The SEC may be led by the team most expected, but how they got there has certainly not been a linear journey. Plus a Big Ten star returns from injury with a big game, a new record in the Big 12, and the Northeast Conference gets tighter at the top.
As the regular season winds down, the SEC leader is who many thought it would be before the season. There aren’t a lot of instances where things have gone as expected this season, and in fact, that bottom-line match with expectations obscures an important reality about this season: the journey to this point has been anything but smooth or predictable.
Kentucky may be on top of the SEC, but how they got there – including their 79-76 win at LSU on Tuesday night to firm up that spot – has been anything but a linear journey.
Early on, it looked like the Wildcats had a clear path to the top spot in the polls and more. After they knocked off Michigan State in the Champions Classic to open the season, they had a run of home games that all looked like wins, most of them sure wins. Evansville had other ideas, however, so while they ran off six straight wins after that, we didn’t really know what to make of this team. Losses to Utah and Ohio State added to the mystery, before they beat Louisville to close out non-conference play.
Along the way, there were plenty of questions. Is Tyrese Maxey really as good as he was on opening night, or is he another inconsistent (albeit more talented) freshman? Who will score besides him, or even if he isn’t scoring? Nick Richards and Immanuel Quickley had not emerged just yet, and no one was truly sold on that being what was happening like they might be now.
Not helping was that the SEC didn’t look as strong in non-conference as in other recent years. As such, it was going to take some time to really know just how good this team is. Losing at South Carolina after rolling past Missouri, Georgia and Alabama – none of who will be in the NCAA Tournament without an SEC Tournament championship – added to it.
That seemed to get this team going, however. Since then, they have won nine of ten, including a 76-74 win at Texas Tech in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The only loss came at Auburn, and there’s no shame in that. Meanwhile, Richards could be the SEC Player of the Year and Quickley is quietly leading the team in scoring, while Ashton Hagans is growing at the point with a nearly 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season in addition to his defensive exploits.
With five games left, the Wildcats are in the driver’s seat. They have Auburn at home along the way, and they’re a game up on the Tigers, who have come back to earth a bit after winning their first 15 games. Of the teams another game back, LSU got this far winning a lot of close games and now the Wildcats don’t play them again, while Florida (who they host on Saturday) is tough to figure out and South Carolina has come alive. There isn’t really anything that makes you think one of those teams is a solid bet to leapfrog the Wildcats the rest of the way unless Kentucky collapses.
How all of this will translate in the NCAA Tournament is anyone’s guess, given the way this season began. The Wildcats appear to have the pieces for a deep run, but given a couple of their losses and the way this season has gone, would anyone be shocked if they were bounced during the first weekend? They are one of many teams where almost no result will be shocking.
No matter what, Kentucky has reached the top of the SEC in what might be best described as a roundabout fashion. First place is still first place all the same, and it’s one of the few things that has matched the preseason prediction in a sport full of surprises.
Side Dishes
Ayo Dosunmu returned to action and looked fine for Illinois, leading the Illini to a big 62-56 win in Happy Valley. Dosunmu had 24 points on the night, just a week after a scary ending to their loss against Michigan State. Penn State fans were surely not happy to see him on the court from a basketball standpoint, but college basketball is fortunate to have him playing again.
Dayton moved one step closer to going undefeated in Atlantic 10 play, holding off VCU 66-61 in Richmond. The Flyers have five games left, including visits from Duquesne and underachieving but dangerous Davidson and a trip to Rhode Island.
Baylor also remained undefeated in their conference, pulling away from Oklahoma 65-54 in Norman for their 23rd straight win, a new Big 12 record. It leads right into their next showdown with Kansas in a few days.
Both of the leaders in the Northeast Conference entering the night were on the wrong end of road games. Merrimack remains on top despite losing 61-52 at Bryant, while Isaiah Blackmon had 30 points and seven rebounds to lead Saint Francis U over Robert Morris 86-71 and into a tie with the Colonials for second place, just a game back of Merrimack. The Red Flash and Colonials will meet in the regular season finale in Moon Township, and that game might have the top seed in the conference tournament on the line (Merrimack is ineligible during their Division I transition period).
Other results of note: Maryland handled Northwestern 76-67 behind another big game from Jalen Smith (22 points, 19 rebounds); Florida State pulled away from Pittsburgh 82-67; West Virginia took over in the second half to knock off Oklahoma State 65-47; Saint Joseph’s got their first Atlantic 10 win of the season as they edged visiting Davidson 73-72; Florida got 24 points and 10 rebounds from Keyontae Johnson to beat fading Arkansas 73-59; Tennessee edged Vanderbilt 65-61 for just their third win in the last eight games; Wisconsin held off Purdue 69-65; Creighton held off Marquette 73-65 in Milwaukee; Nevada pulled away from New Mexico 88-74 behind 28 points and 11 rebounds from Jalen Harris; and UNLV blew out Colorado State 80-56.
Now that the ACC has joined the Big Ten in supporting the idea, the NCAA is studying the possibility of a one-time transfer without having to sit out. This may end up being the ultimate solution to the current mess with waivers, where there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the NCAA’s decisions.
Tonight’s Menu
It’s a busier night of action, and a little better from a matchup standpoint. Here are the highlights.
