Scores:
Kentucky 71, @Vanderbilt 62
Florida 84, @Arkansas 82 OT
Texas A&M 57, @Tennessee 56
@Georgia 66, Alabama 58
Missouri 70, @Auburn 68
LSU 71, @South Carolina 68
@Mississippi State 76, Ole Miss 72

What a crazy weekend throughout college basketball. The SEC was no different. In a very strange turn of events, away teams won 5 of the 7 games this weekend. We also realized there may be more parity than we thought. Through the first week, there has been only 1 blowout (20+ pts) and 6 of the 14 games have been decided by a single possession (2nd highest % in NCAA out of 32 conferences).

Standings:
Kentucky 2-0
Florida 2-0
Texas A&M 2-0
Georgia 2-0
LSU 1-1
Tennessee 1-1
Missouri 1-1
Alabama 1-1
Ole Miss 1-1
Miss St 1-1
Arkansas 0-2
Vanderbilt 0-2
South Carolina 0-2
Auburn 0-2

We have not seed the cream rise to the top yet. Having both Texas A&M and Georgia undefeated at this point seems absolutely impossible. I still think there is very little chance either ends the SEC over .500. However, A&M won at Tennessee which is very tough and get USC at home which is a winnable game. A&M could easily be 4-0 before playing Kentucky on 1/21. Georgia ended Missouri's 24 game home winning streak before beating Bama this weekend. They are looking at a very tough matchup Tuesday going to Florida on national TV.

Efficiency Ratings (KenPom efficiency):

*Average D1 Efficiency is 104.1*

Offensive Efficiency (SEC games only):

Kentucky 114.3
Florida 110.7
Tennessee 102.7
Auburn 102.4
Ole Miss 101.2
Georgia 100.7
Alabama 100.6
Vandy 100.4
Missouri 99.0
Texas A&M 98.6
Miss St 94.1
Arkansas 91.8
USC 88.8
LSU 87.3

Defensive Efficiency (SEC Games only):

Texas A&M 86.2
Tennessee 89.0
Georgia 90.3
Kentucky 92.0
Florida 97.3
LSU 99.9
Ole Miss 101.3
Missouri 101.8
Bama 102.5
USC 102.9
Arkansas 104.7
Auburn 106.4
Miss St 106.8
Vandy 111.6

You can see how big of a lead Kentucky and Florida have on the offensive side of the ball. It still looks likely these two will rise to the top of the conference with both being very good on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, you can see why A&M and UGA have won their games; defense. Whether that is good defense or their opponents missing shots is still to be seen. Texas A&M had a very good defensive efficiency in the OOC. Only 1 team has scored over 70 points on the Aggies (Missouri St). Georgia on the other hand, has a season D efficiency of 103.3 and is probably going to revert back into the 100's in conference with more data.

What's more, we see that the SEC offenses are clearly lagging behind with only two teams having an efficiency higher than the D1 average.

Other Notes:

Arkansas lost their first home conference game in 2 years to Florida. They only had 1 home loss all last year and this is their first home loss of this year.

Ole Miss played without Marshall Henderson who was suspended for the first 2 SEC games prior to this season beginning. No Henderson, no eggbowl win. :sadface:

KT Harrell of Auburn led all SEC scorers with 27 points. Sindari Thornwel of USC scored 25. Arkansas' Rashad Madden scored 23 points. 3 others scored 22 including two Georgia bulldogs (Gaines and Mann).

A&M hit a three pointer with 4.4 seconds left to defeat Tennessee by 1. CLUTCH shot by Antwan Space.

Arkansas plays Kentucky at home Tuesday night. They haven't had 2 consecutive home losses since the end of the 2011-2012 season.

Filed Under: LSU Basketball