In 2016, the Southeastern conference officially started to use the mission statement of “It Just Means More.” While many people will see that and think nothing of it, there have been many examples of how this statement is not only promoted, but also backed up by the actions of league commissioner Greg Sankey when faced with adversity. On the football field entering the 2020 season, there were many conferences like the Big 10 and Pac 12 that originally opted not to play even though a majority of their athletes and coaches still wanted to and other Power 5 leagues across the country we’re still playing. One of these we’re the SEC, who took an NFL like approach and said “We are going to do whatever, we can to not only play safely but have the most normal season possible.” That approach paid off and Alabama was able to win the National Championship by going undefeated and winning all 13 of their games. This same approach was used when it came to the basketball side of things in the SEC Conference.

Around the same time the mission statement was put into use, SEC basketball was going through a consistent stretch; it was Kentucky and everyone else. The rest of the coaches in the league we’re not able to compete with John Calipari and the heavy amount of talent that he has continued to bring in on a consistent basis. Teams like LSU, Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee we’re all decent for a year or two during the stretch of Kentucky’s domination but the league was underachieving as a whole. As a league with 14 teams, the SEC was getting 3 teams into the NCAA Tournament while other Power 6 conferences were getting as many or 6 or 7 bids. The SEC has always been a conference that was football first but their basketball had never been that bad. During that time, ESPN launched the SEC Network and with that John Sankey and  the SEC made it clear to all school administrators that it was time to prioritize basketball. The Network launching and the league deciding to reinvest in basketball has been one of the best decisions the SEC has ever made. 

Over the years, the conference has added coaches such as Nate Oats, Eric Musselman, Bruce Pearl, Will Wade, Rick Barnes and others to join John Calipari as SEC contenders. To put this all into context, 13 out of the SEC’s current 14 coaches have won NCAA Tournament games. 12 of the SEC’s 14 coaches have gone to the Sweet 16. 8 of the SEC’s 14 coaches have gone to the Elite 8. 4 of the SEC’s 14 coaches have been to a Final 4. That is absolutely ridiculously good coaching depth that no other conference in America can come close to matching. The SEC’s basketball revival came full circle on Tuesday night as the SEC Network showed a triple header featuring 3 games composed of all teams with NCAA Tournament aspirations including a Top 10 matchup of LSU vs Auburn and a battle between two ranked teams in Tennessee and Alabama. The SEC has about 5 teams that have legitimate Final 4 aspirations and that number can grow with the amount of talent and quality coaching. Whichever teams are able to win games in this league on a consistent basis will deserve all the praise because it is not going to be easy. The league’s reinvestment in basketball and “Just means more” mentality when it comes to athletics is something that should be aspired by others in not only sports but in life. There’s a reason why this has been the best football conference for years and basketball might get there sooner rather than later.

Quick Hits in Major Conferences

ACC: The ACC finally was able to have a team not named Duke gain some momentum this week as Miami has started conference 3-0, which included home wins over NC State and Wake Forest this week. With a number of experienced and talented guards including Isaiah Wong, Kameron McGusty, Charlie Moore and Jordan Miller maybe Coach Jim Larranaga can lead his Hurricanes on one more run and take advantage of a wide open league in the process. Louisville is another middle of the pack team that deserves some credit and has been able to win some ACC games despite going through some rough patches in non conference play. The Cardinals have opened conference play 3-0 with wins over NC State, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. Teams that were expected to be decent along with Lousivlle include Virginia, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, NC State and Notre Dame but with conference play on the horizon momentum can be gained back quickly just like it was for Louisville. North Carolina should still be considered the biggest challenger to Duke at the top of the league, as they have started off conference play 2-0 with a pair of road wins over Georgia Tech and Boston College, but with a first year Head Coach in Hubert Davis the Tar Heels still have some questions. With Duke currently on a COVID pause, the league is still looking for teams to step up at the top of the league and earn the conference some NCAA Tournament bids.

