SEC Basketball Rankings

Hear is our latest SEC Basketball Rankings. Things are starting to sort themselves out in the conference.

1. LSU: With wins over SC, Tenn and Miss St. twice along with the bottom of the conference LSU is showing they belong at the top. With 2 tough games left with Auburn and 1 with Tenn and UK they can cement there position with wins.

2. South Carolina: Sitting tied with UK and Tenn. in the east makes SC one of the three number 2 teams in the league.

3. Kentucky: Again tied with SC and Tenn. but with a spanking of Tenn. and a drubbing of Fla. on their record the Cats are number 3.

4. Tennessee: Starting to look like they were ranked earlier but still at 4.

5. Florida: Loosing 3 out of 4 drops the Gators to 5th and just when they were starting to get some media love.

6. Miss St: Loosing 2 in a row sends them down to 6th.

7. Auburn: Easily ahead of the bottom of the SEC and 2 games left with LSU to move up.

8. Vanderbilt: Interchangeble with Mississippi and Alabama but have games left with UK, LSU, Fla. and SC is going to make it hard for them to keep their ranking.

9. Mississippi: Near the cellar but stand a good chance of winning 3 of the next 6.

10: Alabama: Their next 2 games are Fla, and Miss St. Win those 2 and they stand a chance of moving up.

11: Arkansas: Been a up and down season for the Hogs but not at the bottom of the pile yet.

12. Georgia: A win over Fla. doesnt get them out of the cellar.

Signing day thoughts

Signing day is a couple of days behind us and I have some thoughts on our recruiting this year. Brooks and co did very well in filling our needs. Sure a couple of 5 star players would have helped our final recruiting rankings but the JUCO players we got will help us a lot. Chris Matthews is the #2 WR in JUCO football and we need help there badly. With both Ryan Mossakowski and Morgan Newton signing we filled another need QB.

Getting recruits from Texas as well as Georgia helps us now if coach can get his foot in the door with the Polynesians in Hawaii and on the west coast we could be looking at top 25 classes every year.

HS
Brian Adams, ATH Cumming, Ga.
Jordan Aumiller, TE Danville
Justin Bean, WR Tupelo, Miss.
Mister Cobble, DT Louisville
Jonathan George, RB Lincoln, Ala.
Qua Huzzie, LB LaGrange, Ga.
Tristian Johnson, DE LaGrange, Ga.
A. Kendrick, TE/WR Katy, Texas
LaRod King, WR Radcliff
Patrick Ligon, DE, Memphis, Tenn.
Demetri Merritt, LB LaGrange, Ga.
Kevin Mitchell, OL Douglasville, Ga.
Terrell Mitchell, TE Powder Springs, Ga.
Ryan Mosby, LB Rockwall, Texas
Ryan Mossakowski, QB Frisco, Texas
Martavius Neloms, DB Memphis, Tenn.
Morgan Newton, QB Carmel, Ind.
Donte Rumph, DE St. Matthews, S.C.
Donald Russell, RB Plm Bch Gardens, Fla.
Samuel Simpson, OL Lexington
Dakotah Tyler, RB Indianapolis
Jarvis Walker, LB Metairie, La.
Myron Walker, DT Metairie, La.
Larry Warford, OL Richmond
Ridge Wilson, LB Louisville

JC
Mark Crawford, DT Indianapolis
DeQuin Evans, DE Long Beach, Calif.
Chris Matthews, WR Los Angeles

UK 73 UA 64

1:41 That is a time to remember. That is the time left on the clock in the first half when the one and only moving pick call was made on UA. And that simply amazes me. I hardly ever complain about how a game is called, but the moving picks from UA were so blatant and across the board that I am floored three grown men standing on the floor couldn’t see it. They weren’t the lean in kind. They weren’t the get there late and not be set up kind. They were the wait till the offensive player who is using the scree goes by then play offensive lineman by continuing to move your feet to stay in front of a guy type. Some coaches teach it I guess because UA performed it to perfection and only got dinged once for it. Alrighty, I spoke my piece on it, I am done..

