THIS WEEK IN THE SEC
Here are some things to watch in Southeastern Conference men’s basketball this week:
Game of the weekend
No. 25 South Carolina at No. 8 Texas A&M: Two of the SEC’s three ranked teams square off in College Station, though both are coming off losses. South Carolina has an impressive overall record at 19-3, but all of the Gamecocks’ losses have come in the past seven games, including a 69-56 defeat at Georgia on Tuesday. Texas A&M had an impressive 72-62 win over No. 14 Iowa State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge but followed that up by losing 77-60 at Vanderbilt on Thursday.
Looking ahead
No. 20 Kentucky is at risk of falling out of the Top 25. The Wildcats followed up their overtime loss at Kansas by blowing a 21-point lead in an 84-77 loss at Tennessee. Kentucky must do a better job of avoiding foul trouble. Alex Poythress and Tyler Ulis both fouled out against Tennessee. The Wildcats allowed 47 freethrow attempts against Kansas and 34 more against the Volunteers.
Numbers game
Alabama’s Retin Obasohan has scored at least 20 points in five straight games, including a 25-point effort Tuesday in an 82-80 overtime victory over Mississippi State. ... LSU is 8-1 when Ben Simmons scores at least 21 points. The Tigers are 6-7 when Simmons is held below 21 points. ... Tennessee’s upset of Kentucky on Tuesday marked the 18th time an unranked Tennessee team had beaten a ranked Kentucky team. ... Kentucky’s Ulis has at least four assists in 15 straight games, the longest such streak by a Kentucky player since Roger Harden did it in 17 straight games in 1985-86. ... Georgia’s Charles Mann has a school-record 551 successful free-throw attempts.
Player to watch
Tennessee guard Kevin Punter Jr. scored 27 points to spark the Volunteers’ win over Kentucky. He has scored at least 24 points in four of his last five games, including 36 points in a victory over South Carolina. Punter is averaging 23.1 points per game and is on pace for Tennessee’s highest single-season scoring average since Allan Houston had 23.7 points per game in 1990-91.