· SEC Player of the Week – Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe, a 6-foot-9, 260-pound senior from Lubumbashi, D.R. of the Congo, averaged 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while connecting on 87.0 percent (20-of-23) of his shots from the field in victories at Florida and over Auburn this week. Tshiebwe went for a game-high 25 points, four boards and three assists against Florida before totaling a game-high 22 points and 17 boards to go along with two steals against the Tigers. His 92.3 field goal percentage against Florida was the fourth-highest in a single game in Kentucky history (minimum of eight attempts), but the best field goal clip with that many attempts in program history.
· SEC Freshman of the Week – Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., a 6-foot-5, 185-pound freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., averaged 25.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in against Georgia and at No. 2 Alabama. In his third game back after missing 13 games due to injury, Smith scored 26 points on 64.3 percent shooting against the Bulldogs. He had 24 points and a season-high six rebounds at Alabama.
· Six teams are receiving mention in the February 27 Associated Press Top 25 highlighted by Alabama (2nd), Tennessee (12th), Kentucky 23rd, and Texas A&M (24th). Missouri and Arkansas are among the teams receiving votes.
· Two teams rank in the Top Five of the NCAA’s NET rankings (1st nationally), four in the Top 25 (2nd nationally), and nine are in the Top 50 (t-1st nationally).
· Five SEC teams are rated among the top 20 defensive teams in the nation according to KenPom: Tennessee 1st, Mississippi State 4th, Alabama 5th, Arkansas 11th, and Auburn 17th.
· Five SEC players were named the USBWA’s Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List: Kobe Brown (MO), Ricky Council IV (AR), Brandon Miller (UA), Oscar Tshiebwe (UK), and KJ Williams (LS).
· LSU’s KJ Williams became the 123rd player in NCAA history to score 2,000 points and have 1,000 rebounds on Jan. 21.
· Alabama’s Brandon Miller leads all freshmen nationally with 18.7 points per game.
· Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe had 37 points and 24 rebounds against Georgia on Jan. 17. It was the first 30/20 game by an SEC player since South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell had 44 points and 21 rebounds against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017.
· Three SEC coaches rank among the winningest active Division I coaches in the nation: John Calipari (4th with 787 wins), Rick Barnes (6th with 775 wins), and Bruce Pearl (15th with 633 wins).
· Alabama is the fourth different SEC school to be ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll since the 2018-19 season (Auburn 2022, Kentucky 2020, and Tennessee 2019).
· Alabama became the first team since the 1965-66 season to beat two teams ranked No. 1 (North Carolina on Nov. 27 and Houston on Dec. 10) before New Year’s Day.
· Tennessee has won five straight games against Associated Press Top five opponents.
· The SEC, ACC, and ESPN announced on Nov. 28 the formation of the SEC/ACC Challenge for men’s and women’s basketball, which will begin as part of the 2023-24 season.
· 50 SEC players have been selected in the last five NBA Drafts. That leads all conferences: 45 ACC, 33 Big Ten, 33 Pac-12, 25 Big 12 and 14 Big East.
· The SEC has had 27 NCAA Tournament selections over the last three tournaments.
· 14 of 14 SEC teams have made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven tournaments.
SCHEDULE/RESULTS (All times Eastern):
Tuesday, February 21
*at #25 Texas A&M 68, #11 Tennessee 63
*at Missouri 66, Mississippi State 64 OT
*at Arkansas 97, Georgia 65
Wednesday, February 22
*Kentucky 82, at Florida 74
*at LSU 84, Vanderbilt 77
*#2 Alabama 78, at South Carolina 76 OT
*at Auburn 78, Ole Miss 74
Saturday, February 25
*Missouri 85, at Georgia 63
*at #2 Alabama 86, Arkansas 83
*at Mississippi State 69, #25 Texas A&M 62
*at Kentucky 86, Auburn 54
*at Vanderbilt 88, Florida 72
*at #11 Tennessee 85, South Carolina 45
*at Ole Miss 82, LSU 69
Tuesday, February 28
*Florida at Georgia SECN 7:00 pm
*Arkansas at #12 Tennessee ESPN2 9:00 pm
*South Carolina at Mississippi State SECN 9:00 pm
*#24 Texas A&M at Ole Miss ESPNU 9:00 pm
Wednesday, March 1
*Auburn at #2 Alabama ESPN2 7:00 pm
*Vanderbilt at #23 Kentucky SECN 7:00 pm
*Missouri at LSU SECN 9:00 pm
Saturday, March 4
*Georgia at South Carolina SECN 1:00 pm
*#12 Tennessee at Auburn ESPN 2:00 pm
*#2 Alabama at #24 Texas A&M CBS 12:00 pm
*#23 Kentucky at Arkansas CBS 2:00 pm
*Ole Miss at Missouri SECN 3:30 pm
*LSU at Florida SECN 6:00 pm
*Mississippi State at Vanderbilt SECN 8:30 pm
· SEC Freshman of the Week – Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., a 6-foot-5, 185-pound freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., averaged 25.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in against Georgia and at No. 2 Alabama. In his third game back after missing 13 games due to injury, Smith scored 26 points on 64.3 percent shooting against the Bulldogs. He had 24 points and a season-high six rebounds at Alabama.