As for UK, the bodies showed up but they left their heads somewhere else. It was across the board, aside for maybe Stevenson. Porter, Meeks, Harris and Patterson were equally inept, to go along with the typical ineptness of Liggins. I actually liked Miller in this game, but his D just isn’t where it needs to be. Of course I am sure the boards will be filled with Porter hate, and probably some Harris hate as all those who said neither would ever amount to much and wish to be “right” get to blow their horns. I think there should be a rule that if you can’t acknowledge when a kid does good things, then you can’t bang on them when they screw up, so people should be glad I’m not the one making up the rules. BUT, I have been in Porter and Harris’ corner all along (I’m actually in every cat’s corner) so I get to bust them good. It starts with Porter, who had his head firmly planted up somewhere else. One of his intangibles of late has been to supply the steadying force on the floor. That went way out the window last night. Harris followed suit and looked like it was the first time he’s ever stepped on a college floor. Patterson and Meeks were just as bad, but when your role is to score, people tend to give you a break. Not me. Those two deserve to run the stairs until they fall down. If you wish to be the corner stones of this team, you must take more than your share when you don’t bring it like you should. People worried the Georgia game could have been a trap game. turns out, it was UA.

Turnovers, turnovers turnovers. They continue to plague this team. And the UA game showed the worst kind which are the fumble, bumble not trying to do the right thing kind. Its one thing to make a bad pass when you are trying to run a set. Stuff happens. But its quite another thing to just drop the ball in traffic, throw it somewhere no one expects you to throw it, or dribble off your own leg. This team can be very good, but they have got to learn how to value the ball. And I am not giving UA credit for those turnovers. It was all on the Cats.

So what did go right? Stevenson. Easily my player of the game. Yeah, Meeks got 31 and Patterson got 21 and 18. But Stevenson was the only one that I thought was actually into the game. Stevenson had some turnovers as well, but three of them should not have been called. Most probably did not even notice his game. He had to guard both at the basket and away from the basket. He had to usually guard a smaller guy, which typically means a quicker guy. Not when you are talking Stevenson. That could be a major match up problem for other teams. But it becomes a match up problem in favor of UK when Stevenson is on the floor because UK makes you pay by taking full advantage of Stevenson’s length. That, to me, was the difference in UK being 4-0 or being 3-1 in the SEC.

Liggins. If Porter played so poorly, and he certainly did, why did Liggins not get more time? Because he played much worse. His problems continue on the defensive end, and they start with those picks. Not just in this game, but in every game save three. Players usually note a pick and either fight high or low, depended on what D is called. Liggins is like a fly to fly paper when it comes to screens. He is tractor beamed right into the middle of the screen and sticks to it like glue, leaving the other defender to have to decide at the time make a switch that is only supposed to happen for a split second. Instead, Liggins is STILL stuck to the screen. That could very well be the one and only reason he doesn’t get more time. That and he seems to think you aren’t doing anything if you aren’t jacking up shots even if they are not in the flow and you shouldn’t be taking them. He’s staying in front better now, but he has got to figure out how to handle screens properly. And he has got to understand that his primary job should be to make others better on the floor. And stop jacking up 17 % shots.

All in all, I guess this is one more sign that this team is, in fact, getting better. In the recent past, the margin for error was so slim that to play as they did last night would have been a double digit loss to a lesser team than UA. As it is, it was a nine point W and the game wasn’t really in doubt coming down the stretch. And I never really felt like the game was ever in doubt in the first place. But the Cats will not be able to get away with this type of an effort come Saturday.

