SEC Women Update with a Bit of Humor from Ava DiCecca

3/8/2025

The SEC tournament kicked off on Wednesday after the last round of eventful regular season games finished up on Sunday which brought two huge upsets: unranked Ole Miss took down No. 7 LSU and unranked Georgia snuck past No. 11, Tennessee. That loss, of course, plummeted Tennessee to No. 18 going into the tournament and dropped LSU to 9. This did not have much of an effect on LSU as they still finished third in the SEC and slid right to the quarterfinals along with Texas, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

In the first round, games went pretty much as expected. Tennessee demolished Texas A&M by 40 points, Georgia narrowly escaped Arkansas, Mississippi State won over Missouri, and Florida overtook Auburn. The second round was definitely more exciting as the 4 games were split 50-50 between the expected and the shocking upsets. The expected was No. 10 Oklahoma over Georgia and Ole Miss over Mississippi State. The more unexpected was unranked Vanderbilt over No. 18 Tennessee, 84-76. The absolute blindside of a game was unranked Florida upsetting No. 20 Alabama, an outcome that I am sure would’ve lost people millions, if anyone had bet on it. 

Florida impressed and after a tough season for the Gators, it was a nice ending to their season. Of course, their season technically ended with a 101-87 loss to LSU in round three, but we can pretend. Also in round three, Oklahoma bested No. 12 Kentucky in a close game, 69-65. South Carolina and Texas made their first appearances taking down Vanderbilt and Ole Miss respectively.

The semi-finals take place today as the Gamecocks take on the Sooners and the Tigers face off against the Longhorns. In both games, we will have a battle of the new vs the old SEC. Oklahoma and Texas expressed much excitement at the beginning of the year about moving to the SEC under the pretense of stronger and new competition. Now we know the true reason why, potential for complete domination. 

3/1/2025

Some chaos on Thursday for us drama seeking folks. No. 20 Alabama with an incredible upset over No. 7 LSU, 88-85. LSU has now dropped to a 12-3 in-conference record and will continue the slide in the polls they began last week. No. 15 Kentucky also managed an upset this week, demolishing No. 11 Tennessee 82-58. The Volunteers continue their streak of insane highs followed up by devastating losses, a habit they should look to curb. I have a lot of faith in them, as young adults like the team and myself have much experience with curbs, or at least hitting them. 

Managing to drive smoothly after a catastrophic crash with UConn last week was South Carolina. They took down Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, two teams that have been solid in the conference despite not necessarily being considered powerhouses. 

In other big SEC news, Texas officially clinched No. 1 in the AP poll and is the first SEC team to be on top since the Gamecocks at the beginning of this season. They will look to hold onto that as they take on Florida on Sunday in their last game until the SEC tournament starting on Wednesday.

We will get two more ranked regular season games before the tournament as Kentucky will face South Carolina and No 13 Oklahoma will take on Alabama. Both the Gamecocks and Sooners will try to avoid being their opponents second consecutive upset as all parties hope to close out their season with a win before the tournament begins. Also on Sunday, in a game that unfortunately no one is watching, the bottom two teams, Arkansas and Texas A&M, will face off to close out their season. 

Last week, Notre Dame took the number one spot over Texas. Thankfully, the Irish were upset Thursday night to finish out February, right before March when their luck kicks in and they become the Fighting Irish. 

2/22/2025

This week brought some major changes to the AP Poll which somewhat made up for the lack of excitement with the very few games that took place. Unfortunately, some of these changes came at the expense of the SEC but many of them did not, most notably one that I have named “Finally! Goodbye UCLA!” - more creative name to come later. Notre Dame and Texas have replaced them at numbers one and two as the Bruins drop to number three.

South Carolina and LSU both fell after being upset by UConn and Texas and have settled in at numbers six and seven. As expected, Kentucky dropped six places after being upset last week and with LSU next on their schedule things are looking, well, down. Tennessee and Oklahoma have remained in place at 15 and 16 with no catastrophic losses as of late or terribly concerning games in their immediate future. This has been rather uncommon across the board recently so they should take advantage of the small break they are getting.

Alabama is creeping up behind them jumping three places and landing at number 18. As of now, it is only those seven SEC schools making the list with Ole Miss and Vanderbilt hoping to be reintroduced to the Top 25 soon. 

Tomorrow Alabama takes on Auburn. That happened recently in men’s basketball, wonder why people aren’t as excited for this one. 

