SEC basketball wrap-around: How the first day of conference play went around the league
John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats got off to a 1-0 start in SEC play with a gutsy, hard fought victory on the road against the Florida Gators on Saturday.
The Gators proved that no game in the SEC is going to be easy for Kentucky, particularly on the road, and indeed the first SEC Saturday of the season had a handful of very close games and big surprises.
Below is a look at how each of the other six conference games went on Saturday, and what it might mean for the Wildcats going forward this season.
Auburn over Arkansas, 83-51
Auburn has long been a metrics darling, with sky-high rankings that weren't resulting in a ton of love from the AP voters. However, after absolutely demolishing Arkansas on Saturday it will become much harder to ignore this team.
Auburn outrebounded Arkansas 46-32, had only seven turnovers, shot 39% from three, and coasted to an easy victory over a team that began the season in the Top 25. While the Hogs may not be nearly as big a threat to Kentucky as many thought preseason, Auburn sure looks like a team capable of competing for the SEC regular season title.
South Carolina over Mississippi State, 68-62
South Carolina is among the least talked about one loss teams in all of college basketball, and now they are 1-0 in SEC play with a nice win over a quality Mississippi State program.
The Gamecocks got 24 points and six boards from guard Meechie Johnson, and out rebounded the Bulldogs by nine. With only a loss to a very good Clemson squad, and a five point loss at that, South Carolina is a team to keep an eye on in the SEC.
Georgia over Missouri, 75-68
Mizzou's disappointing season continued as they took a loss against Georgia to fall to 8-6 on the year. The Bulldogs had four players in double figures, led by an 18 point, 11 rebound performance from Russel Tchewa.
Georgia now sports a nine game winning streak after beginning the year 2-3, and while they probably won't compete for a top three spot in the league they are a sneaky good club under coach Mike White.
Alabama over Vanderbilt, 78-75
16 turnovers and key missed free throws down the stretch nearly doomed the Crimson Tide, but they managed to hold on and defeat Vanderbilt by three to move to 9-5 on the year. Veteran guard Mark Sears had 21 and Rylan Griffen added 16.
Meanwhile, Jerry Stackhouse's Commodores drop to 5-9 after shooting just 40% from the field and 26.9% (7-26) from three.
Tennessee over Ole Miss, 90-64
Chris Beard and the Rebels suffered their first loss of the season, and it was never really even close. The Vols were up 40-31 at halftime before turning on the jets and crushing Ole Miss in the second half, 50-33, and coasting to victory behind a 24 point, 10 rebound double-double from Jonas Aidoo.
Tennessee remains Kentucky's biggest competition in the SEC, and they proved exactly why on Saturday evening.
LSU over Texas A&M, 68-53
LSU blasted A&M in the second half, outscoring the Aggies 38-21 to turn a two point deficit into a blowout victory. The Tigers are now 9-5 on the season, while A&M drops to 9-5 themselves after another disastrous offensive performance - shooting a pitiful 25.4% from the field and 17.9% (5-28) from three. Neither of these teams look like true contenders in the SEC at this point.
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