SEC Player of the Week
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
Featured in last week’s “Who’s Hot” section, Collin Murray-Boyles is this week’s SEC Player of the Week. He exploded for a career-high 35 points against Arkansas on Saturday night, helping South Carolina earn their second conference win of the season. Murray-Boyles also tallied 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals on 12/16 shooting. While South Carolina has had a rough season, there’s no doubt that Murray-Boyles has been a bright spot, and this game is his latest effort to be a first-round pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Who’s Hot
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Someone that’s really stepped up recently is Tahaad Pettiford. After 3 straight games of scoring single digit points, he’s averaged 20 points per game over his last two games. That stretch has also seen Pettiford knock down at least 54.5% of his field goals and 50% of his free throws. In his most recent game against Texas A&M, he shot 60% from three. The 6’1 freshman has turned into a game changer for this Auburn team.
Texas A&M
The No. 22 Aggies pulled off a big upset, defeating No. 1 Auburn 83-72. Zhuric Phelps led the way with 19 points off the bench on 6/16 shooting from the field and 2/7 from beyond the arc. Andersson Garcia was a key contributor as well, with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. This was a massive win for Texas A&M, who joined Florida and Duke as the only teams to knock off Auburn this season.
Who’s Not
Johni Broome, Auburn
It feels weird to have a contender for the Wooden Award in the “Who’s Not” section, but Johni Broome has not looked like himself in his last 2 games. He was held to just 8 points on 4/9 shooting in Auburn’s loss to Texas A&M. In the Tigers’ previous game, a 94-78 win over Kentucky, he scored 9 points on 3/9 shooting. It seems like Broome is struggling to shoot the basketball but is also the victim of some great defense. With how good Auburn is, I expect Broome to turn things around.
Jalon Moore, Oklahoma
Moore’s recent struggles are like Johni Broome’s. After 2 straight games of 18+ points scored, he was held to just 2 points in Oklahoma’s 3-point loss to Ole Miss last weekend. In 26 minutes, Moore managed just two shot attempts, but on the bright side, he went a perfect 2/2 from the free-throw line. He was also able to grab 4 rebounds. Despite not being able to master the Rebels’ defense, another basket or two from Moore could’ve been the difference between a win or a loss for the Sooners.
Top 5: Teams in the SEC Standings
With the SEC tournament beginning next week, let’s look at the current top 5 in the conference standings.
5th: Missouri
Missouri sits 10-6 in the SEC this season, with a 21-8 overall record. They have been a pretty 50/50 team this season. They’ve beat some of the best teams in the conference but have also lost to some of the best and some of the worst. They have two top five wins this year against Florida and Alabama, but also have ranked losses against Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
4th: Tennessee
The Volunteers are 11-5 in the conference, with a perfect 24-0 record outside it. They started out conference play the worst way imaginable, losing by 30 against Florida. Since, they’ve won 10 out of 14 games, with their worst loss being by 11 points. Their last two opponents of the regular season, Ole Miss and South Carolina, should help the Vols coast into the SEC tournament.
3rd: Alabama
The Crimson Tide are 12-4 in SEC play and have been a hard team to defeat this season. Their only losses have been to some of the best in the conference (Auburn, Tennessee, Missouri, and Ole Miss). Mark Sears’ squad started conference play on a three-game winning streak, and after their first conference loss, won seven in a row. They still must face Auburn and Florida before the end of the regular season, so they’ll be a team to watch going into tournament action.
2nd: Florida
The Gators started SEC play with a loss to Kentucky but are 12-3 in the conference since. Like Tennessee, they are undefeated outside the conference. The only other SEC teams to beat Florida this season are Tennessee, Georgia, and Missouri. Todd Golden’s group was on a six-game winning streak prior to their last loss, their second-highest winning streak of the season.
1st: Auburn
Say what you want about Auburn right now. They’re still the best team in the conference, and stats back that up. They’re 15-2 in conference play and 27-3 overall. Their two SEC losses came against Florida and Texas A&M, both ranked teams. Since conference play began, they have been beating teams with ease, with their closest win coming by 2 points (against Tennessee and formerly ranked Georgia).