It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another SEC basketball mailbag.
As always, send me your questions on Twitter or Facebook.
Let’s dive in.
Best case scenario is five. Three teams are locks at this point (Kentucky, Florida and South Carolina), but there are no guaranteed bids beyond that.
Either Georgia or Arkansas is also probably getting in.
For Georgia and Arkansas to get in, it’ll take beating the teams they should beat combined with finding a win or two over the top three along the way.
I still think South Carolina and Florida are 2A and 2B. Of course, the Gamecocks get the nod for now since they won the foul-heavy game in Columbia.
If these two teams played on a neutral court 10 times, each would likely win five.
They’re very similar teams. Both play aggressive defense that turns teams over, but both also have stretches where their offense can be rather underwhelming.
Either way, these are definitely the two best teams behind Kentucky.
There’s definitely talent on this team. There’s also a great head coach at the top that knows what he’s doing.
It’s no secret that Alabama has its weaknesses on offense. But the style that Johnson has implemented in Tuscaloosa lessens those weaknesses due to the type of defense that’s being played.
Good defense creates offense, and that’s an ideal strategy for a team that knows its scoring limits.
This Alabama team is never going to score 80+ points a game night in and night out. However, Johnson’s ability to get the most out of his roster will still allow his team to win plenty of games (as shown by the 4-1 SEC start).
All that said, there’s still talent. Not having one elite scorer can hurt at times, but having four guys that could hit the 20-point mark on any given night isn’t exactly a bad thing.
And since this question is coming from known Donta Hall superfan Jordan, here’s a mandatory highlight:
You’re welcome.
Missouri can’t possibly bring back Kim Anderson. Everyone knows he inherited Frank Haith’s mess, but there’s hardly any progress being made.
The Tigers won nine games his first, 10 his second year, and it will take a monumental effort to reach eight this year.
A change has to be made there if this program is going to have a chance to rise above the bottom of the league.
And yes, by choosing Anderson as the answer to this question, that means I’m still not convinced that LSU has what it takes to fire Johnny Jones.
The problem for Alabama will be finding quality wins.
This is how I’d break things down based on where teams stand today:
- Games Alabama probably wins: vs. Auburn, at Missouri, vs. LSU, vs. Ole Miss
- Games Alabama could win: at Auburn, vs. Mississippi State, vs. Georgia, at Texas A&M, at Tennessee
- Games Alabama probably won’t win: at Georgia, at Arkansas, at South Carolina, vs. Kentucky
Beating bad teams doesn’t do much, so it looks like an uphill battle to make the NCAA tournament.
If the Crimson Tide beat a team or teams in that “probably won’t win” category, then the discussion becomes a little more serious.
Blake Lovell has worked in sports media for over 10 years. He currently covers SEC football and basketball for various publications.