UK 68 UGA 45

So what does UK do if it goes down to UGA, UGA wants an ugly game and UK obliges? You beat the snot out of them at their own game. THAT is a sign a team is getting really good. Its one thing to have a game go as you like and pound someone. Its quite another when you can beat them at your game AND at theirs. Meeks returned to earth, Patterson returned to being Patterson and UK beat up on Georgia from start to finish. There is plenty not to like about this game. UK usually doesn’t take too many bad shots but they did in this game. UK hasn’t turned the ball over as much of late but turned it over and over and over in this one. Why? I think there is a direct correlation between Coaches pre-game comments about returning to Patterson as the focus and many of the turnovers. Not all but a good portion. When UK wants to go to Patterson, they do it on one block or the other. You know it, I know it, the whole world knows it and especially the opposing coaches know it. It’s pretty easy to draw up a D when you know right where the other guy wants to go. Many of those turnovers were on entries when it simply isn’t there. Patterson is a hos, but he isn’t big enough to entry to with two guys within range every time down the floor and I think its a mistake to keep trying. The good news is UK did adjust by going to other places on the floor. I liked the pick and role game Porter and Stevenson played. I liked getting Patterson looks at the elbow. He needs to knock those down. Doing things like this pro actively will help keep turnovers down and get Patterson higher quality looks.

There is a question that begs for an answer. If UK didn’t play all that hot in some key areas, then how did they blow the doors off of this one? Lets start with a bucket full of blocks. Meeks is something, Patterson is, well, Patterson, but the thing that probably causes opposing coaches more loss of sleep than anything is UK’s D. And that is across the board. It’s quite true that most teams do not get much inside on the Cats. Thanks to Stevenson and Patterson for that. But teams also don’t get much any where else either on most nights. The blocks were a team effort and came from many places on the floor and from seven different Cats. But Georgia didn’t get many open looks anywhere. UK also simply out worked Georgia. When there was a ball on the floor a cat was scratching and clawing for it. UGA didn’t seem to like the fact that the Cats wanted it more, but that is why they are UGA.

This was also a great game from a team aspect. And when I say team, I mean guys that do not get on the floor much. There was a Carter sighting, and you had to do a double take to see if it was the same guy. He actually looked great out there, aside from the play where he passed out instead of going up and dunking the ball. His block was as decisive as the one on Liggins in the open practice, and his rebounding was superb. I actually thought all the Cats contributed. Harrelson looked good and his block made me do a double take as well. Liggins was solid, Galloway still has the best vision on the team, Stewart blundered in the first half but came back to provide some solid relief. I think Miller looks more and more comfy every time out. Here is a valid list of Cats that could make good cases for more PT. The problem for them: There are five guys ahead of them that have even better cases. What a great problem to have.

UK didn’t look so hot going to its bread and butter. It’s gonna happen. Its real nice to have an off night and still be able to come out on top in a laugher..

Week 2 SEC Basketball Rankings

1. Tennessee: Finishing strong gets Tennessee to the top. Games against Kentucky and South Carolina this week could cement their top ranking.

2. Kentucky: Cats held on to beat Vandy and get to rise one. They have a chance to move up with wins over Tennessee and Georgia this week.

3. Arkansas: Beat Oklahoma and Texas last week and loose to Miss St at home. Hard to figure out how good this team is.

4. Florida: Florida is floating right now. Still waiting to see if they can beat a good SEC team.

5. South Carolina: A 12 point win over Auburn helped to show that SC is for real.

6. Mississippi St: A win at Arkansas shows that Miss St is playing good enough to be ranked this high.

7. Alabama: Win over LSU has Alabama ranked above LSU.

8. Vanderbilt: I’m not sure that Vandy should be ranked this low.

9. LSU: Lots of easy wins except against decent teams has LSU dropping.

10. Georgia: Georgia showed a little spunk in their two loosses and move up two spots this week.

11. Mississippi: Not much of a difference between 11 and 12.

12. Auburn: A 12 point loss to South Carolina lands them in the cellar this week.

SEC Basketball Rankings

The SEC is about to get underway so here is the first of my weekly SEC rankings.

1. Arkansas: Not much of a schedule but they beat a real good Oklahoma team so they get the #1 this week.

2. Tennessee: To many losses to good teams considering how high they were ranked to be #1 this week.

3. Kentucky: A much better team than the 12-4 SEC team last year.

4. LSU: 12-1 but a loss to Texas A&M the only good team they played in the pre SEC games. This team has the potential to rise quickly in SEC play.