2/15/2025

The outcome of my Super Bowl: Texas wins 66-62 swiftly ending the Gamecocks perfect in-conference record and sliding them to No. 4 on the AP Poll. Slightly more exciting game than 24-0 at the half, but to each their own.

Threatening South Carolina yet again is a ranked match-up against No. 7 UConn tomorrow. Both will be seeking redemption after taking hits this past week and each dropping down in the poll. Texas on the other hand, shot up to number 3 but will be challenged to keep that ranking as they take on No. 5 LSU tomorrow for the second ranked game of the day. LSU will try for back to back ranked wins after taking down Tennessee last Sunday. 

The Volunteers shot up to No. 15 in the polls after their win over UConn last week despite their loss to LSU. To continue climbing they will have to take down Ole Miss tomorrow and No. 21 Alabama in the near future. Ole Miss is coming off of a great week, majorly upsetting No. 8 Kentucky on Monday and topping Arkansas by almost 40 points on Thursday. The Vols will have to curb that momentum to get the win as their record is becoming less impressive by the week after their undefeated start.

While some teams slid in the AP Poll, I imagine what is about to happen to Kentucky will be closer to an avalanche after the huge upset by Ole Miss and a loss to Texas to follow that up. A convincing win over Georgia on Sunday may save them from falling too far but then again, it’s Georgia. While Kentucky does remain in conversation, less and less people are talking about Vanderbilt. As of this week they are officially out of the polls. I’m no mind reader, but I imagine it has something to do with the 3 game losing streak and a drop to the bottom half of the SEC standings. They have Auburn tomorrow but I don’t expect the Tigers to go down easy as they are fighting to get back to .500 with a win in this game. 

Ava's Funny: Grand Canyon University received one vote this week. With a 23-2 record, they deserve it, so I won’t tell them that person thought they were voting for their favorite tourist attraction. 

2/8/2025

This week brought a very interesting mix of games. Ones that were incredibly close and exciting, outcomes that everyone everywhere could have predicted or maybe, didn’t even care to, and games that should have been close that simply weren’t.

Surprising no one, South Carolina (22-1) defeated both Georgia (9-15) and Auburn (12-11), Alabama (19-5) topped Florida (12-12) by just under 20 points, and Texas (23-2) disposed of Texas A&M (10-12) 70-50. Texas A&M lost again on Thursday to Auburn, bringing them to a 4 game losing streak. They will have a chance to break it on Sunday against Missouri and will then have over a week off from games which, I assume, is the SEC telling them to sit there and think about what they’ve done.

Missouri put up two great fights against ranked teams this week proving themselves to be competitors despite slipping into a losing record. In the end, they held both No. 6, LSU, and No. 19, Tennessee, to single digit leads. Tennessee, however, was gearing up for what some might call bigger and better things as they prepared to take on No. 6, UConn on Thursday. The Volunteers managed the upset, topping the Huskies 80-76 in what was arguably the best game of the week.

We needed that excitement, as the Vanderbilt - Texas game was terribly disappointing for a ranked match-up. Vanderbilt led for about 20 seconds after scoring the first basket and then proceeded to trail for the entire rest of the game as Texas went on two consecutive 7-0 runs to get an early lead. 

No. 12 Kentucky took on No. 13 Oklahoma in another ranked match-up this week. Oklahoma was unable to pull off the upset, if we could have even called it that, and Kentucky came out on top 95-86. 

In light of yet another Chiefs appearance, I am boycotting and have demoted that game to just be called The Bowl. My Super Bowl starts Sunday at 2 pm when No. 2 South Carolina takes on No. 4 Texas.

2/2/2025

South Carolina has reclaimed the top spot in the SEC. While none of the teams in the conference have been able to remain undefeated, the Gamecocks are the only team that have yet to lose to another SEC team as they stand 8-0 in-conference. In a ranked match-up on Monday, they also took down No. 18 Tennessee, a team that has suffered many losses recently. Though they are losing by incredibly small margins, they have picked up five losses since starting in conference play despite leading much of the SEC for most of the regular season. Monday night also brought us an upset as Missouri overtook Mississippi State. This had huge impacts for Mississippi State as before this loss they got one vote on the AP Poll and now they are getting zero. 