· Six teams are receiving mention in the February 27 Associated Press Top 25 highlighted by Alabama (2nd), Tennessee (12th), Kentucky 23rd, and Texas A&M (24th). Missouri and Arkansas are among the teams receiving votes.
· Two teams rank in the Top Five of the NCAA’s NET rankings (1st nationally), four in the Top 25 (2nd nationally), and nine are in the Top 50 (t-1st nationally).
· Five SEC teams are rated among the top 20 defensive teams in the nation according to KenPom: Tennessee 1st, Mississippi State 4th, Alabama 5th, Arkansas 11th, and Auburn 17th.
· Five SEC players were named the USBWA’s Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List: Kobe Brown (MO), Ricky Council IV (AR), Brandon Miller (UA), Oscar Tshiebwe (UK), and KJ Williams (LS).
· LSU’s KJ Williams became the 123rd player in NCAA history to score 2,000 points and have 1,000 rebounds on Jan. 21.
· Alabama’s Brandon Miller leads all freshmen nationally with 18.7 points per game.
· Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe had 37 points and 24 rebounds against Georgia on Jan. 17. It was the first 30/20 game by an SEC player since South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell had 44 points and 21 rebounds against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017.
· Three SEC coaches rank among the winningest active Division I coaches in the nation: John Calipari (4th with 787 wins), Rick Barnes (6th with 775 wins), and Bruce Pearl (15th with 633 wins).
· Alabama is the fourth different SEC school to be ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll since the 2018-19 season (Auburn 2022, Kentucky 2020, and Tennessee 2019).
· Alabama became the first team since the 1965-66 season to beat two teams ranked No. 1 (North Carolina on Nov. 27 and Houston on Dec. 10) before New Year’s Day.
· Tennessee has won five straight games against Associated Press Top five opponents.
· The SEC, ACC, and ESPN announced on Nov. 28 the formation of the SEC/ACC Challenge for men’s and women’s basketball, which will begin as part of the 2023-24 season.
· 50 SEC players have been selected in the last five NBA Drafts. That leads all conferences: 45 ACC, 33 Big Ten, 33 Pac-12, 25 Big 12 and 14 Big East.
· The SEC has had 27 NCAA Tournament selections over the last three tournaments.
· 14 of 14 SEC teams have made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven tournaments.
SCHEDULE/RESULTS (All times Eastern):
Tuesday, February 21
*at #25 Texas A&M 68, #11 Tennessee 63
*at Missouri 66, Mississippi State 64 OT
*at Arkansas 97, Georgia 65
Wednesday, February 22
*Kentucky 82, at Florida 74
*at LSU 84, Vanderbilt 77
*#2 Alabama 78, at South Carolina 76 OT
*at Auburn 78, Ole Miss 74
Saturday, February 25
*Missouri 85, at Georgia 63
*at #2 Alabama 86, Arkansas 83
*at Mississippi State 69, #25 Texas A&M 62
*at Kentucky 86, Auburn 54
*at Vanderbilt 88, Florida 72
*at #11 Tennessee 85, South Carolina 45
*at Ole Miss 82, LSU 69
Tuesday, February 28
*Florida at Georgia SECN 7:00 pm
*Arkansas at #12 Tennessee ESPN2 9:00 pm
*South Carolina at Mississippi State SECN 9:00 pm
*#24 Texas A&M at Ole Miss ESPNU 9:00 pm
Wednesday, March 1
*Auburn at #2 Alabama ESPN2 7:00 pm
*Vanderbilt at #23 Kentucky SECN 7:00 pm
*Missouri at LSU SECN 9:00 pm
Saturday, March 4
*Georgia at South Carolina SECN 1:00 pm
*#12 Tennessee at Auburn ESPN 2:00 pm
*#2 Alabama at #24 Texas A&M CBS 12:00 pm
*#23 Kentucky at Arkansas CBS 2:00 pm
*Ole Miss at Missouri SECN 3:30 pm
*LSU at Florida SECN 6:00 pm
*Mississippi State at Vanderbilt SECN 8:30 pm