5. Florida: Florida could go either way after this weeks games.

6. Alabama: Losses to Texas A&M, Oregon and Mercer are keeping Bama down.

7. South Carolina: A win over Baylor has South Carolina ranked this high.

8. Vanderbilt: I’m not sure that Vandy should be ranked this high.

9. Mississippi St: Wins in the last two games over Houston and Western Kentucky make me think Miss St is gelling.

10. Auburn: A loss to 7-7 Mercer and a 10-4 record so far gets Auburn a #10 ranking.

11. Mississippi: Losses to every good team they have played so far have Mississippi near the bottom of the list.

12. Georgia: With games against Georgia Tech and Tennessee this week its going to be real hard to climb out of the cellar for Georgia.

SEC Power rankings

Here my weekly take on the SEC power rankings.

1. Alabama: Alabama may not be the flashest team in the SEC but once again they have proved they are one of the best teams in the nation.

2. Florida: The SEC championship will prove who is the best in the SEC.

3. Georgia: Still 3rd best in the SEC yes but wouldnt win the ACC title or the PAC 10 title.

4. Old Miss: Have the next SEC quarterback star and can play against anyone.

5. South Carolina: The ol ball coach thought he had a contender but South Carolina has had enough offensive problems to keep them in the middle of the pack.

6. Vanderbilt: Bowl elegable for the first time since 82 and finally living up to their first five games. Should be favoried over Tennessee.

7. LSU: An ugly loss drops them down.

8. Arkansas: Who to rank 9th took some thought but not to much. Better than Auburn, Tennesee and Miss St.

9. Tennessee: Beating Vandy and Kentucky moves the Vols up

10. Kentucky: Banged up and no offensive but the defense even giving up 30+ points in the last few games still makes them better than the bottom of the SEC.

11. Auburn: What can you say

12. Mississippi State: The worst offence in the SEC and a defense thats not living up to what is expected of them.

This weeks Top 25

This weeks top 25 rankings are out and clearly show that the winner of the Florida Alabama SEC championship game will be the team favored to win the national championship. The BCS rankings will be out later and will help solidify which non BCS team or teams will play.

AP Top 25
1. Alabama (62) 12-0 1,620
2. Florida (3) 11-1 1,516
3. Texas 11-1 1,488
4. Oklahoma 11-1 1,480
5. USC 10-1 1,355
6. Penn State 11-1 1,257
7. Utah 12-0 1,216
8. Texas Tech 11-1 1,197
9. Boise State 12-0 1,103
10. Ohio State 10-2 1,069
11. TCU 10-2 885
12. Ball State 12-0 834
13. Cincinnati 10-2 824
14. Oklahoma State 9-3 798
15. Georgia Tech 8-3 708
16. Oregon 9-3 630
17. Georgia 9-3 495
18. Boston College 9-3 482
19. Missouri 9-3 479
20. Brigham Young 10-2 385
21. Michigan State 9-3 312
22. Mississippi 8-4 280
23. Pittsburgh 8-3 241
24. Northwestern 9-3 190
25. Oregon State 8-4 122
Others Receiving Votes
Iowa 66, Virginia Tech 47, Tulsa 13, Florida State 12, California 7, West Virginia 4, Rice 3, Connecticut 3, Nebraska 3, North Carolina 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Florida State 23.
USA Today Poll
1. Alabama (58) 12-0 1,521
2. Oklahoma (2) 11-1 1,397
3. Texas 11-1 1,396
4. Florida (1) 11-1 1,385
5. USC 10-1 1,298
6. Penn State 11-1 1,176
7. Utah 12-0 1,153
8. Texas Tech 11-1 1,116
9. Boise State 12-0 1,044
10. Ohio State 10-2 999
11. TCU 10-2 836
12. Cincinnati 10-2 770
13. Ball State 12-0 765
14. Oregon 9-3 658
15. Oklahoma State 9-3 613
16. Georgia Tech 8-3 590
17. Missouri 9-3 470
18. Brigham Young 10-2 461
19. Georgia 9-3 440
20. Boston College 9-3 435
21. Michigan State 9-3 414
22. Northwestern 9-3 333
23. Pittsburgh 8-3 154
24. Oregon State 8-4 127
25. Mississippi 8-4 126
Others Receiving Votes
Virginia Tech 41, Iowa 31, Tulsa 21, Florida State 15, Nebraska 11, Kansas 10, Connecticut 5, North Carolina 5, Rice 5, California 4.
Dropped From Rankings
Florida State 24, West Virginia 25.