This proved to be the week of the underdogs as Missouri was not the only bottom three team to pull off an upset this week. Auburn overtook Florida 74-51, climbing them in the SEC standings and landing at number 12. Arkansas also managed a big win over Texas A&M on Thursday. These three wins combined have now pushed Georgia to the bottom of the SEC. They sit at 1-7 in-conference and 9-13 overall which as an SEC columnist makes me sigh, but as a Florida Gator, well, I’m sure you can assume.

Florida did keep me humble this week though as not only were they pretty much destroyed by Auburn, they also lost to Mikayla Blakes who scored an SEC record of 53 points in the game. Vanderbilt has moved up to No. 23, mostly thanks to her efforts.

There were only two ranked games this week, No. 12 Kentucky upsetting No. 22 Alabama and No. 7 LSU topping Oklahoma. Coming up on the schedule Kentucky will face another ranked opponent, No. 13 Oklahoma, and will try to come out on top again, this time as the favorite. Things will heat up a little more on Thursday as Tennessee takes on No. 6, UCONN, and No. 5 Texas looks to stop Mikayla Blakes and get a ranked win over Vanderbilt. 

1/25/2025

Last night No. 5 LSU fell to No. 2 South Carolina in what was definitely the most highly anticipated game in the SEC, and maybe in all of women’s college basketball. In her press conference, Kim Mulkey disagreed and stated that she didn’t think this was at all the most important game for her team. She may be right, but you also have to wonder if she would say the same had they won or, at least, not been held to 56 points. This was not South Carolina’s only feat this week as they demolished No. 13 Oklahoma on Sunday 101-60, the largest win over a ranked opponent in the history of the program. 

On Thursday night, there was a second ranked match-up with No. 7 Texas and No. 17 Tennessee. The Volunteers couldn’t pull off the upset and are down to 15-4 and 3-4 in conference on the season after being upset as well by Vanderbilt on Sunday. In-conference play has proved challenging for them despite all their success early on in the season and it has made a huge impact on their place in the SEC dropping them to number 10.

Unfortunately, their schedule does not let up as they take on South Carolina on Monday and have UCONN and LSU in the near future. Auburn and Missouri will serve to break it up a little, but if that will be enough to keep them in good playoff standing remains to be seen.

Also taking a hit this week, No. 11 Kentucky, who was upset by the unranked Texas A&M Aggies. Kentucky has Arkansas tomorrow and will try to capitalize on this easier game and improve to 16-2 before their ranked match-up against Alabama on Thursday. 

Unfortunately for Arkansas, they have continued to serve that purpose for many of the teams in the conference, currently sitting at 1-5. Everyone is so focused on the huge battle between the best teams in the conference, but what they may not realize is that there is an equally as exciting one happening at the bottom. Georgia (1-5), Arkansas (1-5), Auburn (1-5) and Missouri (0-6) all relying on a win over one another to keep them out of the bottom spot. 

Ava's Funny: Yesterday I Google’d “SEC basketball standings” and saw Auburn at the top and South Carolina at the bottom. It was not the apocalypse, I just forgot to type “women’s.”

1/17/2025

Just another week of games going exactly as expected in the SEC but I guess, with 7 ranked teams, there are less exciting conferences to follow.

To open up Sunday, South Carolina topped Texas in what was supposed to be the most exciting game so far, but the Gamecocks blew past the Longhorns out of the gate. This loss dropped Texas to No. 7 but, to no one’s surprise, did nothing for South Carolina's ranking as they remain at number two even after a second win over Alabama on Thursday. Another victory for the Gamecocks, after extending the contract with head coach Dawn Staley this week. She has become the highest paid women’s basketball coach ever. I don’t think this is the kind of “No. 1” the team has been hoping for, but it counts. 

Oklahoma dropped to No. 13 despite wins over Missouri and Texas A&M and Tennessee stayed at 15 after beating Mississippi State and Arkansas. The upcoming week for both of them will pose challenges as Oklahoma takes on South Carolina Sunday, and Tennessee has Texas on their schedule. Hopefully, coming off of a few wins gives them the confidence and momentum they need to pull off some upsets and give the rest of us something to talk about this week. 

Speaking of giving us something to talk about, Auburn did not do that, falling to Texas and Kentucky. They were gifted a game against Missouri on Sunday to break up their really tough schedule so hopefully that will be the end of a 6 game losing streak for them. They are both 0-5 in conference play and will try to pick up their first SEC win. 

On the opposite end of the standings, LSU and their 19 game win streak take on Florida (11-8) on Sunday. Fortunately, there is some hope for Florida because they have majorly upset LSU before, but unfortunately that was in a different sport so maybe not that much. 