Big East: The Big East had some phenomenal games this week, despite UConn’s COVID-19 shutdown which led to their marquee game against Xavier scheduled for Tuesday Postponed. Seton Hall was involved in two separate games against the Big East’s elite including Providence and Villanova. Unfortunately, Seton Hall was missing key big men Ike Obiagu and Tyrese Samuel, and went 0-2 in both games, however Seton Hall’s toughness and ability to hang in both games until the last whistle, despite being short handed tells me they’re still a threat to win the Big East when at full strength. The story of the Big East however, has to be Ed Cooley’s Providence Friars who are sitting at 13-1 overall and 3-0 in Big East Conference play after their wins over Seton Hall and DePaul this past week. Although it is only January, there are some vibes of a possible dream season in play for the Friars. Ed Cooley has never had a problem getting his team to the NCAA Tournament on a consistent basis but unlike his teams of the past, this team seems like it’s good enough to have a chance to win some games once they get there. With Nate Watson inside, guys like Al Durham and AJ Reeves able to make shots from the outside the Friars are a dangerous basketball team. Props to Villanova for finding a way to win back to back victories over Xavier and Seton Hall after many across the College Basketball landscape we’re a tad concerned about the fact that Villanova had lost 4 games before we got to 2022.

Big 10: The Big 10 race might be a little bit more open than we thought. Following Purdue’s stellar non conference slate which included marquee wins over Villanova, North Carolina, Florida State more, the Boilermakers looked to be the clear best team in the Big 10.  Lee Corso once said “No so fast”, as Purdue has shockingly started Big 10 play 1-2 with losses to Rutgers and Purdue. In addition, there seems to be some real contenders emerging at the top of the Big 10 to challenge Purdue. Ohio State was able to grind out an overtime win in their first game in 22 games on Sunday night against Nebraska. A sign of a good team is when your best player isn’t playing well, others are able to step up and contribute when the team needs it most. That is not only what Ohio State did last night, but having different and unlikely guys contribute along with the Buckeyes overachieving have been constant since Chris Holtman arrived in Columbus. Freshman Malaki Branham had a career high 35 points in the victory. There are also no shortage of stars in this league as Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis has a legitimate chance to win National Player of the Year following his 37 point over Purdue and guys like EJ Liddell and Kofi Cockburn playing at an elite level. One constant that will remain the same in this league is winning road games will not be easy to come by. Anyone who has been involved in a full B1G slate knows it.

Big 12: The Big 12, had College Basketballs only Top 10 matchup of the week when the #1 ranked defending National Champions Baylor went on the road to one of the best environments in all of College Basketball and left with a win over Iowa State. TJ Otzelberger and Iowa State deserve so much credit for turning around the culture of a program that won 2 total games last year and went 0-18 in Big 12 conference play. The Cyclones were able to compete with Baylor from start to finish in this one and didn’t look overwhelmed or phased at all by the big moment. Iowa State only shooting 1 of 14 from three point range and still being competitive for a majority of the game is a credit to them. However, Baylor seems to be the clear team to beat in not only the Big 12 but all of College Basketball at the moment. They will undoubtedly lose a handful of games while playing in such a tough Big 12 Conference with teams like Kansas, Texas, Texas Tech, Iowa State and maybe even West Virginia and Oklahoma having NCAA Tournament aspirations. Chris Beard’s Texas team was able to put together their best performance of the season up to this date after Marcus Carr, Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones combined for 49 points in a blowout victory over West Virginia to open up conference play. With all of the talent on this Texas team combined with a coach like Chris Beard, the Longhorns should not be forgotten about.

Pac 12: Unfortunately, all 3 of the premier teams in the Pac 12 have not been on the basketball court lately dealing with COVID-19 issues. Both UCLA and USC are not only currently ranked in the Top 10 of the AP poll but also haven’t played in the past 10+ days. Games scheduled for this past week, against the conference’s other premier team Arizona were postponed and will be hopefully before the end of the season. Both LA schools are scheduled to return to the floor this week, and it will be interesting to see if both squads can return to playing at a high level with such a significant amount of time off. Thankfully, Arizona was able to return to the floor on Monday night in a blowout victory over Washington which improved Arizona’s conference record to 2-0 and their overall record to 12-1. Behind the play of future NBA lottery pick Benedict Mathurin, Arizona seems to be the team to beat in the league right now and should have legitimate National Championship aspirations in Tommy Llyod’s 1st year in Tucson. After the clear top 3 best teams in the league, the rest of the Pac 12 seems to be pretty wide open after teams like Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State and Arizona State have all underachieved to start the season. It may be difficult for the Pac 12 to even find a 4th bid into the NCAA Tournament unless someone steps up quickly. It is unfortunate that the Colorado Oregon game scheduled for Monday Night was postponed due to COVID-19 related issues because the winner of that win would have earned their second conference win and some momentum. But the ultimate hope remains to just see USC and UCLA on the basketball floor as soon as possible.

