The Tennessee Vols made it five straight against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. Even with the addition of Charles Bediako, the Vols were too much for the short-handed Tide that clearly missed the scoring of Aden Holloway and Amari Allen.
Bediako gave the Tide a boost with 13 points, three rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Only two other Alabama players scored in double figures. Latrell Wrightsell scored 14 points. Labaron Philon was outstanding for the Crimson Tide, scoring 26 points, adding four rebounds, seven assists, and a steal. The 53 points put up by Nate Ament and Ja'Kobi Gillespie led the Vols to a 79-73 win.
The big shocker on Saturday was Auburn beating the Florida Gators in Gainesville, 76-67. Missouri pulled out another thrilling win. The Tigers had to make two last-second shots, in regulation and overtime, to beat Oklahoma, 88-87.
SEC Basketball Contenders
Going into Saturday's games, the SEC had 10 teams in the top 43 of the NCAA NET Rankings. Three of the 10 lost on Saturday, but based on Ken Pomeroy's post-Saturday, updated rankings, Florida and Alabama should not drop much in the NCAA NET. KPom has the Florida Gators at No. 11 and the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 19. The third Saturday loser in the group, Georgia, may slide more. KPom has the Bulldogs at No. 32.
With a current 6-1 league record, the Texas A&M Aggies lead the SEC. Before the Aggies' win over South Carolina on Saturday, their NET Ranking was No. 41. KPom has the Aggies ranked No. 31.
In this example, contender is defined as a projected NCAA Tournament team. Those SEC teams are (in order of their KPom ranking): Florida (No. 11), Vanderbilt (No. 13), Alabama (No. 19), Tennessee (No. 20), Arkansas (No. 22), Auburn (No. 25), Kentucky (No. 29), Texas A&M (No. 31), Georgia (No. 32), and Texas (No. 37).
Remaining SEC Teams
Call them longshots or possible contenders: LSU (No. 42), and Missouri (No. 57). The other four SEC teams are below longshot status: Oklahoma (No. 64), Ole Miss (No. 71), South Carolina (No. 78), and Mississippi State (No. 99). The Sooners, Rebels, Gamecocks and Bulldogs are spoilers in the SEC regular season race.
Which team will win the SEC regular season and gain an SEC Tournament 1-seed? The conference has one one-loss team, three two-loss teams, and six three-loss teams. Seven games into the SEC regular season (six for Alabama and Tennessee), the outcome is impossible to predict.