By When people think of the Southern Conference, the first thing that may pop into their mind is college football. But the conference offers much more than Saturday tailgating and touchdowns. Many of the schools in the SEC also have lightly accomplished or growing menβs basketball teams. College Basketball comes alive in the spring time.
As teams start solidifying their spot in the standings. It is clear to see which SEC teams are here to compete and which might be season surprises. Hereβs a list of the 5 basketball teams that could make a splash this season.
Kentucky: The SEC Darling
An obvious choice for a team to keep in mind for SEC powerhouse basketball. This Kentucky team, led by Head Coach John Calipari is currently 14-3 overall. Four of those wins came against conference rivals. They won their most recent game against Tennessee in impressive fashion. The 107-79 victory led by TyTy Washington Jr. He has 28 points that night. Washington Jr. himself has expressed the impressive run that his team is going on right now. An anticipated game for Kentucky will be on Jan. 22, against other conference heavyweights Auburn.
Auburn
Another clear standout of the SEC division is the Auburn. They are currently leading the division with a 16-1 record. Furthermore, they are 5-0 against other SEC teams. Only them and Texas A&M are perfect in that stat so far. Auburn has rattled off 13 wins in row after their 80-71 win over Ole Miss. The 13 wins coupled with a perfect rode (5-0) and perfect home record (8-0) make it hard to argue that Auburn right now is one of the better teams in the country. They pulled out a gutsy win against rivals Alabama Crimson Tide and has been on top of the college basketball power ranking since.
LSU
Despite just losing to Arkansas 65-58 on Saturday, they are one of the more interesting teams to watch just based on the eye test. They are fast and scrappy; both are positives in a hard-fought division but also can lead to sloppy play from the Tigers. The Tigers have only lost two games this season: the other one being against Auburn. One of their more excited wins is beating Kentucky back on Tue, Jan 4. The next two games for LSU will be against ranked teams Tennessee and Alabama. They have defeated the Volunteers before but have yet to face the Crimson Tide this season.
Alabama: The Possible Underdogs
Now the Crimson Tide are having a rough couple of weeks. They lost their three last games, one of those loses being a nail bitter against their true rival Auburn, but with Coach Nate Oats at the helm of the ship, there is still time to turn things around. The Crimson Tide cannot completely be counted out because of guard Jaden Shackelford. He leads the team in points with 16.2 per game. Second in points is Jahvon Quinerly. Both players are game changers and when they are at their best, Alabama is a scary team.
Texas A&M
Texas A&M have won eight games in the row. They are currently second in the SEC, smack dab in the middle of No.1 Auburn and No.3 Kentucky. No losses against other SEC teams have led them to a 15-2. Discipline is the name of the game for Auggies. Their strong suit is the teamwork and the ability work under pressure. Their next big games are against Kentucky on the 19th and LSU on the 26th.
As the season moves into February, audience will be able to see more SEC matchups. The strong contenders will be weeded out as crunch time begins.
Other Teams to Watch
Teams outside the SEC to watch would include Connecticut, Oregon, and Villanova. Villanova, like Auburn, LSU, Alabama and Kentucky are ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll. College basketball rankings are a good way to keep up with how well teams are doing.
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