Player of the Week
John Petty Jr. (Alabama) — The 6-foot-5, 184-pound junior guard upheld an average of 26.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in back-to-back victories over Samford and Belmont. In Petty’s (pictured) 39-point performance against Samford, he tied his own record for the Tide with ten 3-pointers. Petty also finished the week shooting 70.0% (14-of-20) beyond the 3-point arc while recording two of his three career double-doubles in Alabmana’s last two games. Last season, he Played in all 34 contest starting in 17 of them as well as leading the team in 3-pointers made (59), ranked 3rd in scoring (10.2 ppg) and 4th in double-figure scoring games (15).
Who’s Hot
Jair Bolden (South Carolina) — The 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior guard posted 22 points, two rebounds and one steal in an upset win on the road against No. 9 Virginia. Bolden shot 61.5% (8-of-13) from field goal range and 66.7% (4-of-6) from 3 in the win. He displayed sheer dominance in the first half, racking up 15 of his 22 points in just the first 20 minutes of play. He ranks 1st for the Gamecocks in 3-point percentage and is 2nd in scoring (10.2 ppg) and defensive rebounds (40).
Sahvir Wheeler (Georgia) — Despite being one of the more undersized freshmen at 5-foot-10, 180-pounds has played fearlessly so far this season. In the double-overtime thriller against Southern-Methodist, Wheeler boasted nine points, eight assists and two steals to fill his stat-line. He scored on consecutive drives to the basket in the last five seconds in both the overtime and double overtime periods to elevate the Bulldogs to victory. He tied his career highs for assists (8) and steals (2) while registering 35 minutes of gametime (most in career).
Who’s Not
Kentucky Wildcats — Not to bash Calipari’s 8-3 team because they really are not having a bad season but they’ve now dropped two straight games to Utah and No. 5 Ohio State. In their matchup against the Utes, they struggled to catch any type of rhythm early in the game as they shot 4-of-14 to start the game and 13-of-31 in the totality of the first half. They also shot 0-of-7 from 3-point land. Against the Buckeyes, Kentucky lacked consistency shooting from the perimeter aside from Sestina who had three 3-pointers. The Wildcats had multiple opportunities late in the game but continuously settled for contested shots in the lane.
LSU Tigers — Falling from 7-2 to 7-4, the Tigers have two consecutive losses to East Tennessee and Southern California last week. Their matchup against ETSU marked the team’s first home game loss by double-digits in two years (74-63). It also noted LSU’s first double digit loss to a non-conference opponent at home in nine seasons. In their other game against the Trojans, they shot an abysmal 3-of-18 from beyond the arc and let up a seven-point rally late in the game resulting in the team’s second straight loss.
Top 5 Coaches
1. Bruce Pearl (Auburn) — Most known for his rise and fall at Tennessee, Pearl has definitely had a rollercoaster-type career. Thus far, he’s been doing very well for the Tigers. Despite only receiving one bid to the big dance, he’s completely rebuilt the program at Auburn. Their first tournament bid before Pearl was all the way back in 2003. Regardless, expectations were very low for Coach Pearl and he has obviously exceeded them.. In 16 years of coaching, he boasts a 342-171 career record.
2. Frank Martin (South Carolina) — made his mark in the Big 12 at Kansas State for his first five years of coaching. Here, he led them to four tournament bids. With the Gamecocks, he’s only made one tournament appearance in which he carried an overlooked, under-skilled team to the Final Four. Martin might be the most well-respected head coach in the entire SEC: It doesn’t always show by his record or statbooks, but year after year he’s given solid input about integrity and discipline. Also, Coach Martin often talks about what he does for his players before, during, and after their time under his call within the Gamecock program. He has coached for 13 years with a record of 254-164.
3. John Calipari (Kentucky) — Hands down one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history. Calipari has been victorious in over 80% of his games leading the Wildcats; much higher than any other current SEC head coach. Since he’s been hired at Kentucky, every single other team within the SEC has replaced their coach. He upholds 17 tournament appearances and is also the only SEC coach to win an NCAA championship. He has practically perfected the “one-and-done” era of these young athletes. Each year, he brings in a new class of immense talent and each year, he sends his players to the NBA to become very successful. In 28 years of coaching, Coach Calipari has a record of 758-214.
4. Tom Crean (Georgia) — Having three conference Coach of the Year awards, he’s clearly made his mark as a higher-level coach. Crean also won the Clair Bee award, which has been won by just a few extremely notable coaches including Bob Knight, Tom Izzo, and Mike Krzyzewski. He has managed to bring multiple teams to nine NCAA tournaments. Putting that into perspective, Georgia has ten all-time tournament appearances as a program. In addition, Coach Crean has four Sweet Sixteens (Georgia has two) and one Final Four appearance (Georgia has one). It could be easily argued that Crean is more prosperous as a coach than Georgia is as a whole program. He has coached 20 years and possesses a 375-255 career record.
5. Rick Barnes (Tennessee) — One of the best total-career resumes out of most coaches. He’s posted 23 NCAA tournament appearances at various schools: That’s more than 11 of the 14 teams in the SEC have all-time. Barnes also has piled up six Conference Coach of the Year awards, most of which coming from his time in the Big 12. If he continues to develop the talent on his roster as the years go on, he could undoubtedly win the SEC outright. Over 33 years, Barnes has a record of 700-367.