The SEC’s Player of the Year award could come down to a pair of players from the league’s Alabama schools.
The Player of the Year race
For the first two and a half months of the season, Alabama’s Labaron Philon has been the favorite — he’s leading the league in scoring (22.0 points per game) and paces the Crimson Tide in assists and steals while shooting solid across the board (51.6 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from three and 76.1 percent from the free-throw line). But Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall, who, barring any unforeseen issues, is certainly going to win the league’s Newcomer of the Year Award, is quickly closing the gap, especially after he was the main man in Auburn’s improbable win at Florida last Saturday. Piling up 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, Hall led the Tigers to their first win at Florida since 1996, snapping a losing streak that had reached 15 games. Remember Cliff Ellis? He was Auburn’s coach back then.
Hall followed the Florida game with an even more impressive performance against Texas, scoring 31 points. Hall took just 13 shots from the field, but he was 3 of 6 from three-point range. Hall also drew 10 fouls and got to the free-throw line 17 times, making 14 of his attempts.
Hall, a transfer from UCF who last season led the Big 12 in scoring, is Auburn’s leading scorer (20.9 points per game) and rebounder (7.4 rebounds per game). He’s hard to guard because he’s shooting 41.9 percent from three but also leads the nation in made free throws (155 of 180). Teams are having problems figuring out how to check him. Is he going to crank the long ball or get to the rack? Hall is also a willing passer; with 58 assists, he’s just seven off Tahaad Pettiford’s team lead.
If anyone can challenge those two, it might be Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr., who is lighting up scoreboards and dropping dimes like Nate Archibald. (Look him up on YouTube, kids. You’ll be glad you did.)
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Giant lineup helps put Tennessee back on track
After Tennessee gave up a 17-point lead and lost 80-78 at home to Kentucky on Jan. 17, coach Rick Barnes, with a week before the Vols’ next game at Alabama, decided he was finally able to implement a plan he had considered since before the season began. Barnes, whose team started 2-3 in league play, wasn’t pushing panic buttons and wasn’t considering making drastic changes, but he had to do something.
So the Vols went big.
The controversial return to the college game of Alabama center Charles Bediako, who last played in 2023, signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs and was playing in the G League before a judge issued a temporary restraining order allowing him to play for the Crimson Tide again, had been the talk of the conference. But Barnes wasn’t worried about him. That’s because Tennessee started a lineup that included 6-foot-11 senior Felix Okpara, 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella and 6-foot-10 freshman Nate Ament.
The wildcard was Estrella, who missed all but three games last season after undergoing foot surgery, and had played well at the start of this season — racking up three double-doubles in the Vols’ nonconference schedule. But the hard-luck Estrella was still battling injuries, this time to his knee and ankle, that caused him to miss two games. Last week, Estrella, back to 100 percent, proved to Barnes he was ready to start. Against Alabama, he responded with 6 points and 5 rebounds — one on each end of the floor in the closing seconds — and took up enough space and set solid screens to allow Ament, the five-star rookie, to rack up his best game — 29 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Tennessee pulled off a 79-73 win at one of the toughest places to play in the conference.
“He’s had some tough breaks in his career,” Barnes said after the game. “But tonight, all that hard work he put in could be the start of something really good for him. Because we believe in him, we really do. And he earned the right to be in the starting lineup.”
Barnes turned out to be a prophet. In the Vols’ next game, at Georgia, Estrella started again and scored 17 points — five of them in overtime — on 8 of 12 shooting and grabbed 9 rebounds as the Vols snagged another priceless road victory, 86-85. Ament, voted the SEC’s Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 26, added 19 points and 6 rebounds, and Okpara made the game-winning free throw and grabbed 11 boards, seven on the offensive glass.
Tennessee, the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country per KenPom, grabbed 52 boards to 27 for Georgia. The Vols split that total between the offensive and defensive glass, the 26 offensive rebounds marking a new season high. The big lineup seems like it’s here to stay.
“This is the team we thought we would start from day one,” Barnes said.
Around the rim
So much for our prediction that Oklahoma could be a sleeper in the SEC. Since we doomed the Sooners with that fearless forecast, they won their first league game and have lost their last seven. What’s the problem? A glance at KenPom’s advanced metrics points to defense as a culprit. In SEC games, Oklahoma is ranked 15th in the 16-team league in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing 116.7 points per 100 possessions. They’re 12th in opponents’ effective field-goal percentage (51.7) and 14th (56.2) in two-point percentage.
