SEC WEEK 1 TEAM CAPSULES

Eastern Division

Vanderbilt (11-4;2-0) *win 70-56 vs. Alabama; *win 88-63 @ TennesseeOne week into the SEC season, the Commodores have already been impressive. Vandy picked up two wins they really weren’t supposed to. On top of beating two teams thought to be of a higher caliber than Vanderbilt, the Commodores obliterated them—winning by 14 against Alabama and 25 against Tennessee. The Commodores hit a school record 18 three-pointers against the Vols. It’s only the first week, but Vanderbilt has definitely brought their “A-game” into SEC play.

Kentucky (10-2;1-0) *win 79-75 vs. South Carolina; loss 59-65 vs. KansasThe Wildcats beat a very, very tough South Carolina team at home earlier in the week, and hung in there blow for blow with the No. 2 team in the country Sunday. Kansas started the game very slow, but Kentucky couldn’t take advantage, hitting only 4 of their first 21 shots. Kansas surged in the second half, but so did Kentucky. Something had to give though, and honestly, the better team won the game. However, the Wildcats have lost twice this season—each time was to a team in the top 3 in the country. In my opinion, Kansas and North Carolina are the two most talented teams in the country from top to bottom, so Kentucky doesn’t have anything to worry about.

Florida (9-3;1-0) *win 82-74 vs. Arkansas
After losing leading scorer and playmaker Matt Walsh for what could be a month, the Gators looked horrible in an 82-69 loss at in-state rival Florida State. Florida rebounded though, and looked fantastic in doing so Saturday in an eight-point victory over red-hot Arkansas at home. David Lee, after dropping a mere four points on the Seminoles, played great in the Gators first conference game. He finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Simply put, he gave the Hogs fits with his all-around game. The Gators shot a blistering 78 percent in the second half—the half they used to put the game away. The Gators proved one thing on Saturday: they can play and win without Walsh.

South Carolina (9-4;1-1) *Loss 75-79 @ Kentucky; win 74-54 vs. Georgia
Despite another tough loss to yet another top-tier team, the Gamecocks have shown they’ll be a force to reckon with in the SEC East this season. If Kentucky guard Kelenna Azubuike wouldn’t have been “en fuego” from behind the arc Tuesday night, South Carolina would’ve pulled this one out in Rupp Arena—one of the most intimidating atmospheres in all of college basketball. It was a tough loss for the Gamecocks, but they rebounded well by beating a weak Georgia team by 20. South Carolina has lost close games to top 10 teams such as Kansas and Kentucky this year, but in doing so it’s proven that it has a chance to be a major player in the conference race in 2004-2005.

Tennessee (8-6; 1-1) *win 72-65 @ Georgia; loss 63-88 vs. Vanderbilt
After struggling through their non-conference schedule at (7-5), the Volunteers didn’t look much better in the first week of SEC play. Tennessee barely squeaked out a narrow victory at hapless Georgia earlier in the week, only to be absolutely obliterated at home against a streaking Vanderbilt team. Vanderbilt nailed a school-record 18 three-pointers though, so the Vols shouldn’t feel too bad about themselves. Tennessee actually closed to within eight points twice in the second half, only to be bombarded with treys by the Commodores. Needless to say, Tennessee better get back into form quickly if it has any hope of staying alive in the SEC this season.

Georgia (6-6;0-2) *loss 65-72 vs. Tennessee; loss 54-74 @ USC
If there’s one thing I can say about the Bulldogs this season, it’s that they’re living up to their preseason expectations. They certainly did in the first week of conference play, dropping two games to Eastern division foes. Georgia played tough against Tennessee, almost coming out with a victory. Judging by how the Vols have started though, that’s not necessarily an accomplishment. The Bulldogs were simply outmanned against the powerful Gamecocks, and never really threatened to steal this one. Who could’ve expected USC to drop one at home to Georgia after the narrow defeat it suffered at Kentucky? It’s probably going to be a long season for Dennis Felton and Georgia, but a few wins may get them back on track.


