Player of the Week
Ben Simmons (LSU)
43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and three blocks.
Ben Simmons is playing out of his mind right now for LSU; and it seems anything less than these types of displays from the 6’10" Australian mean a potential loss for the Tigers.
After a few weeks of games, Simmons has scouts and general managers eagerly anticipating the 2016 Lottery draw already. It’s become clear to all that he is the cream of the crop for this year’s draft class. While he is yet to display a consistent jumper, all of his field goals in his 43 point game came within 15 feet. He’s proven he can do almost everything on the basketball court.
With the impending return of sharpshooting wing Keith Hornsby, LSU should be more complete and competitive and while Simmons’ point production may come down some, his assist numbers (6 APG) may be enhanced.
Who’s Hot
Alabama
I wrote in the SEC Preview that Alabama is "lacking talent" and that this was "going to be a year that the Roll Tide faithful are going to want to forget." After wins over Notre Dame and Wichita State and Clemson, I am saying now that I was 100 percent wrong about Avery Johnson’s first season at Alabama. Retain Obasohan has been great for ‘Bama early this season. The Crimson Tide have been a relentless opponent game after game, showing no signs of quit under Johnson. At 6-2 with their two losses coming against Dayton (6-1) and Xavier (9-0) Alabama has a resume many teams would be envious of rght now.
Vanderbilt
The Commodores should not hang their heads low despite losing 69-67 to the Baylor Bears (they should be proud that they weren’t on the receiving end of a Rico Gathers 30-20 game actually). Vanderbilt has failed to get a signature win yet, losing to both Kansas and Baylor in their two premiere games so far. Still the positive for Vandy is that they look head and shoulders above the rest of potential SEC Title contenders. With Kentucky’s upset loss to UCLA this may be the Commodores shot at bringing the Trophy across the state border to Tennessee.
Who’s Not
Kentucky
Tyler Ulis’ elbow injury was a big setback for Kentucky. Even though their leader only missed one game, the chemistry seems off for the Wildcats. In the game Ulis missed the wildcats looked lost for a good part of their game against Illinois State. And against UCLA it was apparent that most of UK’s players expected Ulis’ return to be the cure-all to their struggles in the game before. UK remains a top five team, but some of the allure and shine they had in the preseason has begun to fade.
Texas A&M
The Aggies followed up their upset victory over Gonzaga in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals with consecutive losses to unranked Syracuse and Arizona State. Texas A&M looked well on its way to taking the next step as a program, but has since dropped a game to Arizona State. A December 19th matchup with Baylor should set the tone for the remainder of the Aggies season. Are they a solid team capable of upsetting upper echelon teams? Or are they capable of becoming one of the nation’s elite? A strong performance in the Baylor game combined with a finish among the top spots in the SEC will have major impact on A&M’s tournament seeding.