1/11/2025

This week, Tennessee waved goodbye to their undefeated record after losses to Oklahoma and LSU. Both teams just managed to scrape by, Oklahoma only winning by one and LSU by two. Tennessee proved they are extremely competitive by keeping the games that close, but unfortunately, the standings don’t care how much you lost by and Tennessee is now seventh in the SEC. Their next opponent is Arkansas, hopefully a rebound game for them, before they take on Mississippi State which is expected to be a tight game. 

With Tennessee out of the picture, LSU is now one of only two undefeated teams left in Div 1 as no one has quite been able to top UCLA yet either. LSU will face some tests coming up with Vanderbilt on Monday and a much anticipated game against South Carolina on the 23rd. Possibly the most exciting conference match-up so far, also including South Carolina, will take place on Sunday as Texas tries to upset the Gamecocks, each team hoping to hand the other their second loss of the season. Texas will be beyond confident going into this week after rolling over Alabama with a 84-40 win on Thursday. 

Some of the under-the-radar teams also impressed with big upsets this week. On Sunday, previously No. 25, Ole Miss was upset by Texas A&M and unranked Mississippi topped No. 10 Oklahoma on Thursday. While most games have been going as predicted, some of the teams that have found themselves lower on the totem poll seemed to have prepared themselves well for the fight they knew was coming with in-conference play. For teams like Texas A&M who are in the bottom five of the SEC standings, it is unexpected but not incredibly far-reaching wins like these that will help to break up a grueling conference schedule.

Auburn, currently at the bottom of the SEC, will hope to have one of those games coming up soon as they have both No. 15 Kentucky and No. 5 Texas this week. On the bright side, their men’s team is doing well. 

1/4/2025

Finally, the wait is over. Conference play started on Thursday, kicking off the part of basketball season that people are actually interested in. Sunday and Monday wrapped up the non-conference games and ended in blowout wins for most SEC teams except Auburn who fell to Norfolk St. These games added a little more cushion to their records before getting into the tough conference competition. 

Most of the outcomes held true to expectation based on rankings and performance so far this season. No. 2 South Carolina easily disposed of Missouri, No. 16 Kentucky came out on top against Mississippi State, and No. 25 Ole Miss handed Auburn its second loss of the week. LSU topped Arkansas 98-64, but after coasting through this first part of the season with an easy schedule, it will be interesting to see how they fair in the SEC, especially considering that many of their games thus far have ended in much closer scores than expected.

Florida fell to No. 19, Alabama, but the final score, 79-69, showed potential for Florida to be able to hold their own in this conference. The only match-up with two unranked teams ended in a 108-82 win for Vanderbilt over Georgia, Vanderbilt continuing to prove themselves tough competitors and improving their record to 14-1. The most exciting game of the day was No. 5 Texas at No. 9 Oklahoma, the battle of the former Big 12 opponents. While new to the SEC, these teams are far from strangers to one another, Texas getting their revenge for a loss last season with an 80-73 win.

Despite being 12-0, second in the SEC, and one of the only undefeated teams left in the league, Tennessee sits at No. 15 on the polls behind 10-3 Duke. 16-0, first in the SEC, and undefeated LSU sits at 6 behind 13-1 Texas. Clearly, many factors go into determining these rankings, but is one of those factors a grudge?

12/29/2024

The SEC went undefeated this week with Kentucky and Georgia winning their respective games against Western Kentucky and Ohio. Unfortunately, as it was the dreaded week for college basketball fans, that is where it ends.

Looking at the poll, Texas surpassed a 14-0 LSU to take the number 5 spot after a win on Sunday and Oklahoma sits at No. 9. Tennessee continues to climb, this time hurdling No. 16 Kentucky, to claim the number 15 slot. Alabama remains at 20 and Ole Miss at 25 to finish out the poll. There’s also South Carolina who has been stuck at No. 2 for so long now, I figure we all just assume. 

Ava's Funny:

This Thursday, due to a lack of SEC Women’s basketball, I was seen watching the Seahawks-Bears game. I could also be seen shaking my head and saying, “This is why I watch basketball.”

