Player of the Week
Alex Condon, Florida
This week’s SEC Player of the Week is Florida’s Alex Condon. A sophomore forward, Condon showed out in perhaps the best college basketball win this season, as the No. 8 Gators stunned No. 1 Tennessee in a 73-43 blowout. While he wasn’t the leading scorer in the game, Condon showed up on both ends of the floor. He posted a double-double, 12 points and 12 rebounds, along with 4 assists and 2 blocks in 26 minutes. He shot 5 for 12 from the field and a perfect 2 for 2 from the free-throw line. His averages for the season now sit at 10.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 48.6% shooting from the field.
Who’s Hot
Johni Broome, Auburn
One of the best players in all of college basketball, Auburn’s Johni Broome is off to a hot start in conference play. His stellar performances have willed the No. 2 Tigers to victories over Missouri and Texas. On Saturday against Missouri, he did it all, notching 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks. On Tuesday against Texas, Broome achieved a double-double, 20 points and 12 rebounds, to go with 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Auburn only beat Texas by 5 points, 87-82, so they may not have earned their 14th win of the season if it wasn’t for Broome’s success.
Arthur Kaluma, Texas
Sticking with the Auburn vs. Texas match, senior Arthur Kaluma put up one of the best stat lines of conference play thus far. Despite the loss, the 6’7 forward scored 34 points, grabbed 8 boards, posted 2 assists, and blocked 2 shots. He was the only Longhorns player to score above 20 points and 1 of 3 Longhorns players to score in double figures. A Kansas State transfer, Kaluma is now averaging 15.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 55.1% shooting after his standout game against No. 2 Auburn.
Who’s Not
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Even some of the best basketball players can have an off night every once in a while, and that was the case for Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier in their surprising game against No. 8 Florida. Lanier shot 3 for 16 from the field, posting 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals. Scoring wise, that was his 2nd-worst game of the season, only better than his 5-point performance against Austin Peay. Conference play has just begun, so there is plenty of time for Lanier to bounce back, and I believe that he will.
LSU Tigers
The Tigers join only Texas as SEC teams that are winless in conference play thus far. LSU is 0-2, losing 80-72 at home to Vanderbilt and 83-67 on the road against Missouri. The Tigers were on the wrong side of multiple categories in both of those losses. They were out-rebounded 37 to 27 by Vanderbilt and 37 to 29 by Missouri. LSU couldn’t achieve more steals than Vandy or Mizzou, losing 10 to 6 in that statistic in both contests. Lastly, both schools had more assists than LSU in their respective games, as the Tigers lost that battle 11 to 5 against Vanderbilt and 16 to 12 against Missouri. LSU has no problem scoring the ball, but they’ll have to improve on their fundamentals to have a chance against these tough SEC teams.
Top 5: SEC X-Factors
In this list, I will be talking about 5 SEC players that will be very important to their teams for conference play and beyond.
Tre Johnson, Texas
A freshman guard for the Longhorns, Johnson is the top scorer in the SEC not named Chaz Lanier or Johni Broome. On the season, he’s averaging 18.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 46% shooting from the field. While he’s had a little bit of a rough start in conference play, Johnson is still a big part of the team. His 31.6 minutes per night are the highest on the team, and he’s one of two players on the team to play at least 30 minutes per night. For more context, he’s on the floor for more than 50% of the game. Your next chance to watch Johnson play will be against No. 1 Tennessee. Both teams will be hungry for wins.
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Even though Clayton Jr. had an off night against Tennessee, scoring only 7 points, he’s still the Gators’ top scorer and unquestioned leader. He’s posting 17.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting the ball at a 46.6% clip. His next game will be on the road against Arkansas, which is good news for Florida fans. In 4 games away from home this year, Clayton Jr. is averaging 22.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists, shooting over 40%. One of those games was Florida’s recent loss to Kentucky, where he still scored 33 points to help the Gators stay in it.
Cam Carter, LSU
Earlier when I mentioned that LSU has no problem scoring the ball, a lot of that is thanks to Cam Carter. His 17.2 points per game and 1.6 steals per game are both team highs. He’s also averaging 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 45.2% from the field. He showed up in both of the Tigers’ losses, scoring 22 points against Vanderbilt and 16 points against Missouri. Carter’s next game will be on the road against Ole Miss where he’ll attempt to lead LSU to their first conference win of the season.
Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt
While he hasn’t been at his best since conference play began, I don’t think Vanderbilt would be where they are without Edwards. He’s averaging 17.1 points (a team high), 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 44.8% shooting from the field. He’s scored in double figures in 6 of his last 7 games, ironically scoring 0 points in the one game he didn’t post double digits. He’s a reliable player in the small sample size he gets, playing an average of 14 minutes in both conference matchups and scoring 12 points in one of them. Edwards and the 13-2 Commodores will take on Missouri next.
Asa Newell, Georgia
Speaking of players who are integral to their team’s success thus far, Asa Newell has a lot to do with Georgia’s 13-2 start. The Bulldog’s 6’11 freshman forward is the team leader in points per game, 15.5, and rebounds per game, 6.9. He’s also averaging 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. An important piece for both aspects of the game, he’s posting a 58.6% field-goal percentage and shooting 67.3% from the charity stripe. Want to watch Asa Newell? Your next opportunity will be when he hosts No. 17 Oklahoma on Saturday evening.