This Week In SEC Men's Basketball - 12/8


SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
F *6-7 * 215 * Jr. * Pulaski, Tenn.

  • In Tennessee's 100th season of varsity basketball, after 2,338 all-time games, Smith recorded the first triple-double in school history against UNC Asheville.
  • In just 26 minutes of action, had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Bulldogs.
  • His 10 assists were made without a turnover.
  • Over his last three games he is averaging 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 537 assists per game.
  • Smith leads the Vols with 17.4 points and is second on the team with 4.7 assists per game.

    Smith's Season Stats

    PPG     RPG     APG     BPG     SPG
    17.4    5.9     4.7     0.1     1.0
    


    SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
    DeAndre Liggins, Kentucky
    6-6 * 202 * Chicago, Ill.

  • Liggins scored a personal-best 16 points and pulled down a career-high seven rebounds against Lamar and then topped that with 18 points and seven more rebounds the next time out against No. 21 Miami.
  • In the win over Lamar, Liggins was perfect hitting 6-of-6 from the including 2-for-2 from the three-point line and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
  • He has scored in double figures in each of UK's last three games.

    Liggins' Season Stats

    PPG     RPG     APG     BPG     SPG
    7.4     3.2     3.8     0.6     1.0
    


    SEC STANDINGS

    School SEC Pct. Home Away Div. ALL Pct. Home Away Neutral Last 10 Streak
    EASTERN DIVISON
    S. Carolina 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-1 .857 5-0 1-1 0-0 6-1 W2
    Tennessee 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-1 .857 3-0 1-0 2-1 6-1 W1
    Florida 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-2 .750 4-0 0-1 1-2 6-2 L1
    Kentucky 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-3 .667 4-2 0-1 2-0 6-3 W1
    Georgia 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-3 .625 4-0 0-1 1-2 5-3 L2
    Vanderbilt 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-3 .625 3-2 0-0 2-1 4-3 L2
    WESTERN DIVISON
    LSU 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-0 1.000 6-0 0-0 0-0 6-0 W6
    Arkansas 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-1 .833 4-0 1-1 0-0 5-1 W3
    Ole Miss 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-2 .750 4-1 1-0 1-1 6-2 W1
    Miss. State 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-2 .750 5-0 1-0 0-2 6-2 W1
    Alabama 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-2 .714 3-1 0-0 2-1 5-2 W4
    Auburn 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-4 .500 4-1 0-1 0-2 4-4 W1


    UPCOMING SCHEDULE

    December 9 (Tuesday)
    Virginia Tech at Georgia [FSN] 7:00 p.m. ET

    December 10 (Wednesday)
    Charlotte at Mississippi State 7:00 p.m. CT
    Alabama A&M at Vanderbilt [CSS] 7:00 p.m. CT
    North Carolina Central at Arkansas [RSP] 7:00 p.m. CT
    Florida Gulf Coast at Florida [FSN-FL] 8:00 p.m. ET

    December 13 (Saturday)
    Indiana at Kentucky [CBS] 4:00 p.m. ET
    Texas A&M at Alabama [CSS] 7:00 p.m. CT
    Grambling State at LSU 7:00 p.m. CT
    Tennessee at Temple [ESPN] Noon ET
    South Alabama at Mississippi State 7:00 p.m. CT
    Ole Miss at New Mexico 2:00 p.m. MT

    December 15 (Monday)
    Alabama State at Ole Miss [CSS] 7:00 p.m. CT

    December 16 (Tuesday)
    18-Vanderbilt vs. South Florida [ESPN2] 6:00 p.m. CT
    18-Tennessee vs. Marquette [ESPN] 8:30 p.m. CT
    North Carolina Central at South Carolina [SS] 8:00 p.m. ET

    December 17 (Wednesday)
    Tennessee State at Alabama [CSS] 7:00 p.m. CT
    19-Austin Peay at Arkansas [RSP] 7:00 p.m. CT
    Tuskegee at Auburn 6:00 p.m. CT
    Nicholls State at LSU [CST] 7:00 p.m. CT

    December 18 (Thursday)
    20-Mississippi State vs. Cincinnati [ESPN2] 6:30 p.m. ET
    20-Ole Miss vs. Louisville [ESPN] 9:00 p.m. ET

