- The Field of 68 Daily
- Posts
- The SEC is downright ridiculous
The SEC is downright ridiculous
Georgia won by more than 50. Texas got 42 from Jordan Pope. And these are the teams fighting to finish in the upper half of the standings! Plus, another non-D-I team got a surprising win, Louisiana makes a change, San Diego State still adjusting to injuries, and a look at the CBS Sports Classic.
Tristan Freeman
December 20, 2024
Good morning. It’s tough out here for non-conference schedules.
1. Two more examples of a stacked SEC
Buffalo (5-6) is off to a solid start. It already surpassed last season’s 4-win total and has been competitive in losses to St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame. But it got a first-hand look at the historically good SEC on Thursday.
Georgia demolished the Bulls, 100-49, scoring an absurd 1.45 points per possession, and shooting 53.6% from the field. Six players hit double figures, including 16 notable points off the bench from De'Shayne Montgomery, who made his season debut.
The Mount St. Mary’s transfer gives Georgia (10-1) another potential double-digit scorer and athletic defender.
De'Shayne Montgomery throws it down 😤
(via @SECNetwork)
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB)
1:24 AM • Dec 20, 2024
Georgia doesn’t have the same kind of elite profile as other SEC teams. St. John’s and Georgia Tech are its marquee wins. But they’re up to 35 in KenPom and 24 in the NET. They have experience, depth, and top-tier talent, led by Asa Newell (16 points in the win over Buffalo).
Just like most (all?) of the other SEC schools.
Texas trounced New Orleans on Thursday, 98-62, which was expected. What wasn’t expected was that it would be Oregon State transfer Jordan Pope leading the way.
Texas guard Jordan Pope scored 42 points tonight, most at UT in 28 years, 5 days (Reggie Freeman - 43 vs. Fresno State on 12/14/96)
Crazier? With 6:30 to go in the 1st half, Pope had 1 point. He didn't make his first FG until the 6:22 mark -- and then scored his final points… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Bob Ballou (@BobBallouSports)
3:57 AM • Dec 20, 2024
Pope entered the game averaging 9.0 ppg. He’s now averaging 11.7 ppg and is third on the team in scoring. He came to Austin capable of putting up lots of points — he averaged 17.6 ppg last season with Oregon State — but this breakout is significant for a team that until now had really been leaning on freshman Tre Johnson (19.9 ppg) and senior Arthur Kaluma (14.6 ppg).
The Horns (10-2) are now 35th in KenPom and 47th in the NET. That gives the league 14 of its 16 teams in the top 50 of the NET and 13 of 16 in KenPom’s top 50.
It’s hard to be impressed by what the SEC does anymore, but performances like Thursday just reinforces how much individual talent and overall depth the league has.
2. Another day, another non-D-I team gets a surprising win
We may have to redefine buy games. After Green Bay lost to D-II Michigan Tech, Rice suffered the same outcome against UNT Dallas. Except this loss was even more surprising considering UNT Dallas competes at the NAIA level.