And then there’s this: The Sooners rank 358th out of 365 teams in KenPom’s “Luck” metric. In this case, it’s the absence of luck. Pomeroy has described Luck as “the deviation in winning percentage between a team’s actual record and their expected record using the correlated gaussian method.” For those of you who don’t know what the correlated gaussian method is, don’t feel so all alone. But basically, a lucky team will have a much better record than it would appear to be capable of, and then you have Oklahoma, which was 10-3 in nonconference games and beat Marquette, Wake Forest and Oklahoma State.
In SEC play, the Sooners’ Luck metric has taken a tumble. They’ve lost by two points at Alabama and in overtime at Missouri. Arkansas won, 83-79, in Norman. Sometimes, the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.
Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff, Jr. keeps motoring along, racking up SEC Freshman of the Week honors as he goes. He won five in a row from Dec. 5 through Jan. 12 and again on Jan. 26 after averaging 24 points and 5.5 assists in leading the Razorbacks to wins over then-No. 15 Vanderbilt and LSU. His six awards tie a league record held by James Robinson (Alabama, 1991); Brandin Knight (Kentucky, 2011); Bradley Beal (Florida, 2012); Jabari Smith (Auburn, 2022); and Brandon Miller (Alabama, 2023).
With 11 SEC games to play, Acuff, who leads Arkansas in scoring (20.2), assists (6.2) and three-point percentage (42.0), seems certain to claim the record. As reliant as the Hogs have been on the 6-foot-3 point guard, he might lock it down for a long time. Acuff has a head start on next week’s award — against Oklahoma on Jan. 27, he scored 21 points and handed out nine assists.
On a team filled with several offensive weapons, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Nickel might not earn the most headlines, but you can be sure he’s front and center on every team’s scouting report. Nickel, who scored 19 points in the Commodores’ 80-55 win over Kentucky on Jan. 27, is a rare commodity — a 6-foot-7, 222-pound senior wing who can stroke the three-ball, but has learned to use his size to get to the rim and finish.
It’s no surprise NBA scouts are keeping an eye on Nickel, who’s averaging 14.9 points and shooting 46.3 percent from three-point range and 51.4 percent from the field. He leads the SEC in three-point percentage and effective field-goal percentage (68.3) and is converting 67.3 percent of his two-point attempts. Nickel is fourth in the country in three-point percentage and tied for 10th in makes (69).
The SEC was leading the nation in games decided by four points or less until being overtaken this week by the ACC, but this is still a stat worth noting. Per KenPom.com, 14 of 62 league games — 22.5 percent — have been won by no more than four points. Not every game has been a nailbiter, though. The SEC is second behind the Big 12 in blowout percentage (19.5). Twelve of 62 games have been won by 19 or more points.
Games to Watch
Kentucky at Arkansas, Saturday (ESPN)
When it’s playing at home, Arkansas looks like a national championship contender. Kentucky, on the other hand, despite its recent five-game winning streak, is a bigger mystery than Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. What team is going to show up? If it’s the one that got destroyed (80-55!) at Vanderbilt on Jan. 27, things could get ugly. But if the Wildcats are mad about their (lack of) effort at Vanderbilt and take that anger to Fayetteville, this could be a tasty game.
Auburn at Tennessee, Saturday (ESPN)
This one has some side drama. It’s the first time Steven Pearl has returned to his alma mater as a head coach. He was a walk-on for the Vols when his father Bruce coached them (2005-11) and so far, he’s done a solid job taking over the Tigers when his father abruptly retired in September. Except for a stunning loss to Kentucky in a game they led until the final seconds, the Vols have been dominant at home. Both teams know they need to win this game to stay in the running for a top-four finish and bye into the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Vanderbilt at Ole Miss, Saturday (SEC Network)
The Commodores roughed up Kentucky in their last game and have bounced back from a three-game losing streak that derailed their 16-0 start to the season. A big question for the Commodores is when will guards Duke Miles and Frankie Collins return from their respective knee issues? As well as he’s played, 6-foot sophomore guard Tyler Tanner needs a blow every now and then. The Rebels have lost two in a row and have had a week off since their last game.
Alabama at Florida, Sunday (ABC)
If one were to poll coaches and media covering the SEC, the Gators and Crimson Tide — especially if the latter gets to keep controversial center Charles Bediako — would be a popular choice as teams that have the most upside in the league. Either could make a deep run in March, but there’s still a brutal five weeks of conference play to fight through.
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