    December 20 (Saturday)
    Belmont at Tennessee [SS] 3:00 p.m. ET
    22-LSU vs. Texas A&M 3:30 p.m. CT
    Wofford at Georgia [CSS] 2:00 p.m. ET
    Auburn at Virginia [FSN] 4:00 p.m. ET
    23-Florida vs. Central Florida [FSN-FL] 6:30 p.m. ET
    Tennessee Tech at Vanderbilt [CSS] 5:00 p.m. CT
    19-Stephen F. Austin at Arkansas [RSP] 7:00 p.m. CT
    21-Kentucky vs. Appalachian State [FSNS] Noon ET
    The Citadel at South Carolina [SS] 5:00 p.m. ET

    ALL TIMES LOCAL
    *SEC Game; [ ] TV Game; #Tape Delayed; FSN includes FSN South, FSN Southwest and SUN Sports; RSP - Razorback Sports Properties; BBSN: Big Blue Sports Network; CSS: Comcast Sports Southeast; CST: Cox Sports Television; MTN: The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network; FSN: Fox Sports Net; FSNS: FSN South; FSN Fla.: FSN Florida; Raycom: Raycom Sports; SS: SportSouth; SUN: Sun Sports; CBSCS: CBS College Sports.


    LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

    December 2 (Tuesday)
    at Alabama 64, Alabama A&M 56
    at LSU 84, Cal State Fullerton 63 [FSN]
    at Florida 73, Florida A&M 58 [SUN]
    at Western Kentucky 67, Georgia 63 [ESPNU]
    South Carolina 84, at Princeton 58

    December 3 (Wednesday)
    at Arkansas 80, Texas Southern 61 [RSP]
    Illinois-Chicago 74, at Vanderbilt 55
    at Kentucky 103, Lamar 61 [FSNS]
    at Tennessee 87, UNC-Asheville 69 [SS]
    West Virginia 80, at Ole Miss 78 [FSN]
    at Xavier 81, Auburn 74 [CBSCS]

    December 5 (Friday)
    at South Carolina72, Furman 48

    December 6 (Saturday)
    at Auburn 78, Louisiana-Monroe 55 [CSS]
    vs. Illinois 76, Georgia 42 [ESPNU]
    at Georgia Tech 63, Vanderbilt 51 [FSN]
    Miami 73, at Kentucky 67 [ESPN]
    at Mississippi State 76, Alabama State 67
    Ole Miss 65, at New Orleans 78

    December 7 (Sunday)
    at Kentucky 88, Mississippi Valley State 65 [FSNS]
    at Alabama 61, Louisiana-Lafayette 44
    at Florida State 57, Florida 55 [FSN]

    ALL TIMES LOCAL
    *SEC Game; [ ] TV Game; #Tape Delayed; FSN includes FSN South, FSN Southwest and SUN Sports; RSP - Razorback Sports Properties; BBSN: Big Blue Sports Network; CSS: Comcast Sports Southeast; CST: Cox Sports Television; MTN: The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network; FSN: Fox Sports Net; FSNS: FSN South; FSN Fla.: FSN Florida; Raycom: Raycom Sports; SS: SportSouth; SUN: Sun Sports; CBSCS: CBS College Sports.


    SEC Coaches Reaching Milestones

    Four Southeastern Conference coaches are on the verge of or have reached significant milestones this season.

  • Mark Gottfried earned his 200th win at the University of Alabama with a 78-56 victory over Chaminade at the Maui Invitational Nov. 25. Gottfried joined an exclusive club of 200 game winners at Alabama. Wimp Sanderson (267), Hank Crisp (264) and C.M. Newton (211) are the only other coaches in school history to reach the 200-win mark with the Tide.
  • Billy Donovan needs 10 wins to reach the 300-win mark at Florida. Donovan is 290-116 in his 13th year at Florida and 325-136 in 15 seasons as a head coach.
  • Bruce Pearl needs one win to become the become the sixth-fastest Division I head coach ever to reach the 400-win milestone. In his 17th season on the sideline, Pearl has posted a 399-109 record that includes an 82-25 mark in his fourth season at Tennessee.
  • Kevin Stallings needs one win to reach the 300-win plateau. Stallings owns a 299-179 record in 16 seasons as a head coach. He has posted a 176-116 record in his 10th year at Vanderbilt.


