Player of the Week
Tari Eason, F LSU
The 6-8 athletic sophomore forward has emerged as one of the top transfers in the country. Eason’s 21 points paved the way for the team’s come back win over Louisiana Tech. Eason was also great against Northwestern State, dropping 18 points on 7-9 shooting from the field. The Cincinnati transfer has been playing excellent for the Tigers and has put up at least 20 in three of his last four games, with 18 in the fourth. The most impressive part, is that he is providing all this scoring off the bench and has been a consistent scoring option when given minutes. Eason has emerged as a legitimate NBA draft prospect with a shot to be a early second or even late first in the next year or two.
Who’s Hot
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee struggled against Texas Tech and lost a game that despite sloppy shooting numbers, was still within reach and went to overtime. They bounced back this week winning both games in blowout fashion. Destroying UNC Greensboro 76-36, and running SC Upstate out of the gym in a 96-52 win. Oliver Nkamhoua was dominant against SC Upstate shooting 9-10 and 2-2 from deep. He was the leading scorer dropping 21 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Kennedy Chandler also bounced back with a double-double posting 14 points and 10 assists. After two straight games struggling from the field, Chandler was 6-11 from the field and 3-5 from deep.
Who’s Not
Myreon Jones– Guard, Florida
Florida lost 70-68 to Maryland, a team Jones is very familiar with, after spending three years in the Big Ten. He has struggled against them each time they have faced them, and this time shot 1-8 from the field. Florida bounced back and beat USF, but Jones again did not shoot well from the floor. He was 3-13 from the field and one for seven from deep. Jones is a very solid shooter and should get back on track after a rough week.
Georgia
Despite only playing one game this week, Georgia played poorly. As a team they shot 33% from the field and only gave up 80 points to George Mason. Christian Wright was 1-7 from the field, while Aaron Cooke was 2-10. Kario O’quendo also struggled and was 3-12 from the field and 0-4 from deep. They are at the bottom of the conference standings at 4-6 overall, and will need to step it up considerably in order not to stay there once Conference play starts.
Jarkell Joiner– Guard, Ole Miss
Joiner is scoring 14 points per game for Ole Miss this season, but has had three bad shooting games in a row. In a loss to Western Kentucky, Joiner shot 4-13 from the field. He followed that up with a 3-14 against Middle Tennessee State, and a 4-11 against Dayton. While Mississippi did win both of their games this week, Joiner combined to shoot 1-11 from three. He should hopefully get his shot from deep to fall again.
Top Upcoming SEC Games
Tennessee vs Arizona (December 22)
Two ranked teams face off in what should be a highly competitive game. Arizona is 11-0 and ranked sixth in the country, while Tennessee is 8-2 and ranked 19th. This should be a very fun matchup to watch with two highly talented teams facing off.
LSU-Auburn (December 29)
Two of the top teams in the conference face off and this will be LSU’s first real test against another powerhouse SEC team. Jabari Smith has been incredible for the Tigers, leading them in scoring and establishing himself as the front runner for the number one pick. LSU sophomore forward Tari Eason is on a special run right now scoring in bunches, can he continue it?
Tennessee-Alabama (December 29)
Tennessee has two huge tests facing two of the top teams in the nation. If they can split the two it will have to be looked at as a success. Alabama has been tested early in the season, running through the gauntlet of Gonzaga, Houston, and Memphis. They won the first two but dropped the last one. Bama needs to bounce back if they hope to stay on pace with the other top teams in the conference. Shackleford didn’t shoot as he normally does, so look for him to get back on track. Bama’s biggest problem is they struggle at finishing defensive possessions with rebounds. They give up a ton of second chance points and it makes wining so much more difficult. If they can control the glass, they can be a threat against any team. Tennessee is also a very talented but need to work on consistency. This should be a great matchup with potentially multiple future NBA players out there.