12/21/2024

Most of the SEC managed to find great success during this action packed week as the win columns for many of the conference leaders only continued to increase. Tennessee and LSU both remain undefeated and at the top of the standings, each picking up two wins. After being left off the AP poll for the first time, Alabama clearly had something to prove going into this week and it worked for them. They upset No. 15, Michigan State on Friday and also came out on top against Richmond and Murray St, bringing them to 12-1. Vanderbilt and Mississippi State found themselves tied with Bama for third this week after two wins for each of them. 

Solid and undefeated weeks came from many of the teams that have been sitting near the middle of the SEC standings. Auburn (9-3), and Texas A&M (7-5) each improved their records after wins this week. Oklahoma played a ranked game against No. 20, Michigan, and was able to fend off the upset after picking up a 40 point win early in the week over Oral Roberts. Kentucky brought down Belmont on Friday but it was a shaky performance for the No. 10 Wildcats as they scraped by with a 84-78 win, bringing them to 10-1 nonetheless. Texas and South Carolina each won two games this week as well, tying them at 11-1 and sixth in the rankings. After getting upset by them earlier in the season, South Carolina remains just south of UCLA at No. 2, improving from last week. Ole Miss, despite an 8-3 record, remains at No. 25 after also coming out on top in two games this week.

Florida, Georgia, and Missouri each picked up a loss but managed to come away with two wins, or one if you’re Missouri, to keep them with a winning record. Florida's only loss was to No. 19, North Carolina, who was one of the toughest opponents they have faced so far this year. Georgia also fell to a strong competitor in Colorado State and should still be satisfied with their week after topping Clemson and UNC Greensboro. 

Ava's funny:

Arkansas sits at 6-8 with an unfortunate showing this week, losing all three games. Hopefully next week they will put themselves back in a somewhat competitive position and leave the getting stuffed to the Christmas stockings.

12/14/2024

While last week was quite chaotic and disruptive for the SEC, this one, maybe for the better, went pretty much as predicted. Only five SEC teams played, all expected to come out on top in their games, and that held true. Kentucky picked up two wins against Purdue and Queens, moving to 9-1 and tying them at fifth in the conference. After a victory over Southern University earlier in the week, Texas also became a part of the 4-way tie for fifth. Mississippi State and Vanderbilt sit just above them at 10-1 after defeating Belmont and Evansville, respectively. 

The excitement that existed, surrounded Tennessee, a team that continues to surprise and exceed expectations. They did so again when they took on NC Central on Saturday. The final score? Also NC, Not Close. Tennessee won 139-59, reaching an NCAA record of 30 3-pointers in the process. Samara Spencer put up 33 points and contributed 9 of the 30 total threes. She has been a huge piece of the puzzle for them all season, but she was beyond dominant in this game in particular. 

Finally, after continuously surprising, the Lady Vols can be found in the polls at No. 19. With an 8-0 record, they have proven themselves as one of the ones to beat this year as very few undefeated teams remain in the league. Next week, they have to hold off Memphis, Richmond, and Tulsa to keep their streak alive. Though it is unlikely that Tennessee will be brought down by one of these teams, Richmond will pose the biggest challenge.

Ava's Funny: There’s a wide range of teams also receiving votes that are not quite in the polls. This week, Baylor got 1 vote. You have to appreciate such a dedicated alum. 

12/8/2024

Major Upsets Upset the SEC

Make the upsets stop. After weeks of trying to compare the mass of undefeated teams in the SEC, a tough showing for the conference leaves us with only two: a 10-0 LSU and a 7-0 Tennessee. LSU has moved to No. 5 with their recent domination in the league and they appear to be consistent enough to stay at the top of the standings. Only two teams, Stanford and Washington, have managed to even somewhat challenge this team and it doesn’t seem like their is much competition in their future that should worry them.

While LSU started in the polls, Tennessee has been a pleasant surprise for the league and is now beginning to receive some more votes. They were not expected to be quite so dominant this season but it seems the addition of their fiery new coach has been exactly what this team needed. This light schedule of only six games so far is great for their undefeated record but will give less of a cushion that they may need with the in-conference matchups that are in everyone's peripheral. 

Unfortunately, after the performance by some major SEC teams this week, Tennessee may just volunteer to play some extra in-conference games. No. 4 Texas, though I wouldn’t bank on that ranking quite so much anymore, was upset by No. 10, Notre Dame. That was just the tip of the iceberg. After Texas fell, they all went down. Later that night, previously 7-0 Kentucky fell to No. 16 North Carolina and No. 18, Ole Miss, was upset by unranked NC State. Tragically, that is not where it stopped as Alabama lost to unranked California as well. This was expected to be a challenge for them but it still a disappointing loss with the success of their season so far. They are now at 9-1 and tied with Vanderbilt for third in the SEC. 