SEC: As mentioned to open up the article, following the rise of SEC Basketball over the past handful of years has been a joy to watch. Seeing the atmospheres at Auburn Arena and Coleman Coliseum for the SEC conference openers gave me goosebumps. The action on the floor gave SEC basketball fans legitimate reason to believe this could be one of, if not the deepest and most competitive leagues in all of College Basketball. Auburn looks to be a top 7 or 8 team following their 70-55 win over LSU. Jabari Smith looks like he’s worth all of the hype of a possible top 3 NBA draft pick and with Walker Kessler making a significant impact on the defensive side of the floor with 11 blocks plus the return of Point Guard Allen Flannigan, Auburn is a problem in the SEC that needs to be accounted for. Even in a loss, it was hard not to be impressed with LSU as they made the game competitive for the most part despite spotting Auburn an 18-1 lead to start the game and running out of gas in the end. This was also the first true road game Will Wade’s team has played this season and the fact that LSU hung right in there in one of the toughest home court advantages in all of College Basketball and the Tigers responded promptly with a marquee win over Kentucky on Tuesday. A battle with the red hot Kentucky Wildcats is on the horizon to continue a brutal start of the conference season for LSU. Kentucky seems to have hit a stride as Oscar Tschibwe is averaging 13.5 rebounds per game and is impossible to stop on the glass. Combine that with the steady improvements of guards Kellen Grady and Sahvir Wheeler and Kentucky has a chance to win the SEC like many predicted in the preseason. Alabama also remains in the conversation at the top of the conference, following their narrow win over a shorthanded Tennessee team that led throughout the game. Alabama deserves credit for finding a win to win when the 3 point shot wasn’t dropping throughout the game but will need to find other ways to win against the top teams. Finally, Arkansas has really struggled after an offseason filled with expectations as they got blown out in their conference opener at the hands of Mississippi State. It could have been the first time since Eric Musselman had gotten to Arkansas, that his team just looked flat out bad. The Razorbacks will have plenty of chances to win some marquee games in the SEC, but their possible NCAA Tournament aspirations are currently a question mark.

Zac’s Elite 8

1) Baylor – The defending National Champions remain #1 following their wins over Iowa State and Oklahoma to start off Big 12 play. One thing that popped off the TV was Baylor’s size in the frontcourt. Being an elite defensive team was one of the many characteristics that took last year’s squad all the way to a National Championship and this version of Baylor’s defense is bigger and longer. Having guys over 6’8 like Kendall Brown, Jeremy Sochan and Matthew Mayer all on the wing provides length that is just hard to shoot over. In addition, Arizona transfer James Akinjo is starting to look better and better while asserting himself on the offensive end. Akinjo had 27 points, while leading the way for Baylor over an Oklahoma team with NCAA Tournament aspirations. Baylor never trailed against Iowa State despite 19 turnovers and foul trouble. Baylor has now won 19 games in a row and are one of the three remaining undefeated teams in College Basketball.

2) Duke – Duke had 2 games postponed this week against Clemson and Notre Dame, due to COVID-19 issues within the Duke program. The Blue Devils were able to pick up a victory in their ACC conference opener over Virginia Tech, which was also the last game they played on December 22nd . Thankfully the Blue Devils are scheduled to return to the floor on Tuesday night against Georgia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Going into 2022, the ACC does not appear to have too many teams that seem like a threat to challenge the Blue Devils in this version of the conference but things can change. Having two weeks off should only help 5 star freshman AJ Griffin continue to get fully healthy after suffering a knee injury in October. Griffin played excellent against Virginia Tech having 13 points in 24 minutes of action. Mike Krzyzewski, was able to show the different lineup options he has with this group by playing a smaller lineup with Paolo Banchero as a face up 5 and AJ Griffin as a 4. Having an option like that, if your top big man Mark Williams ever gets into foul trouble can be very helpful and something not every top team has the option of doing.

3) Gonzaga – Although the West Coast Conference is much improved, the conference has not been able to hit the floor lately as all 7 of the conference games that were scheduled for this past weekend were postponed due to COVID-19 issues. Gonzaga is currently on a COVID pause as their scheduled game for Saturday against Loyola Marymount was already their 3rd game this season not to occur due to COVID. Aside from Gonzaga, the WCC has 3 other teams including BYU, St. Marys and San Francisco who should be competing for an at-large bid throughout league play. Once the league does return back to the floor, Gonzaga should be ready to face more challenges than usual during league play which should be great for their long term tournament aspirations. There are still very few front courts in all of College Basketball better than Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme. The question remains, do they have enough firepower around them and veteran Point Guard Andrew Nembhard.