    SEC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Throughout the history of men's college basketball, the Southeastern Conference has captured 10 NCAA Championships and four NIT titles, putting the SEC as one of the nation's top basketball conferences. The SEC enjoyed another outstanding season in 2007-08 with six teams receiving NCAA Tournament invitations and two more playing in the National Invitation Tournament. At least half of the SEC's member institutions advanced to the postseason for the 30th consecutive year.
  • Seven players that earned All-SEC honors in 2008 return for this year. Devan Downey (South Carolina) and Tyler Smith (Tennessee) were consensus first team All-SEC picks last year. Nick Calathes (Florida), Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Marcus Thornton (LSU), A.J. Ogilvy (Vanderbilt) and Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) also earned all-conference honors from either the league's coaches or media.
  • Seven SEC student-athletes have received preseason All-America mention by preseason publications. Included in that group are: Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Tyler Smith (Tennessee), Nick Calathes (Florida), Devan Downey (South Carolina), Tasmin Mitchell (LSU), A.J. Ogilvy (Vanderbilt), and Marcus Thornton (LSU).
  • Four of the SEC's top 10 scorers from 2008 return. LSU's Marcus Thornton ranked second in the league with 19.6 ppg, South Carolina's Devan Downey was fourth with 18.4 ppg, Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy rated eighth with 17.0 ppg and Kentucky's Patrick Patterson was ninth with 16.4 ppg.
  • Preseason magazines have six different SEC teams receiving votes in its national polls.
  • Two new coaches join the conference with Trent Johnson at LSU and Darrin Horn at South Carolina.
  • Southeastern Conference teams are scheduled to make almost 200 television appearances this season, including 13 on CBS, 44 on the ESPN family of networks, 42 on Raycom and 41 on Fox Sports Net in addition to several other television networks.
  • Eleven of the 12 SEC teams return multiple starters from last season, including four teams that return at least four starters (Auburn, Florida, LSU, South Carolina). LSU returns five starters from last year. A total of 34 starters return for this season.
  • The SEC/Big East Invitational will feature Vanderbilt vs. South Florida and Tennessee vs. Marquette in Nashville Dec. 16. Mississippi State vs. Cincinnati and Ole Miss vs. Louisville will take place Dec. 18 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
  • The SEC posted its second-largest attendance last season totaling 2,561,545 fans for games featuring SEC teams. It marked the second consecutive year more than 2.5 million fans witnessed SEC basketball. A record 2,562,073 fans saw SEC basketball in 2006-07.
  • The SEC was second in number of bids for the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The league received six bids for the eighth time in the last 10 years. The SEC has received at least five bids for 12 straight years.
  • Every team in the SEC has made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last six editions of the NCAA Tournament.
  • The SEC ranks first among all conferences in NCAA Tournament record over the last three seasons, posting a 28-15 mark in the “Big Dance” during that time.
  • The SEC is the only conference in the nation to have all of its teams ranked at least one week in the Associated Press top 25 (excluding preseason polls) since 1999-00. Simply stated, every SEC team has been a top-25 team nationally at one point in the last nine seasons.
  • Six SEC players were chosen in the 2008 NBA Draft. Fourteen SEC players have been selected in the last two NBA Drafts, including five that were first round selections.


    SEC NOTES

    Five Named To Preseason Wooden Watch List

    Five Southeastern Conference student-athletes were among the 2008-09 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy were announced Nov. 7. The list was composed of 50 student athletes who, based on last year's individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.

    Florida's Nick Calathes, South Carolina's Devan Downey, Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy, Kentucky's Patrick Patterson and Tennessee's Tyler Smith were each named to the preseason squad.

    In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed in March by the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament.

    The 33rd annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award to Rick Barnes from The University of Texas, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in April, 2009.


    Century Celebrations

    Three SEC schools are celebrating a century of basketball on their campuses this season. LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee will each hold special events during the season to celebrate the milestone.

    LSU began playing intercollegiate basketball on Jan. 30, 1909 and will celebrate the anniversary of the event on Jon. 30-31 when the school hosts a two day celebration that will be highlighted by a reunion, the announcement of an all-century team and the current team hosting Arkansas Jan. 31.

    Ole Miss is celebrating its program's origination on Jan. 28, 1909 and will host a reunion of some of the top players in school history against Georgia Feb. 21.

    Tennessee will celebrate the 100th anniversary of basketball on its campus the weekend of Feb. 13-14 when the Vols host South Carolina with a reunion of former players and the announcement of an all-century team.


