SEC basketball is back, y’all! We’ve seen the way the conference has absolutely dominated during nonconference play, making mincemeat of the ACC and other Power 4 leagues.
The SEC won the ACC-SEC Challenge to the tune of a 14-2 beatdown. As of Monday, the SEC has 10 teams in the AP Poll top 25 and 5 (Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Kentucky) in the top 10. Oklahoma joins Florida and Tennessee as the 3 unbeaten programs in the conference as we flip our calendars to 2025.
On Saturday the real work begins. No more beating up on other conferences. Now the elite teams have to separate themselves from the merely great teams during conference action.
Saturday, January 4, is a massive day in the SEC, as all 16 teams tip off league play. So without further ado, let’s rank each of the games, starting with the 5-star matchups and working our way down to the 1-star games:
5-Star Games
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No. 6 Florida at No. 10 Kentucky — 11 a.m. ET on ESPN
This is the first game of the day and boy, is it ever a doozy. Florida takes its undefeated record into Rupp Arena. Mark Pope gets a chance to kick off his Kentucky SEC career with a top-10 victory. Walter Clayton Jr. vs. Otega Oweh should be a fun scoring battle to watch. This has all the makings of a fast-paced, high-scoring game.
No. 23 Arkansas at No. 1 Tennessee — 1 p.m. ET on ESPN
The undefeated Vols host the Hogs in John Calipari’s SEC debut with his new school. Can Boogie Fland and Arkansas go to Rocky Top and pull off an upset for the ages? Or will Zakai Zeigler and the Vols keep their undefeated season going? This game following Florida-Kentucky is absolutely incredible. SEC hoops is going to be insane this year.
No. 12 Oklahoma at No. 5 Alabama — 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network
Make sure you are safely in front of a TV before this game tips off. You’re going to want to catch every second of Mark Sears vs. Jeremiah Fears. Sears is 6th in the SEC, averaging 18.0 points per game. Fears is 5th in the league, averaging 18.1 points per contest. This is going to be an elite matchup of 2 of the best scorers the SEC has to offer.
Texas at No. 13 Texas A&M — 8 p.m. ET on SEC Network
The rivalry (basketball’s version) is back! The football rivalry delivered back in November and I expect the hoops version to do the same. This is the last game of the night and I expect Reed Arena to be rocking.
4-Star Games
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mizzou at No. 2 Auburn — 4 p.m. ET on SEC Network
Do I think Mizzou can go to Auburn and win? No I do not. This would probably be bumped down to the 3-star games section if not for the fact that Mizzou does already have a win over the then-No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks on its résumé this year. Dennis Gates’ Tigers can’t be overlooked by Bruce Pearl’s Tigers.
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3-Star Games
⭐⭐⭐
Georgia at No. 24 Ole Miss — 12 p.m. ET on SEC Network
Any chance to watch Georgia freshman Asa Newell (more on him later) is a welcome one. This is a big game for Mike White’s Bulldogs, as a road win against a ranked Ole Miss squad would be big for their potential NCAA Tournament résumé. Meanwhile, Chris Beard’s Rebels will try to bounce back after a loss to Memphis.
2-Star Games
⭐⭐
South Carolina at No. 17 Mississippi State — 2 p.m. ET on SEC Network
South Carolina is the “worst” team in the SEC by most ranking systems, but the Gamecocks still sport a 10-3 record and bring a 7-game winning streak into league play. Mississippi State, on the other hand, was my preseason sleeper pick to compete for a top-4 spot in the SEC standings. Joshua Hubbard is playing some great basketball right now. The Bulldogs should be able to take care of business at home, but you can’t sleep on anyone in SEC action this year.
1-Star Games
⭐
Vanderbilt at LSU — 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
This is the only game that doesn’t involve at least 1 ranked team. Still, these 2 teams have a combined 22-3 overall record, which is incredible. Cam Carter has been electric for LSU. Jason Edwards is averaging just under 19 points per game for Vanderbilt. So even though this might not be a marquee matchup, it should still have plenty of excitement.
Players to Watch
Let me just start this section by saying these are not the ONLY players I want to watch, they’re just some guys I want to highlight for this particular week. This week’s Players to Watch are:
Asa Newell, Georgia
Asa Newell is a force for the Bulldogs. He is a dunking machine at 6-11. Just look at how intuitive he is with his post positioning:
There’s not much defenses can do with that. And Newell is versatile, too. He even knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in a game recently:
The Bulldogs will go as far as Newell can carry them in SEC play. We’ll get a good look at just how far that might be on Saturday in Oxford.
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Lanier came to Tennessee after 4 years at North Florida. He only really became a major contributor last year, when he averaged 19.7 points per game for the Ospreys. Now he’s the SEC’s second-leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points per contest. He’s also leading the SEC with 3.9 made 3-pointers on a league-high 8.5 attempts per game. Among SEC players who make 2.5+ 3-pointers per game, Lanier’s 45.9% 3-point success rate is second only to Koby Brea of Kentucky.
He’s stepped into the void left by Dalton Knecht admirably. Can he keep it going in league play? The Vols will be contenders for the SEC title if he keeps playing the way he did in nonconference action.
Coach of the Week
Porter Moser, Oklahoma
The Sooners were picked to finish 15th out of 16 teams in the SEC men’s hoops preseason poll. Based on how deep the SEC is this year, that could still happen, of course. But for now, Moser has the Sooners firing on all cylinders, with wins over Arizona and Michigan in nonconference play. Jeremiah Fears is a player to watch, as he’s been electric thus far. Kudos to Moser for getting Oklahoma to SEC play unscathed.
Relevant Quote from “The Office”
“Oh, my God! Okay, it’s happening! Everybody stay calm.” — Michael Scott
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 14 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