Top 25

The latest top 25 polls are out.

AP Top 25
1. North Carolina (72) 3-0 1,800
2. Connecticut 4-0 1,694
3. Louisville 2-0 1,646
4. Pittsburgh 4-0 1,423
5. Michigan State 2-0 1,402
6. Texas 2-0 1,355
7. Duke 6-0 1,330
8. Notre Dame 2-0 1,291
9. Gonzaga 2-0 1,222
10. Purdue 4-0 1,161
11. Oklahoma 4-0 1,094
12. Tennessee 3-0 1,005
13. UCLA 3-1 916
14. Arizona State 3-0 767
15. Marquette 3-0 735
16. Xavier 5-0 600
17. Florida 3-0 535
18. Memphis 4-1 500
19. Wake Forest 2-0 414
20. Villanova 3-0 356
21. Georgetown 2-0 349
22. Miami (FL) 2-1 272
22. Kansas 2-0 272
24. Davidson 3-1 238
25. Wisconsin 4-0 214
Others Receiving Votes
Baylor 170, Syracuse 115, Saint Mary’s 111, UNLV 107, Ohio State 52, Clemson 49, Michigan 42, LSU 25, Texas A&M 25, USC 18, Siena 18, Brigham Young 16, Washington State 13, UAB 12, West Virginia 10, Creighton 6, Missouri 6, Rhode Island 5, Seton Hall 2, Georgia Tech 2, Illinois 2, Mercer 1, Oklahoma State 1, Virginia Military 1.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (31) 3-0 775
2. Connecticut 4-0 730
3. Louisville 2-0 697
4. Pittsburgh 4-0 635
5. Duke 6-0 625
6. Michigan State 2-0 615
7. Texas 2-0 576
8. Notre Dame 2-0 551
9. Purdue 4-0 516
10. Gonzaga 2-0 481
11. UCLA 3-1 437
12. Tennessee 3-0 434
13. Oklahoma 4-0 415
14. Arizona State 3-0 343
15. Marquette 3-0 284
16. Georgetown 2-0 251
17. Memphis 4-1 246
18. Florida 3-0 238
19. Wisconsin 4-0 171
20. Xavier 5-0 166
21. Miami (FL) 2-1 146
22. Villanova 3-0 143
23. Kansas 2-0 125
24. Wake Forest 2-0 123
25. Davidson 3-1 100
Others Receiving Votes
UNLV 58, Saint Mary’s 43, Ohio State 29, Baylor 27, West Virginia 19, Washington State 15, Syracuse 14, Siena 10, Creighton 8, Texas A&M 7, Brigham Young 6, USC 4, UAB 3, Clemson 3, Michigan 3, Oklahoma State 2, Washington 1.

Latest SEC Rankings

1. Alabama: Alabama may not be the flashest team in the SEC but they have proved they are one of the best teams in the nation.

2. Florida: Better than Alabama maybe. The SEC championship will prove that one way or the other.

3. Georgia: 3rd best in the SEC yes able to win the ACC probably. 2nd best in the PAC 10 on way.

4. LSU: Beating Troy St with unanswered points good enough to rate them 4th in the SEC.

5. South Carolina: The ol ball coach thought he had a contender but South Carolina has had enough offensive problems to keep them in the middle of the pack.

6. Vanderbilt: Bowl elegable for the first time since 82 and finally living up to their first five games. Should be favoried over Tennessee.

9. Old Miss: Have the next SEC quarterback star and would probably rank in the top 6 in the ACC or Big East.

8. Kentucky: Banged up and no offensive but the defense even giving up 30+ points in the last few games still makes them better than the bottom of the SEC.

9. Arkansas: Who to rank 9th took some thought but not to much. Better than Auburn, Tennesee and Miss St.

10. Auburn: What

11. Tennessee: Whats keeping Tennesee out of the cellar? Mississippi St

12. Mississippi State: The worst offence in the SEC and a defense thats not living up to what is expected of them.

« Previous Page — Next Page »