    38 Former SEC Players On NBA Opening Day Rosters

    The Southeastern Conference maintains its strong presence in the NBA for the 2008-2009 season as 38 former players were on 22 of the 30 NBA team's rosters to open the season. Ten of the 12 SEC schools have former standouts holding roster spots at the beginning of the league's 63rd season.

    Florida and Kentucky top the list with nine former players each on the rosters of 14 different NBA squads. Golden State has four former SECers on its team while Atlanta has three SEC alums and Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York each have two former conference players on their rosters.

    Bolstering the list of former SEC players, LSU has six former players in the league. The former Tigers have accumulated 30 years of NBA experience, led by Shaquille O'Neal who is in his 16th season and is currently playing for Miami. Alabama is next in line with four former SEC players in the NBA. The former Crimson Tide players have accumulated 24 years of NBA experience, led by Antonio McDyess (Detroit--12th season). Arkansas has three players while Georgia and South Carolina have two and Auburn, Mississippi State and Tennessee each have one.

    Pat Riley (Kentucky) and Ernie Grunfeld (Tennessee) highlight the front office list as team presidents for the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards, respectively. The NBA also lists 11 coaches who attended college at a current SEC institution, including Los Angeles Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy (South Carolina).

    Throughout the history of men's college basketball, the Southeastern Conference has captured 10 NCAA Championships and four NIT titles putting the SEC as one of the nation's top basketball conferences.

    The SEC enjoyed another outstanding season in 2007-08 with six teams receiving NCAA Tournament invitations and two more playing in the National Invitation Tournament. At least half of the SEC's member institutions advanced to the postseason for the 30th consecutive year.


    SECond TO NONE

    The SEC became the first conference to win the Division I National Championship in Football (Florida), Men's Basketball (Florida) and Women's Basketball (Tennessee) in the same school year. The Southeastern Conference won all three during the 2006-07 academic year.

    Only the SEC and the Big East have ever won both the men's and women's basketball titles in one season. SEC won both three times in 1996, 1998 and 2007. The Big East has won both twice in 2003 and 2004.

    The SEC swept both the NIT and NCAA Tournaments in 2006 with Florida knocking off UCLA, 73-57, to earn its first NCAA championship and South Carolina defeating Michigan, 76-64, to earn its second straight NIT title.

    The Southeastern Conference became the first conference since the Big East in 2003 to win both titles in a season. Only four conferences have won both the NIT and NCAA title, including the ACC (1992) and Big Ten (1979).


    RECORD ATTENDANCE

    The SEC posted its second-largest attendance last season totaling 2,561,545 fans for games featuring SEC teams in 2007-08. It marked the second consecutive year more than 2.5 million fans witnessed SEC basketball. A record 2,562,073 fans saw SEC basketball in 2006-07.


    POLL WORTHY

    The SEC is the only conference in the nation to have all of its teams ranked at least one week in the Associated Press top 25 (excluding preseason polls) since 1999-00. Simply stated, every SEC team has been a top-25 team nationally at one point in the last nine seasons.

    A look at SEC teams in the AP top 25 show the league's diversity since the 2000 season. Every team has been in the top 25.

    Alabama             2006-07
    Arkansas            2007-08
    Auburn              1999-00
    Florida             2007-08
    Georgia             2002-03
    Kentucky            2006-07
    LSU                 2006-07
    Ole Miss            2007-08
    Mississippi State   2004-05
    South Carolina      2003-04
    Tennessee           2007-08
    Vanderbilt          2007-08
    

    Here's a look at the other major basketball conferences and their teams who have not achieved an AP top 25 ranking over that span:

    ACC        11 of 12   Florida State
    Big East   14 of 16   Rutgers, South Florida
    Big Ten     9 of 11   Northwestern, Penn State
    Big 12     10 of 12   Colorado, Nebraska
    Pac-10      9 of 10   Oregon State
    


    SPREADING THE WEALTH

    Since the 1980-81 season, each of the 12 SEC schools has captured either an SEC divisional, overall or tournament title and 11 different schools have won or shared the SEC Championship since the league's inception in 1933.

    The wealth was truly shared in 2003 as the Alabama and Georgia joined the ranks of SEC Divisional Champions. All 12 schools have won or shared a divisional title.

    During the last 18 seasons, six schools captured their inaugural SEC title. Florida began the string by winning the school's first-ever basketball crown in 1989. Georgia followed in 1990. Arkansas won the 1992 title in its first season in the SEC and South Carolina earned the top spot in 1997.

