The Georgia basketball loss to Marquette and Florida’s loss to Florida State were major setbacks for the other 13 teams in the SEC besides Kentucky.
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The main storyline in the SEC this season is the other 13 teams trying to rise close to Kentucky’s level and make the SEC one of the premier conferences in the nation.
But recently that has not been going so well. On Monday Auburn lost to Boston College of the ACC 72-71 and no. 16 South Carolina lost to the Big East’s Seton Hall 67-64. Then on Sunday, Ole Miss lost to Virginia Tech (ACC) 80-75, no. 21 Florida lost to Florida State (ACC) 83-78, Tennessee lost to North Carolina (ACC) 73-71 and Alabama lost to no. 24 Oregon (Pac 12) 65-56.
That’s six losses to teams in other major conferences, mostly to the ACC but the Big East and Pac 12 are in there as well. Arizona also beat Missouri on Saturday. Thursday Vanderbilt lost to Middle Tennessee State of Conference USA, a mid-major. Florida also lost to no. 6 Duke on a neutral court on Tuesday and on Sunday, Georgia lost to Marquette at home.
These are games that the SEC needs to win if the conference is to stand on equal footing with the ACC, Big East, BIg 10, Big 12 and the Pac 12. Of course Kentucky also lost to UCLA last Saturday, but with three national titles in the last 20 years and five Final Fours this decade, we’ll let that one slide.
The SEC’s next shot
But that’s all in the past and the SEC collective needs to start taking advantage of the chances they get to pick up wins over major conferences. This weekend is that next chance.
Texas A&M plays no. 19 Arizona, and Arkansas plays Texas on neutral courts. South Carolina gets to defend their ranking against American Conference opponent South Florida. Those games are on Saturday and on Sunday Alabama plays Clemson on a neutral site and Tennessee hosts no. 8 Gonzaga.
This is one of the biggest weekends for Southeastern Conference basketball in recent memory. If the conference can’t win at least half of these games then this will be a major setback for the SEC. But if they win most or even sweep the weekend, the SEC will be one step closer to standing on the same ground as other major conferences.
Georgia Basketball
As for Georgia basketball, their next big non-conference game is next Tuesday against bitter rival Georgia Tech. But the Bulldogs play the Yellow Jackets every year, Georgia needs to defeat a unique opponent in a big game.
That opportunity comes on January 28th when the Bulldogs host the Texas Longhorns. Whether Texas is ranked or not at the time does not matter, it’s a Big 12 team coming to Athens that has been to 25 NCAA tournaments since 1989. More than Georgia has period.
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Right now within the SEC it’s a race to see who can catch up to Kentucky first. Florida was there in the late 2000’s but they’ve since slipped. Now the Gators are still in the race, but Georgia, Texas A&M, and South Carolina are all neck-and-neck with Florida.
Of course Georgia wants to win that race, winning out and beating Texas will be a big step in that direction. Obviously the Bulldogs need to win inside the conference as well. But the SEC wants to be an elite basketball conference and Georgia wants to be an elite basketball team. It’s time to start winning the games against elite programs and conferences.