The biggest winners and losers of the weekend in the SEC

BY HENRY HUBER @HenryHuber_

The second-to-last week of SEC basketball didn’t disappoint, producing multiple great matchups with added importance due to tournament implications.

At this point in time, there’s a realistic possibility the conference will wield eight teams in this season’s NCAA Tournament, which is tied for the second most in the country.

Which teams were the biggest winners and losers in the previous week?

Alabama-Winner

Despite all it had going on behind the scenes, Alabama managed to finish the week without a loss, scraping by South Carolina and Arkansas and adding its 9th Quad I win to its resume. It’s still primed to claim the top-seed in this year’s tournament, sporting a tie for the second-best record in the country for Quad I matchups.

Kentucky-Winner

Just two teams besides Bama concluded the week 2-0, one being the Wildcats.

They did so despite enduring a Quad I and an upper-Quad II matchup, the latter of which ended in a 30-point blowout victory over Auburn. It now has five Quad I victories on the season and justifiably jumped from No. 29 to No. 20 in NET following its latest victory.

It didn’t move up in seeding after its first win of the week over Florida, but it should now. Considering its four-game win streak, three of which came against Quad I opponents, it could be a dangerous team no matter where it lands come tournament time.

Missouri-Winner

The last to end the week 2-0, Missouri’s wins weren’t huge resume boosters, but it did avoid another blow or two after a rough previous week and impressed in both performances.

Its rematch against Mississippi State ended in an overtime victory, a huge improvement from their previous matchup. Then after failing to crack 70 in its prior three contests, it put up 85 on the road against Georgia.

The Tigers could jump to a nine-seed next week but whether or not that occurs, they are now less at risk of losing their spot.

THREATS, from page 9 there for the perimeter players with 11 points that game.

But what makes South Carolina so dangerous is its depth. The Gamecocks have been able to substitute several players in at any time of the game and get just about the same level of production. In the postseason especially, this will be hard to play against.

Tennessee

In some ways, Tennessee could be a bigger threat to LSU than South Carolina is. If LSU were to lose to Tennessee instead of South Carolina, its tournament seeding could be affected. With another loss to South Carolina in the tournament, there would be a better chance LSU’s seeding will remain the same.

Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston have been the dynamic duo for the Volunteers all season.

SWEEP, from page 10

Doubles play was a back-andforth battle as Chen Dong and Welsh Hotard opened up the day with a 6-3 victory. Pair Watson and Latinovic followed with a 4-6 loss. Tigers George Stoupe and Julien Penzlin rounded out doubles play with a hard fought 7-5 victory to clutch the doubles point.

Latinovic started singles play in the No. 1 spot winning his match 6-1, 6-2. From here forward it was all LSU as Penzlin followed with a win in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.

Benjamin Ambrosio continued the success with another straight set win, defeating his opponent 6-3, 6-0. Following Ambrosio, Hotard jumped up early on his opponent, winning the first set 6-0, and finished his win off in

BRACKET, from page 9

Texas

A&M-Winner

The Aggies experienced the most immediate improvement in tournament seeding following a strong win over No. 11 Tennessee earlier in the week, jumping from an eight to six-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology update.

Though it failed to capitalize on back-to-back Quad I opportunities, losing a tight battle on the road against Mississippi State on Saturday, it still has a serious chance to secure the third highest seed in the SEC come March. Its biggest game of the season takes place this upcoming Saturday, where it’ll host No. 2 Alabama to conclude its regular season.

Mississippi State-Winner

Speaking of Mississippi State, the Bulldogs maintained their last four in projection following a tough overtime loss on the road to Missouri last Tuesday. Then, it defeated No. 25 Texas A&M at home, securing its fourth Quad I victory of the season.

It’s unclear where they will land in Lunardi’s upcoming update, but that win should surely propel them into last four bye territory at least. All Mississippi State has to do to ensure itself a spot

It makes perfect sense why both are projected Top 10-WNBA draft picks. Jackson leads the team with 18.9 points per game, and Horston is right behind her at 15.5. Jackson scored 17 points in Tennessee’s matchup with LSU, but Jordan Walker led the team that game with 19 points.

LSU proved a lot in its matchup with Tennessee. The Tigers faced adversity in the first half; Angel Reese was held to just four points and four rebounds in the first half. But they gained more clarity in their identity that night in that they dug deep in the second half and were able to pull out an important win.

