Early assessment on SEC vs. Big 12

Good morning! Hope you’re ready for a fabulous Friday night of college hoops.

But first, let’s get to Thursday’s news.

1. LSU (and SEC) get statement win at Kansas State

Entering the season, LSU was picked to finish 14th of 16 teams in the SEC. Kansas State was picked to finish 8th in the Big 12 after making several splashes in the transfer portal. Some polls even gave them some Top 25 hype.

Throw all that out the window. The Tigers handled K-State Thursday night for a 76-65 road win.

Former Wildcat guard Cam Carter was superb, scoring 20 points on 6-of-11 shots. Guard Jordan Sears added 15, while Daimion Collins and Vyctorius Miller combined for 27 points off the bench.

Dug McDaniel had 16 points in his first start for Kansas State (2-1), but the team not only shot just 37% from the field, and was out-rebounded 43-25. By the end, K-State seemed frustrated by just about everything.

K-State coach Jerome Tang said the “butt whooping” was on him. "I want to apologize that we didn't give an effort that was worthy of wearing a K-State uniform, and that falls solely on my shoulders. I did not do a very good job of having our guys prepared today."

If Kansas State ends as a middle-tier Big 12 team, the conference’s collective strength should make them top-75 in future NET rankings, making this a Quad 1 victory for LSU. That helps the SEC from top to bottom, even if the Tigers don’t become a postseason team.

What’s this say about the Big 12 and the SEC overall? The two conferences will vie to be the sport’s best league this season. They have a combined eight teams in the AP Top 25 and 16 in KenPom’s Top 25. It’s early, but the leagues are 2-2 in head-to-head matchups.

Overall, the SEC is rated higher overall on KenPom and is 43-5 overall. The Big 12 is 41-4.

Beyond the head-to-head matchups, both leagues also have more quality wins overall. Here’s the best from each league thus far:

• ACC: Wake beat Michigan

• Big Ten: Ohio State beat Texas 

• Big East: None

• Big 12: UCF over A&M, Kansas over Michigan State, Baylor over Arkansas, Kansas over UNC

• SEC: Auburn over Houston, Kentucky over Duke, Tennessee over Louisville, LSU over K-State

Starting on Friday, these other high-major leagues have opportunities to build some resumes. But right now, the Big 12 and SEC are ahead.

2. Maybe Arizona State’s for real + more recaps

Thursday’s Hall of Fame Series matchup between Arizona State and Grand Canyon got a big boost with the return of Tyon Grant-Foster, last season’s WAC Player of the Year. Turns out the Lopes needed a little bit more.

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