Spotlight on the SEC: Kentucky is peaking at the right time

The SEC may be known for its football, but the basketball in this conference has risen to the ranks of the best in the nation.

Let’s examine the top headlines from around the SEC and break down this week's juiciest matchups.

SEC News and Notes

Postponements running rampant

This has been a season full of delays, postponements, and cancellations due to COVID 19-related issues. However, this past week saw a surprising four postponed SEC basketball games, and one game scheduled for this upcoming week has already been postponed (Texas A&M at Kentucky).

Texas A&M has now postponed six consecutive games, and has not seen the basketball court since a Jan. 30 matchup at Kansas State. However, two games were postponed last Thursday due to the weather conditions that ran across the Southeast United States last week. Both LSU at Ole Miss and Mississippi State at Auburn had to be postponed.

Ole Miss finally loses

The Rebels won four straight games before having a mid-week postponement that led up to a disappointing home loss to their in-state rivals, Mississippi State. Ole Miss was held to only 56 points after averaging 82.3 points per game in their previous three wins.

This loss really hurt the Rebels’ NCAA tournament bid hopes as it dropped them to Joe Lunardi’s "Next Four Out." The loss also put the Rebels at 7-7 in SEC play and the current No. 7-seed in the SEC tournament.

Ole Miss has two tough games left in their final three scheduled regular season games with Missouri and Kentucky.

Top Movers

The Kentucky Wildcats made a statement this past Saturday after an impressive 15-point win at Tennessee. Kentucky has now won three consecutive games and is starting to look like a Kentucky team that you may be used to seeing around this time of year.

Forward Isaiah Jackson took home SEC Freshman of the Week honors after averaging 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game in wins over Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Jackson also put home this nasty slam to showcase his NBA-ready skills:

The Arkansas Razorbacks have an impressive 17-5 overall season record, but had little to no quality wins until the past two weeks. Now the Razorbacks have won four consecutive games, including wins over Kentucky, Missouri, and Florida. The two wins over Florida and Missouri are the only two wins on the season for Arkansas against teams projected to be in the current NCAA field.

SEC Games Spotlight

Ole Miss vs. Missouri (Tuesday, Feb. 23)

Ole Miss defeated Missouri just two weeks ago by a shocking 21 points, and the Tigers will be looking for revenge. They've fallen all the way down to sixth in the SEC standings, but are still a dangerous foe.

Alabama vs. Arkansas (Wednesday, Feb. 24)

This will be a battle of possibly the best two teams in the SEC. The Crimson Tide dominated the first matchup in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 17, 90-59. However, the Razorbacks are a different team, and are playing with a ton of confidence.

Arkansas will need to bring its A-game on defense as the Tide are averaging 92.7 points per game in their last three outings. Alabama will clinch the regular season SEC title with a win.

Florida vs. Kentucky (Saturday, Feb. 27)

Kentucky is one of the hottest teams in the SEC right now, but will not have a mid-week game leading up to this key matchup. Florida has a must-win game at Auburn in the mid-week to stay in that number four spot in the SEC.

Kentucky dominated the Gators in Florida on Jan. 9 by a score of 76-58. If the Wildcats can win this game, they will be in the hunt for a double-bye in the SEC tournament, which they must win to make the NCAA tournament.  

SEC basketball betting trends

• Vanderbilt is 7-1-1 ATS after a loss, Auburn is 2-7-1 ATS after a loss
• Kentucky is 2-7 ATS at home and 3-8-1 ATS as a favorite
• Arkansas is 10-4-1 ATS as a favorite and 8-4-1 ATS as a home favorite
• Auburn is 0-2 ATS as a home underdog, and Florida is 1-3 ATS as a road underdog
• The Under is 16-5 in Ole Miss games, and 2-8 in Florida games following a win