It was a rare perfect night on the SEC predictions front on Tuesday thanks to the favorites getting the job done.
How will Wednesday night’s games unfold?
Here are thoughts on the two matchups.
Season Prediction Record: 48-29 (conference play + SEC/Big 12 Challenge)
Arkansas at No. 21 South Carolina – 6:30 PM ET, SEC Network
The Razorbacks are still leading the race for the SEC’s fourth NCAA bid. However, Arkansas has not played like a tournament team recently.
Just look at this team’s past six games:
- at Vanderbilt (71-70 win)
- at Oklahoma State (99-71 loss)
- vs. Alabama (87-68 win)
- at Missouri (83-78 loss)
- vs. Vanderbilt (72-59 loss)
- at LSU (78-70 win)
The only game that Arkansas played well in was against Alabama. Even in wins over Vandy and LSU, the Hogs had to mount late rallies to come out on top, and they certainly got help from their opponents during important moments in those games.
Meanwhile, South Carolina rebounded with a nice win at Mississippi State after suffering the quadruple overtime loss to the Crimson Tide.
Sindarius Thornwell would be my pick for SEC Player of the Year right now, as he just does so many things well on both ends of the floor.
He’s currently in the top five in the league in the following categories: scoring (20.8 PPG), rebounding (7.5 RPG), steals (2.3 SPG), and minutes played (33.6 MPG).
Thornwell and company will be too much for a struggling Arkansas team in this game.
Prediction: South Carolina 74, Arkansas 65
Alabama at Missouri – 8:30 PM ET, SEC Network
After losing 13 straight games overall, the Tigers are now riding a two-game winning streak at home.
But perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Even during the lengthy losing streak, Kim Anderson had his team competitive. Missouri was a few plays here and there away from possibly beating teams like Georgia, Auburn, and Ole Miss, so it’s not like this team was getting blown out by 20-plus points every night.
And now, coming off their most impressive game of the season in a 72-52 victory over Vandy, the Tigers may actually have a chance to score a third straight win in Columbia.
However, before we get too carried away, let’s talk about the opponent.
Alabama has fell off the NCAA bubble for now having lost three of four (and having a mid-70s RPI), but the Tide’s final six games are all winnable:
- at Missouri
- vs. LSU
- vs. Georgia
- at Texas A&M
- vs. Ole Miss
- at Tennessee
Obviously, winning all six of those games probably won’t happen in the wild SEC. But it’s certainly helps not to have Florida, South Carolina, or Kentucky on there.
Speaking of the latter two, Avery Johnson’s team showed that it can hang with the league’s top teams. Alabama won the game at South Carolina, and although it struggled for a lot of the Kentucky game, it battled back to make things interesting.
The biggest unknown heading into this one is scoring. Both teams have a tendency to go a long time without scoring or knocking down a field goal, so there’s no doubt that defense will be the main theme.
Let’s just say that this won’t be a replay of Florida’s 114-95 win at Auburn on Tuesday, although this game could very well feature 81 free throws (you know, since the SEC is intent on producing a 100-free throw game at some point).
I really do think this game be close. And while I like Missouri’s confidence, Alabama should control the boards and find a way to win.
Prediction: Alabama 64, Missouri 60
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Blake Lovell has worked in sports media for over 10 years. He currently covers SEC football and basketball for various publications.