Luckily, the night was not a total bust as we saw some victories from weaker SEC teams like Florida who got a win over Clemson, Missouri with a win over SMU, Arkansas over BC, and Auburn taking down Virginia. South Carolina was also able to fend off No. 8, Duke, who had the ability to be a threat to them. Their tests are far from over as they take on No. 9 TCU next week, still somewhat vulnerable after recently having their win streak snapped. If they are able to dispose of these two ranked opponents back to back, some of their early-season confidence should definitely be restored. 

Ava's Funny: Mississippi State has also been impressive this season at 8-1. It is worth questioning why teams like this seem to always be left out of the conversation, but in Mississippi’s case, maybe it’s just because no one at AP wants to spell it. 

11/30/2024

Big Changes and New Leaders for the SEC

The talk of the week? Down go the Gamecocks, an upset by UCLA breaking their 43-game win streak. While they recovered quickly with wins over Iowa State and Purdue, they have been bumped down to No. 4 and are no longer the certain favorite for the National Title. In fact, now they no longer lead even the SEC as LSU, Alabama, and Mississippi State all sit undefeated at 8-0. Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas also remain undefeated but have had less packed schedules. Kentucky stands at 7-0 and Texas and Tennessee stay at 5-0. Oklahoma has also continued to push their way up the rankings as they have found themselves No. 8 and at 6-1. They will play a ranked opponent, No. 24 Louisville, later in the week and hopefully increase the win column of that record even more. 

LSU should remain at the top of the SEC standings and the polls in the upcoming week. They'll likely be challenged by Stanford as they have been having a strong season at 7-1, but LSU stays heavily favored in that game and in their 6 other games in December. Alabama, also at the top of the SEC, will face some West Coast trouble as well against California but should be mostly confident for the rest of their games for the month. With their last two blowout wins against Alabama State and Clemson this past week, they have definitely proven themselves to be strong competitors. They still need to watch out for some strong teams like Michigan State and even Richmond that have been flying somewhat under the radar this year despite undefeated records. 

The final 8-0 team, Mississippi State, should feel the most confident going into the month, though not necessarily the week. They could find their next opponent, Georgia Tech, the toughest they’ve faced so far this season. While they have proven resilient, they barely snuck past Utah and USF this past week and need to be much more consistent if they hope to open the month with a win. Fortunately, they do not play a team currently over .500 after that, so they should have a cushion going into in-conference play. One of those teams is Chicago State, sitting at 0-9. This is their first time joining a conference and their schedule is far from easy, so in all, they have been putting up a good fight. Really, what more can you expect from a school that thinks Chicago is a state?

In the SEC, only Arkansas and the Gators are below .500 after tough losses to BGSU and JMU, respectively. Arkansas has another tough game against BC coming up and will have to put up their best fight of the season to not drop any lower. The Gators on the other hand should be able to pull out a win against Hofstra on Monday to start their three-game week. 

11/24/2024

Week Brings Movement and New Teams to Watch

Call this week, the Kentucky climb as they shot up the polls and landed at No. 15. They are beyond strong right now with Georgia Amoore, who is undoubtedly a top 15 player in the league and putting up some incredible numbers, and an overall strong defensive front. They are leading the league in blocks right now and their strength on defense in the paint is clearly having an effect on their overall ability to compete at a high level. After defeating Purdue they stand at 5-0. Unfortunately for Purdue, they will face another SEC powerhouse No. 1 South Carolina next week. They will try to be the first to bring down the Gamecocks, but it seems they may be in the boiler instead of making it this season. 

Tennessee and Vanderbilt see no reward for their impressive starts from the polls. They are starting to capture more attention in the league, especially Vanderbilt, who came out of this week adding two wins against Hampton and Samford, bringing them to 6-0. There was some movement again for Ole Miss as they climbed slightly to No. 17 while we saw the opposite for Alabama as they dropped right back to No. 24 after their slight jump. Ole Miss has continued to creep forward after starting at No. 20, but they have the potential to plummet with a probable loss against BC. 