    SEC Titles Since 1980-81

                   Divisional  Overall  Tournament
                     Titles    Titles    Titles
    Alabama             2         2         5
    Arkansas            4         2         1
    Auburn              1         1         1
    Florida             5         4         3
    Georgia             1         1         2
    Kentucky           11        11*       12*
    LSU                 3         5         0
    Ole Miss            4         0         1
    Mississippi State   6         2         2
    South Carolina      1         1         0
    Tennessee           4         3         0
    Vanderbilt          1         1         0
    

    *1988 titles vacated


    NATIONAL POLLS

    Associated Press (December 8)

    Rank Team Record Pts. Prv.
    1. North Carolina (72) 8-0 1,800 1
    2. Connecticut 8-0 1,710 2
    3. Pittsburgh 9-0 1,633 3
    4. Gonzaga 6-0 1,574 5
    5. Oklahoma 8-0 1,529 6
    6. Texas 6-1 1,381 8
    7. Duke 8-1 1,256 4
    8. Tennessee 6-1 1,203 10
    9. Louisville 4-1 1,080 11
    10. Xavier 7-0 1,041 14
    11. Wake Forest 8-0 957 15
    12. Notre Dame 6-2 954 7
    13. Syracuse 8-0 869 16
    14. Purdue 6-2 718 9
    15. Villanova 8-0 713 17
    16. UCLA 5-2 705 12
    17. Memphis 5-1 579 18
    18. Michigan State 5-2 536 13
    19. Georgetown 5-1 475 20
    20. Arizona State 7-1 462 19
    21. Ohio State 5-0 435 NR
    22. Baylor 7-1 351 24
    23. Davidson 6-1 348 22
    24. Marquette 7-1 222 25
    25. Kansas 7-1 206 NR

    Other SEC teams receiving votes: Florida 33, LSU 21.


    USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll (December 8)

    Rank Team Record Pts. Prv.
    1. North Carolina (31) 8-0 775 1
    2. Connecticut 8-0 734 2
    3. Pittsburgh 9-0 715 3
    4. Gonzaga 6-0 674 5
    5. Oklahoma 8-0 632 6
    6. Texas 6-1 601 8
    7. Duke 8-1 551 4
    8. Tennessee 6-1 465 13
    9. Xavier 7-0 463 14
    10. Louisville 4-1 446 11
    11. Wake Forest 8-0 368 17
    12. Villanova 8-0 362 16
    13. Notre Dame 6-2 359 7
    14. UCLA 5-2 349 9
    15. Memphis 5-1 330 15
    16. Syracuse 8-0 317 20
    17. Purdue 6-2 293 10
    18. Arizona State 7-1 254 19
    19. Georgetown 5-1 246 18
    20. Michigan State 5-2 190 12
    21. Ohio State 5-0 173 NR
    t22. Davidson 6-1 143 24
    t22. Kansas 7-1 136 25
    24. Marquette 7-1 102 NR
    25. Miami (Fla.) 5-2 69 t22

    Other SEC teams receiving votes: Florida 22.


    TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

    ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
    OVERALL: 5-2 (3-1 H, 0-0 A, 2-1 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Mark Gottfried
    203-126 in 11th year at Alabama
    271-150 in 14th year as a head coach

    The Alabama men's basketball team used a 15-2 second half spurt to pull away from Louisiana in en route to a 61-44 win at Coleman Coliseum Sunday ... With the score 44-38 at the 9:50 mark of the second half, Senario Hillman knocked down a fade away jump shot to spark the Tide's run ... Hillman and Alonzo Gee combined for all 15 points during the five minute stretch ... The Tide defense held the Ragin' Cajuns to only four field goals in the second half, and for the game Louisiana shot 26 percent from the field ... Alabama has given up fewer than 60 points to five of its last six opponents including four straight during the Tide's four game winning streak ... This is the third game this season that the Tide has held an opponent to fewer than 50 points ... Gee and Hillman scored 18 points apiece to lead the Tide ... This was Hillman's fifth straight game scoring in double figures ... Ronald Steele added 14 points and finished a perfect 6-6 from the foul line ... Junior Yamene Coleman grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench.


    ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
    OVERALL: 5-1 (4-0 H, 1-1 A, 0-0 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: John Pelphrey
    28-13 in 2nd year at Arkansas
    108-80 in 7th year as a head coach

    With Wednesday's victory, Arkansas has now won 37 straight home non-conference games ... The last loss came in December of 2003 ... Freshman Jason Henry led the team and had a game-high tying 19 points against TSU ... Entering the game, he had scored two points in two games and 23 total minutes ... On Wednesday, he was 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 on threes, and had seven rebounds to go with his 19 points ... Freshman guard Courtney Fortson had 11 assists and just one turnover against the Tigers ... He leads the team with 5.7 assists per game ... His game total is the best for a Razorback since Jan. 6, 2007, when Gary Ervin had a double-double of 18 points and 11 assists in an 88-61 home win over No. 8 Alabama ... The last time a Razorback had more was Nov. 18, 2005, when Dontell Jefferson had a schoolrecord tying 15 in the 107-69 home win over Portland State ... Freshman forward Andre Clark had eight points and five rebounds against Texas Southern ... He's averaging 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds over the last two games and 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds over the last three.


    AUBURN TIGERS
    OVERALL: 4-4 (4-1 H, 0-1 A, 0-2 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Jeff Lebo
    61-67 in 4th year at Auburn
    176-130 in 11th year as a head coach

    Following last Saturday's game vs. Louisiana-Monroe, Auburn will take 10 days off before its next game on Dec. 17 when it plays host to Tuskegee, a Div. II member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ... After playing three straight games away from Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, Auburn is in the midst of playing six of its next seven at home ... Freshman Frankie Sullivan scored a career-high 23 points in only 23 minutes off the bench to go along with six steals in Auburn's 81-74 loss at No. 14 Xavier Dec. 3 ... Auburn's top four leading scorers are separated by only 2.1 points per game - Korvotney Barber averages a team-high 13.5 points followed by DeWayne Reed (12.6), Tay Waller (12.5) and Sullivan (9.7) ... Reed has a 2.67 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season with 32 assists to 12 turnovers ... He has dished out 11 assists while committing only two turnovers (5.50 ratio) in Auburn's last two games.


    FLORIDA GATORS
    OVERALL: 6-2 (4-0 H, 0-1 A, 2-1 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Billy Donovan
    291-117 in 13th year at Florida
    326-137 in 15th year as a head coach

    The University of Florida dropped to 6-2 with a 57-55 loss at Florida State Sunday night ... Dan Werner's three-point shot at the buzzer was online, but just missed, as the Gators nearly picked up their first win in Tallahassee since 2002 ... Nick Calathes led all UF scorers with 16 points and six assists, while Werner finished with 10 points ... Florida lost for the first time ever under Billy Donovan when holding an opponent under 60 points ... UF had been 104-0 in his 13 years as head coach ... Florida is still 20-3 in the month of December over the past four years ... Florida pulled down 10 offensive boards, the seventh time in eight games they've recorded double-digits in offensive rebounding ... The Gators are averaging 11.2 offensive boards per game thus far ... UF lost for the first time when outscoring its opponent's bench ... The Gators are getting 23.0 points per game on the year off the bench ... Florida returns home on Wednesday to take on Florida Gulf Coast ... The Gators have won 12 straight non-conference home games and 35-of-36 over the past four years.


    GEORGIA BULLDOGS
    OVERALL: 5-3 (4-0 H, 0-1 A, 1-2 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Dennis Felton
    80-83 in 6th year at Georgia
    180-137 in 11th year as a head coach

    After a two-game road swing, Georgia returns to Athens for a homestand that spans nearly a month and includes the next six games on the schedule ... First on that list is a Tuesday night matchup against ACC foe Virginia Tech ... The Bulldogs do not travel again until their final pre-SEC tuneup at Georgia Tech on Jan. 6 ... The Bulldogs dropped both of their away contests last week: a 67-63 decision at Western Kentucky one week ago and a 76-42 defeat at the hands of Illinois in Chicago on Saturday 33 ... The latter was Georgia's most lopsided loss in four years ... Like many programs nationwide, Georgia will take a break over the next 10 days for Fall Semester final exams ... They begin this Thursday, and the semester officially ends with Commencement on the Stegeman Coliseum floor next Friday, Dec. 19 ... Twenty-four hours later the season resumes with another home contest against Wofford ... Tuesday night's game will be the sixth all-time meeting between Georgia and Virginia Tech, but the first since the Hokies joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004 ... Georgia leads the series 4-1 ... This year's game will mark Virginia Tech's return to Athens for the first time since 1982, when Georgia earned a trip to the NIT semifinals with a 90-73 third-round victory.


