Around the SEC: Week 15 (Basketball)
The SEC has been extremely competitive this year, and has multiple teams in consideration for a bid in the NCAA Tournament. The conference also has two teams ranked in the top-12 with No. 8 Alabama and No. 12 Arkansas.
The Conference has been ruled by the Crimson Tide this year. Alabama has been on a roll in 2021, competing for a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament with a 15-2 conference record.
Alabama has been led this season by sophomore guard Jaden Shackelford, who is averaging 14.5 points per game this year. The Crimson Tide have shown they are far more than just a football school, and can compete for a national title this year.
A team that is making a late surge in the conference has been No. 12 Arkansas. The Razorbacks have won seven straight games, including a huge win over Alabama.
Led by freshman guard Moses Moody, Arkansas has one of the best offenses in the nation, averaging 83.2 points per game this season. Moody has been phenomenal this year, averaging 17.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Moody is playing for his hometown team, and has the Razorbacks in great position to make a run for a national title this season.
The Tennessee Volunteers have had a roller coaster of a year, with great wins coupled with bad losses. The Volunteers have some great wins over Kansas and Missouri, but they are paired with bad losses to Kentucky and Ole Miss.
The problem for the Vols has been the lack of top players in their lineup. Tennessee has a lot of solid players who can score, but it lacks a strong player to finish games.
Tennessee has one of the best teams in the conference, but needs to find ways to finish games if it wants to make a run in the NCAA Tournament this year.
A team that could need a run in the SEC Tournament could be the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are 14-12 on the year and are sitting on the bubble right now. Mississippi State has been led all year by sophomore guard DJ Stewart Jr., who is averaging 16.4 points per game.
The Bulldogs are a really talented team that, with a strong run in the SEC Tournament, could clinch themselves a berth in the big dance later this month.
A team with national title hopes this year that could use a boost of momentum is the Missouri Tigers. The Tigers rose to tenth in the polls, but dropped four of their next five games to fall out of the polls all together.
The Tigers have some great wins over Illinois and Alabama this year, and have the talent to make a run in the Tournament this year, but need to find some momentum. The talent Missouri has is impressive, and if it can get hot, it can make a run for a national title this year.
With the SEC season winding down, the conference has a lot of teams trying to punch their ticket to the big dance this month.
With the conference tournament right around the corner, the conference could be host to some of the best basketball in the nation next week, allowing the fans to sit back and watch these great teams compete for an SEC crown.
Adam Sheetz is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.