Conditions for Missouri have also improved as they were successful this week against Saint Louis and Little Rock despite starting the season off at 1-2. They have a tough match-up against Syracuse early next week and will be tested to remain on the incline. Unfortunately, we saw the opposite effect with Auburn who began their season at 3-0 but are at 3-2 after taking back-to-back losses against Oregon and California. These were expected to be tough opponents for the Tigers and the close 70-68 loss against a ranked Oregon team shows that despite the hit to their record, they remain a competitive team. 

The Gators saw another disappointing loss to rival Florida State which, though a close game, will put them at 3-2. With their schedule for next week they may be able to recover against Tulane and JMU. Georgia pulled themselves out of a two-game losing streak against Tulsa on Thursday, but are now at 4-3 after their 20-point loss to Penn State. They should easily get their next win against Prairie View. The question remains if small wins like this will be able to get them into respectable standing. Though a team has yet to truly surprise us and disrupt the polls, this week was definitely characterized by some bumps that could lead to some great arcs or disappointing falls for SEC teams. 

As always, comfort teams like the Gamecocks remain undefeated and relatively unchallenged so far this season. In fact, over the weekend, the Gamecocks set an astounding record for their program capturing 43 straight wins, the longest streak in its history. Unfortunately, their streak of keeping away unwanted headlines is not quite as long.

11/17/2024

At the close of week two, many of the expected SEC teams remain undefeated. The Associated Press polls have not shown much movement within the conference, with the exception of Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss moving up one or two places. They have been performing slightly better than expected, especially Alabama, who has played the most games and sits at 6-0. Yet the Crimson Tide has not faced too much real competition, their closest game being sneaking a 68-58 win past Norfolk State. They have been completely dominating games, including a milestone 115-53 season opener win against New Orleans, proving themselves a real opponent and contender for the national title. Their initial test will come in early December against California, and this will show how big of a competitor they have the potential to be this season.

All SEC teams are currently with a winning record, but not all have found themselves without struggle. Georgia has lost their past two games against Georgia State and Georgia Tech after starting the season with three straight wins. They will have an easier match-up for their next game against Tulsa but will be quickly tested again against Penn State as they look to break their expected six-game win streak as underdogs. After a loss against No. 5 UCLA, Arkansas also sits at 3-2 tying with Georgia, Missouri, and Texas A&M for the bottom spot in the SEC. However, they are expected to win their next two games against Oral Roberts and Arkansas State so they should be able to get back into better standing by the end of next week.

Missouri also has a relatively easier slate ahead and will hopefully be on a four game win streak by the time next week comes to a close after beating Western Illinois and Tulane in a close match this past week. Unfortunately, Texas A&M does not have that same luxury as they are playing Villanova, Syracuse, and Kansas State. Though it won’t be quite as easy a road as some of these other teams, I expect they will be able to maintain a winning record. 

Auburn will look to keep their undefeated record against No. 25, Oregon State, next week, their first big test of the season. Vanderbilt, who many refused to count out this season, could very possibly find themselves at a solid 6-0 by the end of next week as they continue, rightfully so, to take advantage of these easier early-season games. Much like Vanderbilt, head coach Kim Caldwell has kept her Tennessee team undefeated as well, and with only one game left in the month, they will strive to keep that into December and prove right the many people who believed they deserved a high preseason ranking this year. South Carolina has held up well so far this season, but the road ahead is very tough for them as they inch closer to the list of ranked opponents in their future, all looking to bring down the No. 1 seed. 

After the loss against Miami, Florida's coach was spotted at the eye doctor. Turns out, they lost because she was seeing double — the Cavinder twins, who combined for 43 points. The Gators made an incredible comeback starting late in the third quarter and made it an incredibly exciting game. However, the Cavinder twins were just too much and some big-time threes late in the game sealed the deal for Miami, serving Florida their first loss of the season so far. 

LSU has had, as expected, a great start to their season. They are currently 4-0 and continuing to dispose of some early unranked opponents. Leading their charge recently has been Flau’Jae Johnson but as Johnson’s team sets their sights on the title of National Champions, she has been given a new title, rapper, which was chosen for her bio over basketball player. Let’s hope the only bars she stays focused on this season are the ones she’s been setting for the team, averaging 23 points a game so far. 

11/10/2024

Week One Done: What Have We Learned?

The SECs week began with a near upset by No. 20 Ole Miss over No. 3 USC, reminding us of three things:

1. Beware of the SEC.

2. Both the SEC and national title are still anyone's game.

3. Sometimes, if you're USC, the biggest scares come slightly after Halloween. 

So far, with the exception of Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Missouri, the SEC is undefeated and the question remains if some initial polls may have shown too much or too little faith in certain teams. 

