Kentucky reaches the halfway point of the SEC slate.
Greetings, BBN!
The Cats are starting to slide a bit in the league standings. Going down them, you see a long list of ranked teams one after another, plus Vandy, who was ranked only just last week, and then you get Kentucky at the bottom of the pile at 4-5 but with a #14 AP ranking. They’ve lost four of their last five, with the only win being at #4 Tennessee who since then has rolled Florida and Missouri in the same Thompson-Boling Arena Kentucky walked away with that win at.
Saturday’s home game against 0-9 South Carolina will be Kentucky’s chance to get back on track as they enter the second half of their schedule. Of course, if they don’t win it then it might be time to sound some alarm bells. But let’s not focus on the worst-case scenario.
Here are your SEC standings as of February 6th:
SEC Basketball Standings
Notes:
- Just when you thought they were gone, the Hogs are back! Arkansas is still alive and kicking after a road victory at Texas proved the Kentucky game wasn’t entirely a crazy fluke and they still have their eyes on the big March bracket. It’ll be a tough backstretch for them, but they certainly aren’t as far off from the right side of the bubble as they were last week.
- What surprised me the most about seeing Tennessee’s home win over Missouri on Wednesday night was that it was their third straight league game at home. What kind of newfangled scheduling is this that involves a three-game homestand in the SEC? Are some teams doing the same thing on the road?
- Auburn’s backstretch will be interesting. The Tigers will play Alabama twice, and Florida, UK, and Texas A&M each once. This Saturday is the first of these heavyweight #1 ranking title bouts: At home against the #6 Florida Gators.
- #10 Texas A&M plays #15 Missouri this Saturday in the “How are both these teams ranked so high?” game.
- Kentucky needs to win more SEC games to avoid playing on Wednesday night of the SEC tournament. I know Mark Pope’s committed to SEC Tournament success, but having to win five games in five days will make that a whole lot harder!