Western Division

Mississippi State (14-2;2-0) *win 90-53 vs. Auburn; win 87-76 @ Ole Miss
Rick Standbury’s Bulldogs were virtually a unanimous choice to win the SEC West this season, and many thought they’d challenge for the overall league title. If the first week of conference play is any indication, whoever said that was right. MSU looked very good in their two victories this week. The Bulldogs destroyed Auburn and withstood a solid effort by Ole Miss and still won by double-digits. However, don’t get too pumped up yet Bulldog fans. These are undoubtedly the two weakest teams in the West, so the road will get much tougher from here on out. MSU looked great this week though, and with reigning SEC player-of-the-year Lawrence Roberts playing at an even higher level than last season, Stansbury and his Bulldogs should have plenty to look forward to this season.

Arkansas (13-2;1-1) *win 69-46 vs. Ole Miss; loss 74-82 @ Florida
After feasting on cupcakes—and Missouri and Tulsa—and losing a close one to top-ranked Illinois, nobody really knew how good the Razorbacks were going to be this season. In a defensive-oriented game, the Hogs looked great in stomping the Tommie Eddie-less Rebels in Fayetteville. Saturday though, they ran into a brick wall—a 78 percent shooting percentage brick wall—at Gainesville. The Gators shot nearly 60 percent for the game and 78 percent in the second half to beat the Razorbacks by eight in their conference opener. Needless to say, it’s tough to win a road game in an intimidating atmosphere in the SEC when the opposing team shoots like that. The Hogs have a brutal stretch coming up though, so we should know a lot more about this team in a few weeks.

Alabama (12-3;1-1) *loss 56-70 @ Vanderbilt; win 73-58 vs. LSU
The Tide ran into the leagues hottest team last Wednesday, falling to Vanderbilt by a margin of 14 points. Alabama rebounded from that loss very well though, and took it to the struggling LSU Tigers on Saturday. The Tide turned up the defensive pressure and smothered LSU in the second half to pick up the impressive win. This was a team thought by many to challenge for both the SEC Western and overall Conference titles, and after their strong performance against the Tigers on Saturday, there’s no reason to think they can’t do just that. Despite the tough loss at Vanderbilt this week, Bama will be a force in the SEC this season, no doubt about it.

Auburn (9-5;0-1) *loss 53-90 @ MSU
The Tigers only played one game this week and boy, was it a doozey. A 37-point beat-down to SEC predator Mississippi State is not necessarily starting the conference season on a good note, is it? I won’t answer that. Auburn wasn’t picked to do very well this year after losing the bulk of their team from last season, and that prediction held true in the first week of conference play. Granted, if Auburn and MSU play 10 times, MSU will win nine and maybe even 10 of those games. Losing by nearly 40 points cannot be encouraging though. Auburn has the talent to upset some teams this year, but don’t look for a winning season. Their role will be reduced to spoiler, if that. The Tigers should battle Felton’s Bulldogs for the worst team in the league.

LSU (6-5;0-1) *loss 55-69 @ Utah; loss 58-73 @ Alabama
John Brady’s Tigers struggled through much of their non-conference schedule, and continued to do so in their conference opener at Alabama. Although the game was closer than the 15-point margin would suggest, it still didn’t bode well for the Tigers. This was a road game against a very tough team though, so LSU shouldn’t be too discouraged. Much like Arkansas, Alabama and others found out this week, it’s tough to win on the road in the SEC. The Tigers have to protect their home court, and they’ll get the chance to do that next week. Look for the Tigers to rebound and play some better basketball in the coming weeks. However, don’t expect too much from this team. I can’t see them finishing any higher than fourth in the West. A couple of wins could sway my opinion though.

Ole Miss (9-6;0-2) *loss 46-69 @ Arkansas; loss 76-87 vs. MSU
Ole Miss took it on the chin in during the first week of SEC action, dropping two games to Western division foes. The Rebels were without one of their best players—Tommie Eddie—against Arkansas, and couldn’t withstand “20 minutes of hell” defense in the second half as Arkansas ran away with that one. The Rebels looked much better with Eddie in the lineup Saturday against MSU. So there’s hope. I think Ole Miss is farther ahead than Georgia, Auburn and maybe some others. Ole Miss shouldn’t have a winning season, but the Rebs can definitely beat some good teams this year. Who knows? They don’t have a lot of talent, but they play great defense and give 100 percent every time out, and that’s a recipe for some success. After an 0-2 start in SEC play though, they need to rebound and do it quick if they hold any hopes of competing in this league.