Ole Miss

With LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee getting a lot of attention, a team like Ole Miss could be a “dark horse” in the SEC Tournament. That could be dangerous to LSU. The advantage LSU has is dramatic fashion as he closed the second set 7-6(7-2). that it just played the Rebels.

Dong’s singles match went to a third set 10-point tiebreaker, with Dong dropping the first set 4-6, winning his second set 6-4, and closing out his match 10-6. Stoupe finished the day with the final win of the match, closing out the sweep with a win in straight sets over his opponent, 7-6(7-3), 6-4.

The Tigers weren’t finished with the entertainment after their 7-0 victory though, as they hosted a kid’s clinic with some of the LSU players having fun playing tennis with some fans.

LSU will be back in action with a double header against ULLafayette and University of New Orleans on Sunday. The Tigers start their SEC play next week as they travel to College Station and take on Texas A&M on Thursday.

But this goes both ways.

The Rebels set themselves apart with their defense. They allow the second least points per game in the SEC this season behind only South Carolina. They’re also fourth in the SEC in defensive rebounds per game, and third in the SEC in blocks per game.

But the way Ole Miss has been able to complement its defense with its offense has kept the Rebels near the top of the conference standings. Angel Baker leads the team in points per game at 15.2, and she scored a team-high of 21 points against LSU.

Ole Miss also set itself apart in that they are closest SEC team to beat South Carolina. The Rebels ran right with the Gamecocks and were tied at 55 at the end of regulation. Despite coming up short, having the momentum that they came that close to slaying the gi- ant could be dangerous.

Mississippi State

Coach Kim Mulkey considered the Bulldogs the hottest team in the conference following the Tigers’ win against Vanderbilt.

Mississippi State has won five of their last six games, including a win over Tennessee in double overtime. In four of those six games, JerKaila Jordan led the team in scoring. But she isn’t the only one to worry about on Mississippi State’s squad.

Jordan averages 11.8 points per game and five rebounds per game, but Jessika Carter leads the team in points per game with 14.8 along with 7.8 rebounds per game. Similarly to Tennessee, Mississippi State is led by two players in most cases but has more that step up frequently.

Georgia

Besides South Carolina, who did beat LSU, Georgia came the closest to giving the Tigers their second loss. LSU escaped that game with an 82-77 win in overtime. in the tournament is win its remaining two games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt, which is easier said than done but a task it’s more than capable of accomplish- ing.

What seemingly threw LSU off that game was the zone defense the Bulldogs ran. With only two or three days to adjust to that scheme, LSU was down for the majority of that game. If the Tigers had more days to prepare, maybe the game would have been different.

But that isn’t the case.

Diamond Battle leads the team in scoring 14.2 points per game, and Brittney Smith is right behind at 12.1. In their matchup with LSU, Battle led Georgia with 22 points. Along with Battle, four other Bulldogs scored in double figures.

With Kentucky winning the SEC Tournament last year as a No. seven-seed, a team like Georgia could catch fire early in the tournament and run with it all the way to the end.

This episode’s biggest loser Though Vanderbilt could be included here following its Quad III loss to LSU, the prospect of it making the tournament was already shaky heading into the week. It’s unfortunate that it’s run to the tournament was halted so abruptly, but such is the reality of college sports.

Tennessee and Arkansas also missed out on Quad I opportunities but aren’t necessarily notable losers of the week either. If anything, Nick Smith’s combined 50 points in his last two games could be seen as a victory for the Razorbacks, along with their nearupset win on the road against No. 2 Alabama. Having Smith at full strength heading into March is a horrifying sight for any team projected within Arkansas’s region in the tournament.

No, the biggest loser of the week was Auburn. The Tigers have been on a steady plunge since late-January, dropping seven of their last 10 and failing to secure a single Quad I win throughout that span.

That didn’t get any better this week, as they narrowly escaped a Quad III loss to Ole Miss on Wednesday before suffering a blowout loss on the road to Kentucky. It now has a 2-8 record in Quad I scenarios, a worse record than Vanderbilt’s 3-9.

It didn’t have a bubble designation prior to the loss, but it will have one following it. If it fails to defeat Alabama or Tennessee in its last two games of the season, it will not make the tournament.