SEC Notebook: O, ever as we strive to rise

Credit: UT Athletic Media Relations

Brent Beaird, SEC Columnist

Who would have thought Tennessee, LSU and Georgia, three of the perceived bottom feeders in the league early on, would have had such a big impact on the SEC over the past few days? Tennessee is on fire after beating Arkansas Wednesday night for its fourth straight win. One of the reasons for the Vols stellar play is shooting guard Skylar McBee, who is on a hot-streak of four straight double-digit scoring games since being elevated to the starting line-up.

LSU has beaten Mississippi State and Alabama in its last two games. LSU now has as many SEC victories (five) this season as the past two years combined. The Tigers are No. 4 in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 63 points per game.

Georgia beat Mississippi State and Arkansas before losing to South Carolina Wednesday night. The Bulldogs have had 11 games of single-digit turnovers, including a season-low four turnovers last Saturday at Mississippi State. They had 13 turnovers against the Gamecocks.

Still, Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and probably Mississippi State are locks for the tournament even with the Bulldogs recent slump of two straight losses. Arkansas, Ole Miss and Alabama, who have RPI numbers of 70 or less, are in a battle for the fifth seed or even a possible sixth seed if two of the teams get red hot. It is a long shot but Tennessee and LSU could put themselves in position to make a case for some consideration in the coming weeks, despite RPI's and SOS's that are very high right now.

Required Reading

Tide still struggling...

Is it time to honor former Hog coach Nolan Richardson in a more enduring way?

The road gets tougher for Mississippi State.

What I knew

That Georgia’s Gerald Robinson would eventually turn it around? Robinson's eight points in overtime helped propel Georgia to a 70-68 win over 20th-ranked Mississippi State last Saturday. Three days before that win Robinson scored a career-best 27-point effort in an 81-59 victory over Arkansas. Coach Mark Fox chose to take away Robinson’s starting position in order to get his attention. Robinson is the second leading scorer on the team averaging 14 points per game.

What I should've known 

That Alabama’s Anthony Grant would risk an NCAA tournament berth by sticking to his principles in order bring some discipline to his team after he suspended JaMychal Green, Andrew Steele and Trevor Releford by sending them home before the LSU game. All are upperclassmen who should have known better and demonstrated some leadership. Grant likely got Steele and Releford’s attention, but are Green and the previously suspended Tony Mitchell listening? Alabama has lost two straight games after appearing to turn its season around with wins over Ole Miss and Auburn. Now the season hangs in the balance with Tennessee coming to town Saturday. It will be interesting to see if Green or Mitchell... or both, return to the lineup.  

Stat of the Week  

Gee, I wonder why this part of the notebook often features Kentucky? After turning the ball over only six times against Vandy Saturday night, the Wildcats have only nine turnovers in their past two road games. In each of its last seven games, Kentucky has had only single-digit turnovers. They are averaging only 8.3 turnovers in their last seven games. Kentucky has not had a negative assist-turnover ratio in the last eight games

Odds 'n' Ends

DOUBLE DUTY: Brandon Mitchell , the Arkansas backup quarterback, played for more than 15 minutes in the home win against South Carolina last Saturday scoring eight points and pulling down four rebounds. The win was Arkansas' 17th home victory, a school record that bested the effort by the 1994 national championship team. He was held to five points Wednesday night in the loss at Tennessee.

GROWING UP: Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague is maturing. The freshman had 12 points, eight assists and only one turnover in 37 minutes in Saturday night’s win over Vandy. Teague has 43 assists and 17 turnovers in his past eight games compared to 38 assists and 26 turnovers in his first eight games.

BULLDOG WOES: If you are looking for a reason for Mississippi State’s recent struggles-its defense. State is 11th in SEC scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. The Bulldogs are surrendering 66.6 points on 42.9-percent shooting to their opponents.

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