Around the SEC: Week of Feb. 6

For Week 14 of the NCAA men’s basketball season, the SEC Conference has five teams ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.

One of the teams, Tennessee, is in the top ten, ranked sixth.

The four other ranked teams are No. 12 Auburn, No. 15 South Carolina, No. 16 Alabama and No. 17 Kentucky.

No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers

The Volunteers went 2-1 on the week, dropping their last game on the road to unranked Texas A&M.

A 16-point road loss contrasts the success the Vols had earlier in the week, beating No. 17 Kentucky 103-92 on the road and unranked LSU 88-68 at home.

The Vols were outscored 42-28 in the first half against the Aggies.

They struggled in the second half, going scoreless for the first 4:32. Head coach, Rick Barnes, tied Rick Byrd for No. 12 on the all-time game-coached list with 1, 208.

No. 12 Auburn Tigers

Auburn was able to hold off No. 16 Alabama in the state rivalry game 99-81. The Tigers were able to out-rebound the Crimson Tide 42-35.

The Tigers lost to unranked Florida over the weekend 81-65. Riley Cugel scored 22 points and Walter Clayton Jr. added 20 toward the Gators victory.

Shooting just 17.6% beyond the arc and 53.8% at the line caused the Tigers to fall behind the Gators who were finding their way into the net at a higher percentage.

This could cause the Tigers to fall in next week’s poll even though they beat Alabama earlier in the week.

No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks

The No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks jumped from unranked into the rankings for the first time since 2017. They currently hold first place in the SEC with a 21-3 record, 9-2 in conference.

The Gamecocks went 2-0 this week beating Ole Miss 68-65 and Vanderbilt 75-60, both at home.

Collin Murray-Boyles, a freshman forward, scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Gamecocks to their 21st win.

This season has been a bounce back for the Gamecocks who finished last season 12th in the SEC with an 11-21 overall record.

The Gamecocks tied their season-high points total for the second half with 47 on 56.3% shooting.

No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama, who held first place in the SEC last week, has now dropped to second place as it picked up its second conference loss earlier in the week.

In the 99-81 loss to Auburn, the Crimson Tide committed 15 turnovers to the Tigers five.

Alabama rebounded from this loss and won at home against the LSU Tigers 109-92.

Guard Mark Sear led the Crimson Tide with a team-high 23 points.

No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats went 1-1 on the week.

They beat Vanderbilt early in the week, 109-77, led by Antonio Reeves’ 24 points and freshman Rob Dillingham’s key effort off the bench with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Gonzaga, who’s had a rough season sitting at 18-6, upset Kentucky over the weekend with a final score of 89-85.

Since the Wildcats' home stadium, Rupp Arena, opened in 1976 they had never dropped three straight home games.

Now they have, following the home loss to Gonzaga.

Nolan Hickman was a former Kentucky commit before de-committing and enrolling at Gonzaga.

He led the Bulldogs with a team-high 17 points and hit the two clutch free throws at the end to give them the upset.

Julia Henry is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism, to contact her please email jbh6443@psu.edu.