High Post Hoops
Fansided

The SEC: who’s trending up, who’s trending down

By Blake DuDonis

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs guard Victoria Vivians (35) pushes the ball up the court during a game between the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers on January 21, 2018, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Mississippi State defeated the Lady Vols 71-52. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs guard Victoria Vivians (35) pushes the ball up the court during a game between the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers on January 21, 2018, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Mississippi State defeated the Lady Vols 71-52. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
KKNOXVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 01: Texas A&M coach Gary Blair talks with guard Chennedy Carter (3) during a game between the Texas A&M Aggies and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on February 1, 2018, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KKNOXVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 01: Texas A&M coach Gary Blair talks with guard Chennedy Carter (3) during a game between the Texas A&M Aggies and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on February 1, 2018, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Texas A&M Aggies

It never ceases to amaze how solid A&M is every year under Gary Blair. The Aggies haven’t missed the NCAA tournament since 2005 and have finished no worse in the SEC than sixth. This season, the team has been on must watch status simply due to the play of freshman Chennedy Carter. They currently sit at 6-3 in conference (tied for third) and the only reason they are on their list is because of their performances against the top teams. On a positive note, they split with Tennessee and beat LSU, but lost tight ones against South Carolina and Georgia. The Aggies get LSU again on the road (February 11), as well as Mississippi State on the road (February 18) and Mizzou at home (February 25). Personally, I think they are among the upper echelon of teams, but they have to prove it down the stretch.

Georgia Bulldogs

What a season it’s been for Joni Taylor and her Bulldog squad. Expected to take a leap forward, not many saw them being towards the top of the conference this late in the year (self brag: I did, as noted in my SEC preview that I could see “the Bulldogs challenge for the SEC crown, ultimately coming in 3rd”).  The team is 7-2 conference, having lost last night to LSU, snapping their seven game win streak. The question for me is how Georgia bounces back. They have impressive wins over A&M and Mizzou, but allowed inferior teams like Florida and Arkansas hang around far too long. Caliya Robinson is the real deal and they should have no troubles the next two games but then they go to Tennessee before hosting South Carolina. Those games should give us an idea about where this Georgia team is heading down the stretch.

KKNOXVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 01: Tennessee Lady Volunteers center Mercedes Russell (21) posting up against Texas A
KKNOXVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 01: Tennessee Lady Volunteers center Mercedes Russell (21) posting up against Texas A /

Tennessee Lady Vols

If you follow me on Twitter, you know where I stand on Holly Warlick (in short: she is good, Tennessee is good, anyone wanting her gone has unrealistic expectations). That said, the Lady Vols aren’t perfect. The lack of touches for Mercedes Russell late in big games has been puzzling and an 11-point loss to LSU certainly left some to be desired. Still, the Lady Vols bounced back from that loss and dominated A&M in the fourth quarter last night to beat the Aggies 82-67.  They also beat South Carolina by 16 on the road, no easy feat. At 6-3, like A&M, Tennessee is still in the mix and will have ample opportunity to prove themselves. The will get Georgia in a few weeks, then go to Mizzou before having senior day against South Carolina. The talent is undeniable on Rocky Top but they would be well served to pick up some wins against the top tier teams.

Home/NCAA