get (that doesn’t feature Duke). This is a big game in the race for 2nd in the ACC.
#1 Auburn @ #23 Georgia (1:00PM): The Tigers looked more than capable without Johni Broome at home vs Mississippi St this week, but this Georgia team hasn’t lost at home. Something’s gotta give.
Arizona @ Texas Tech (2:00 PM): Another unraked matchup, but this is going to be a good one. Minus the first 3 weeks of the season, Arizona is playing as good as anyone. Lubbock is tough to play in. I will be tuned in, no matter what.
#17 Purdue @ #13 Oregon (3:00 PM): Oregon already won the Big Ten in football in their first year in the conference, and a win against Purdue Saturday could go a long way in making that happen in hoops too.
#21 Ole Miss @ #15 Mississippi St (6:00 PM): Ole Miss, fresh off a win at Alabama, has another tough road test in front of them. But Chris Beard has this team in a great spot. Should be a great one against the Bulldogs.
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