4) Kansas – After having 3 games postponed in the last 2 weeks, it was great to see the Jayhawks back on the floor this week on 2 separate occasions. Kansas’ was able to gain victories over Nevada and George Mason as they head into Big 12 Conference play. The combination of Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, is looking like the best wing combination in College Basketball as the two of them are averaging a combined 37.6 points per game. Remy Martin, the heralded transfer from Arizona State has also been able to play a much better brand of winning basketball as he continues to get his teammates more involved shifting from more of a role of high productivity to having the option to play a little bit more unselfish with so much talent around him.

5) Auburn – Bruce Pearl’s team was able to pick up a marquee win over LSU to start SEC Conference play, in addition to earning a victory against South Carolina in which they controlled the game throughout. North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler is looking like one of the biggest impact players in the country as he is currently averaging a staggering 4 full blocks per game Combined with Jabari Smith who is a lock to go Top 3 in the NBA Draft and a bevy of guards who can beat you on any given night including Auburn transfer Wendell Green who had a team high 22 over South Carolina and starting Point Guard Allen Flannigan who had recently returned to the lineup after undergoing achilles surgery in September. Bruce Pearl has done a phenomenal job with this program, having Auburn good on a consistent basis and really building off of the 2018 Final 4 team.

6) Arizona – The Wildcats were finally able to return to the floor on Monday Night at home against Washington as they blew out the Huskies by a final score of 95-79. Tommy Lloyd’s team has found a clear identity, being led by future NBA lottery pick Benedict Mathurin on the perimeter and Sophomore big man Azoulas Toubelis inside. Role players like Kerr Kriisa, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko have also really improved from a season ago as all three players scoring numbers have increased imsenly. As much of a gut punch as Arizona’s first two Pac 12 conference games of the season against UCLA and USC were, those games will hopefully be made up and both Southern California schools are currently scheduled to visit Tucson in the Month of December. Arizona has been one of the best stories in all of College Basketball to start off the season and should only continue to have things rolling in an overall weak Pac 12.

7) UCLA – UCLA is another team that has not played in a significantly long time due to COVID-19 issues within the program. Considering, we have still yet to see the Bruins play in a big game without big man Cody Riley, UCLA can still be an elite basketball team with realistic aspirations to return to the Final 4. However, we just haven’t seen them in so long that they can just be a different team when the Bruins do eventually return to the floor. What is frustrating, is that the last time UCLA played they completed what was their best effort of the season in a dominating road win against Marquette. The Bruins should hopefully return to the floor on Saturday as they have a trip to Berkeley scheduled to take on the Bears. However, it leaves a sick feeling in your stomach that UCLA had recent games against North Carolina, Arizona, and Arizona State called off. The Bruins have returned to practice and even hoped to take on Stanford on Thursday night, but that game was recently called off due to COVID-19 issues within the Stanford program. UCLA just cannot catch a break right now and the hope is to just see the Bruins back on the floor as soon as possible.

8) LSU – Following their win over Kentucky, LSU deserves to be back in the conversation as one of the best teams in all of College Basketball and one that can legitimately make the argument for being the best team in a loaded SEC. Their defense was on full display, in a roller coaster of a second half against the Wildcats, as LSU used a 20-2 run to counter an 8 point deficit that Kentucky had built with lights out three point shooting. Will Wade’s defense was able to adjust and pick up shooters which is something that his teams of the past have not been able to do, despite having LSU in each of the last 3 NCAA Tournaments. Many coaches in College Basketball have been able to bring in talent, but not many are able to win that that talent as much as a guy like Will Wade. With the clutch shot making of Darius Days, steady improvement of Eric Gaines and the continued dominance of Cincinnati transfer Tari Eason something special could be brewing in Baton Rouge as these Tigers attempt to headline the Final 4 in their home state of New Orleans.

Weekly Awards

Team of the Week: Auburn

Player of the Week: Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)

Coach of the Week:  Ron Hunter (Tulane)

Flop of the Week: Michigan

Zachary Krull
Zachary Krull

Zac Krull has covered College Basketball for the last 2 years while working with Aaron Torres of Aaron Torres Media and recording his own Zac Krull Sports Podcast. Currently, Zac is writing as a contributor for Aaron Torres online with weekly articles and working as a producer for the BETQL Network. Zac graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2021 with a degree in Sports Studies.

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