Tennessee may have been one of those underestimated as head coach Kim Caldwell already shows immense confidence in her first season with the Lady Volunteers. Based on talent like Junior Zee Spearman and sophomore Talaysia Cooper, as well as Caldwell's record for getting teams well into tournament, they are not a program I would be quick to count out.

Other than Ole Miss now having a loss, the other major SEC teams have remained as strong as anticipated. Ole Miss, however, even after starting off with a loss, showed they are still a force in the league after putting up an incredible fight against a team that is widely picked to win a national title. 

Coming off of a losing season last year, the Gators are 2-0 and looking strong. Though it is unclear just yet how competitive they could really be in this conference, they should continue to capitalize on these lighter parts of their schedule before they face the choppier waters of their in-conference games. The Longhorns will look to do the same as they don’t play a ranked team until their anxiously awaited matchup against No. 6 Notre Dame in early December. LSU has arguably the lightest early season schedule, not playing a ranked team until their in-conference matchup with South Carolina in late January. However, they will see some tests before then with teams like Stanford on their schedule who, though unranked, should challenge the Tigers. 

No. 1 South Carolina doesn’t have quite as much room to breathe, playing three Top 10 teams before the end of November. Despite the strength of their schedule, especially in comparison to last year's regular season, the Gamecocks remain confident in their ability to dominate.

So far, games have gone almost as expected, but we should look forward to some surprises as the season progresses and more evenly matched teams begin to challenge one another. Possibly the biggest question of this season remains, will anyone be able to upset the Gamecocks?

10/28/2024

Will a Fourth Consecutive National Champion Emerge from the SEC? 

As the highly anticipated 2024-2025 women’s basketball season rapidly approaches, rankings reveal that the SEC has the potential to be a real powerhouse and draw much attention this year. With these predictions, the question remains if the SEC will be home to the season’s national champion for the fourth consecutive year. Though not normally the most prominent conference, certain SEC teams have been making a huge impact on the league and upstaging some of the usual suspects favored in women's Division 1 basketball. With the new addition of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the SEC, the conference strengthens even more and the competition for the title heats up, making the SEC a focal point of this season. 

The latest Associated Press Top 25 poll revealed that seven of the top 25 ranked teams are from the SEC, even securing the number one slot with defending champions, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Coming off their conference win and National Title, the Gamecocks will look for their second consecutive win and third in four years. They are expected to have another dominant season under Dawn Staley and could very well achieve the outcome they are aiming for despite losing some major talent, including a 6’7” gap left by center, Kamilla Cardoso.

The Texas Longhorns secured the number four ranking and have the talent and strength that will have everyone “hooked” on the SEC. They will be a great addition and undoubtedly contribute to some must-watch SEC matchups. Also with a strong No. 7 ranking in the poll is the 2023 national champions, Louisiana State University. They have found themselves second in the SEC since the 2021-2022 season but will now see more competition to improve or even hold that spot with these new additions to the conference. Oklahoma is another team that will challenge LSU and the rest of the SEC as they have secured the No. 10 spot. They are undeniably a competitor for the conference title and will either way be bringing a new level of play and competition to the SEC along with Texas. Continuing down the rankings, Ole Miss remains at No. 20 after finishing third in the SEC. Despite a tough season last year, Kentucky is right behind them at No. 22 with Alabama creeping into the 24 spot. 

While those are the big names right now, many are refusing to count out Vanderbilt and Tennessee who both finished with winning seasons last year and are still expected to be competitive. They will have tough schedules ahead of them and intense competition for a conference title but there is still potential for very good things from both of those teams. Coming off of last year, Auburn and Mississippi State will look to improve from .500 and come out with a winning season while teams like Florida, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia will hope to have an even greater leap and also see a winning record.  

UCONN may have captured the number two slot but they are far from the only team looking husky this year as the SEC competition intensifies. The SEC will undeniably be a hot topic in women’s basketball this season and the race for this title just might be the most interesting and competitive yet. While SEC followers and fans are thrilled with the higher level of competition this season, other SEC teams are working overtime to match up, with coaches drawing new plays, players spending long hours, and maybe some stakeholders just praying for realignment. It’s far from March, but the madness begins with the season openers for many of these teams, including South Carolina and LSU, on November 4.