    KENTUCKY WILDCATS
    OVERALL: 6-3 (4-2 H, 0-1 A, 2-0 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Billy Gillispie
    24-17 in 2nd year at Kentucky
    124-74 in 7th year as a head coach

    Kentucky defeated Mississippi Valley State 88-65 Sunday afternoon in Lexington ... Kentucky has won six of its last seven games ... Jodie Meeks led all scorers with 24 points, adding one steal and two rebounds in 22 minutes ... Meeks has scored in double figures in every game this season, nine consecutive games ... Meeks has made 24 of his last 25 free throws ... Patrick Patterson recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds in a game-high 37 minutes, adding three assists and two blocked shots ... Patterson's double-double is the 12th of his career and his sixth of the season ... Perry Stevenson grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and six points, blocking three shots and adding two assists ... Freshman DeAndre Liggins finished with 10 points and five assists in 20 minutes of play, connecting on 6-of-8 free throw attempts ... The Wildcats posted a 40-34 rebounding margin and have now out-rebounded eight of its nine opponents this season ... UK posted a 17-14 assist-to-turnover margin, the third consecutive game UK had more assists than turnovers and for the fifth time this season ... Kentucky shot 54-percent (27-for-50) from the field, the fifth game this season shooting above 50-percent.


    LSU TIGERS
    OVERALL: 6-0 (6-0 H, 0-0 A, 0-0 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Trent Johnson
    6-0 in 1st year at LSU
    165-121 in 10th year as a head coach

    The Tigers won their only game last week, 84-63, over Cal State Fullerton to run their season opening win streak to six games and their current home winning streak to nine, dating back to the final three home games of the 2007-08 season … In the game, Marcus Thornton led the Tigers with 24 points, while Tasmin Mitchell had a career high 15 rebounds as he doubled up with 16 points on a solid night when he also had four assists, three blocks and three steals … Chris Johnson also had 16 points and Bo Spencer 13. For the second straight game, Garrett Temple flirted with a double double and triple double with 10 rebounds, eight points and seven assists … LSU is in the midst of its final exam week on the campus before starting a string of four games prior to Christmas … LSU resumes play on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Grambling State as LSU puts its 69-game winning streak against Louisiana schools at the Pete Maravich Center on the line once again … The streak has now reach 20-years plus dating back to the first win in the streak over McNeese State on Dec. 8, 1988 … Before Christmas, LSU will also play Nicholls State (Dec. 17), vs. Texas A&M (at the Houston Toyota Center) (Dec. 20) and McNeese State (Dec. 22) … This past week, Coach Trent Johnson announced that Garrett Green would redshirt during the 2008-09 season, giving LSU two redshirts for the season – Green and freshman Dennis Harris.


    OLE MISS REBELS
    OVERALL: 6-2 (4-1 H, 1-0 A, 1-1 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Andy Kennedy
    51-26 in 3rd year at Ole Miss
    72-39 in 4th year as a head coach

    Ole Miss improved to 6-2 on the year with a 78-65 win at New Orleans Saturday in the Rebels' first true road game of the season. Ole Miss now has a three-game winning streak in road games dating back to last season (Georgia, Virginia Tech) ... The Rebels have somehow managed to score exactly 78 points in each of their last four games, while averaging 77.5 points on the season ... Ole Miss dropped a nailbiter at home 80-78 to West Virginia on Wednesday in a game that featured Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy facing his mentor, WVU coach Bob Huggins, for the first time ... The two coached together for four successful seasons at Cincinnati ... David Huertas and Chris Warren are both averaging more than 20 points per game after eight contests ... Huertas is putting up 21.4 ppg, while Warren chips in 20.4 ... The WVU game was the third time this year that each player put up 20+ points (Huertas 23, Warren 20) ... Warren then set a career high with 29 points in the win at UNO, making 9-of-16 field goals and 5-of-8 from behind the arc ... Freshman guard Terrico White set a career high with 13 points vs. WVU then chipped in 11 more against UNO ... Ole Miss has no mid-week game this week due to final exams, but will play at New Mexico at 2 p.m. MT on Saturday, game televised by Versus.


    MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS
    OVERALL: 6-2 (5-0 H, 1-0 A, 0-2 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Rick Stansbury
    214-117 in 11th year at Mississippi State
    214-117 in 11th year as a head coach

    Mississippi State has not allowed an opponent to score more than 67 points at Humphrey Coliseum this season, a span of six games ... With 18:11 to play Against Alabama State in the opening frame, a field goal by Chief Kickingstallionsims gave the Hornets a 4-2 advantage, marking the first time MSU has trailed at home all season ... The Bulldogs now own a nine-game winning streak at Humphrey Coliseum ... Mississippi State improved to 6-2 on the year and snapped a two-game losing skid ... Ravern Johnson scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting ... Jarvis Varnado totaled a career-high 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting ... He and Johnson also became the first MSU players to score 20-plus points this season ... The last time MSU had two players score 20-plus points in the same game was last year at home against LSU (3-8-08) when Charles Rhodes and Jamont Gordon finished with 27 and 23, respectively ... With five assists, Dee Bost now has 40, 10 shy of cracking the Top 10 of the freshman books ... Rick Stansbury-coached teams are now 62-12 in the month of December and 127-28 at Humphrey Coliseum, including a 67-8 mark against non-conference foes.


    SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
    OVERALL: 6-1 (5-0 H, 1-1 A, 0-0 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Darrin Horn
    6-1 in 1st year at South Carolina
    120-49 in 6th year as a head coach

    South Carolina improved to 6-1 with victories over Princeton (84-58) and Furman (72-48) last week in non-conference action ... The 48 points posted by the Paladins marked the lowest for a Carolina opponent this season ... Junior point guard Devan Downey led all scorers in both games, posting 22 points against Princeton and 19 against Furman ... He also tied a career high with seven steals against the Tigers ... Senior guard Zam Fredrick posted solid numbers against Princeton, hitting 7-of-11 shots from the field to contributed 20 points in the win ... The effort marked the 10th career game (at South Carolina) that Fredrick has tallied at least 20 points ... Junior forward Evka Baniulis continues to post solid numbers off the bench ... Baniulis contributed a season-high 15 points against Princeton and 12 vs. Furman ... Sophomore forward Mike Holmes continues to lead the SEC in offensive rebounds (4.6), while he ranks third in total rebounds with 9.3 per contest ... South Carolina will not play again until its hosts North Carolina Central in non-conference play on Dec. 16 due to exams.


    TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
    OVERALL: 6-1 (3-0 H, 1-0 A, 2-1 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Bruce Pearl
    83-25 in 4th year at Tennessee
    400-109 in 17th year as a head coach

    It was a Historic Night on Rocky Top Wednesday as junior forward Tyler Smith became the first player in the 100-year history of Tennessee basketball to record a triple-double ... The Wooden Award candidate from Pulaski, Tenn., logged 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists (with no turnovers and one steal in 26 minutes) against UNC Asheville ... The Volunteers' 87-69 victory also marked career win No. 400 for UT head coach Bruce Pearl ... He is the sixth-fastest head coach ever to reach the 400-win milestone—second among active coaches ... Wednesday's triumph was Pearl's 509th game as a collegiate head coach (.786 winning percentage) ... The win also extended Tennessee's school-record home win streak to 35 games, which ranks as the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I ... The Vols haven't lost at Thompson-Boling Arena since March 1, 2006 ... Tennessee returns to action Dec. 13 at Temple (noon ET, ESPN).


    VANDERBILT COMMODORES
    OVERALL: 5-3 (3-2 H, 0-1 A, 2-0 N)
    SEC: 0-0 (0-0 H, 0-0 A)

    Head Coach: Kevin Stallings
    175-119 in 10th year at Vanderbilt
    298-182 in 16th year as a head coach

    Vanderbilt fell to 5-3 on the season with a 51-63 loss at Georgia Tech Saturday ... The Commodores are now 2-2 home, 2-0 on neutral floors, and 0-1 on the road ... Sophomore A.J. Ogilvy led all Vanderbilt scorers with 15 points ... Freshman Jeffery Taylor was the Commodores' only other scorer in double figures with 11 points ... Ogilvy and Taylor also led the team in rebounds with seven ... The Commodores were 16-of-50 from the field (32.0%) and was 2-for-16 from three (12.5%) - both of which were season lows ... Ogilvy and Festus Ezeli both had a team-high three blocks ... Ogilvy and Tinsley have scored in double figures in every game so far this season ... Ogilvy has scored in double digits in 40 out of 42 career games at Vanderbilt ... Freshman forward Steve Tchiengang made the first start of his career against Georgia Tech ... Vanderbilt has used five different starting lineups this season.