Player of the Week
Justin Powell (Auburn) — The 6-foot-6, 205-pound freshman guard tied his career high leading the Tigers with 26 points shooting 9-of-13 from the field, dropping four 3-pointers in a 74-71 victory against Memphis. In the second half, Powell took the reins, posting 15 of his team’s 37 second-half points to highlight Auburn’s come-from-behind win where at one point the Tigers trailed by as many as eight. He clutched-up late in the game when he nailed a shot-clock beating 3-pointer to give Auburn a 4-point cushion ultimately solidifying their lead for the remainder of the game.
Who’s Hot?
Dru Smith (Missouri) — The 6-foot-3, 203-pound senior guard boasted an average of 16 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists in back-to-back wins against Liberty and tough No. 6 Illinois squad. Smith shot 12-of-13 from the charity stripe and guarded arguably the best player in each matchup for almost the entirety of both games. In addition, he led Mizzou with 18 points versus the Illini, aiding the Tigers win streak (5-0) for the first as well as knocking off a Top-6 opponent for the first time since 2014.
Auburn — After a rocky 1-2 start for the Tigers, they’ve managed to turn it around and win three straight wins over South Alabama, Memphis, and Texas Southern. They averaged 81.3 PPG as a team as well as upholding a near 10-point average win margin throughout these matchups. Concluding with their 17-point victory over South Alabama, the Tigers ended the week with some punctuation as they look forward to their next game against Troy.
Who’s Not?
Kentucky — After being selected to finish second in the SEC throughout preseason polls, the Wildcats are seriously struggling early in this season. They simply cannot figure it out as they are now 1-4, ranking last in the SEC. Currently, they sit in the bottom-3 of the following statistics: Scoring, 3-point percentage, assists, and steals. They also have the worst turnover margin in the conference at -4.2. Despite the chaos, Coach Calipari and his team seem to remain calm moving forward looking on to their next matchup against No. 22 North Carolina.
BJ Boston (Kentucky) — Sticking with the Wildcats is an easy option here. Boston came onto the scene with a lot of hype and expectation surrounding him for this season; but what is preventing him from truly breaking out as a star for this squad? Although being the youngest player and maybe experiencing some comfort and role confusion, that will come with time. It seems that in order for him to find the basket, he needs his team to penetrate defenses and open up the floor. Despite a rough start, this kid definitely has loads of potential.
Top 5 Scoring Offenses:
5 – LSU — The Tigers are currently shooting the best from the field of all the SEC teams at 51.4% as well as having the highest free throw percentage at 78.9%. In addition, they are tied for the highest 3-point percentage at 38.5% from beyond the arc. The reason they are at No. 5 comes because of their inability to pump in points, with only 445 total thus far.
4 – Alabama — The Tide have scored 458 total points shooting 40.9% from the field this season accompanying a 69.4% shooting average from the charity stripe and 29.7% from 3-point land.
3 – Auburn — As of recent, these guys have been absolutely climbing up the scoring leaderboard. With 462 total points, the Tigers are shooting 42.9% from the field and 59.9% from the free-throw line.
2 – Mississippi State — This may come as a surprise to some, but when you’re getting up as many free throws as these guys it’s quite easy to keep up the team’s scoring efficiency: The Bulldogs lead the SEC in free-throw attempts (154). They shoot 58.4% from there as well as 36.6% from the 3-point line and an overall 45.1% from the field.
1 – Arkansas —On the other hand, a surprise to none. The Razorbacks are absolute scoring machines pumping in 548 total points in blowing away the rest of the conference. They are shooting an impressive 71.6% from the free-throw line, 48.3% from the field, and 37.2% from the 3-point line.