3MW’s All Conference Team:
Player of the Year: Immanuel Quickley, So., Kentucky
Coach of the Year: John Calipari Kentucky
Newcomer of the Year: Isaac Okoro, Fr., Auburn
Freshman of the Year: Anthony Edwards, Georgia
You can’t stop me from splitting those awards! Okoro was nearly as good defensively as Edwards was on offense (maybe better?), and he did it for a team that finish 11 spots higher in the standings. That’s enough for me to want to award both.
Season Storylines:
Despite a somewhat rocky non-conference portion of the year, Kentucky was on a tier of its own in the SEC, winning the conference by three games thanks to the emergence of Immanuel Quickley into a superstar (and the steady presences of Ashton Hagans and Nick Richards).
As for the other predicted Tier 1 team, well, let’s just say Florida did not live up to expectations. Mike White seemed to be the largest reason, but Kerry Blackshear, Noah Locke, and the freshman class all underperformed to expectations; I wouldn’t say White used their talents well, though.
Obviously, my love of Alabama and Mississippi backfired completely, although the Tide’s endless string of injuries was a major reason for that. I will be back on board the Oats Bandwagon in 2020-21, for better or for worse, particularly if Kira Lewis returns (unexpected at this point).
Anthony Edwards became the latest top 5 NBA Draft pick to play for an irrelevant college basketball squad, joining the illustrious careers of Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz (don’t you DARE say Michael Porter Jr., his team made the NCAA Tournament! Georgia has an exceedingly young roster, but the Dawgs were even more maddeningly inconsistent than expected, blowing multiple huge leads in the second halves of games.
And yes, Mizzou makes me sad. Very, very sad.
Tournament Preview
This tournament feels ripe for a run by a desperate bubble team, and there are no shortage of them here: Mississippi State, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee could all put themselves in the NCAA Tournament with a run to the championship game, and the league is so wide open that even a Texas A&M (playing quite well down the stretch), Alabama, or Missouri could find its way into the tournament’s later rounds.
Kentucky is the favorite, though the ‘Cats have a slight question mark following a one-game “personal reasons” absence for Ashton Hagans. It sounds like he’s back with the team and ready to rock, though:
Also in the top half of the bracket, Florida has a huge uncertainty of its own, as Kerry Blackshear may miss the entire event with a sprained wrist. While he has not been the star that many (including myself) expected, he’s a strong, smart scorer in the paint, and he opens things up for the rest of the roster when he’s on the floor.
Both of those factors open the door a bit for MY Crimson Tide, Rick Barnes’ Vols, or Ben Howland’s Bulldogs.
Even with that, I still think the bottom half of the bracket is even more wide open, as I don’t trust LSU or Auburn whatsoever. The Bayou Bengals don’t guard anything, and Bruce Pearl’s bunch is one of the more mercurial teams in the country. I’ll take Arkansas or South Carolina over LSU, and I could easily see either one taking down Auburn, too.
Tournament Predictions
(12) Ole Miss over (13) Georgia
(11) Arkansas over (14) Vanderbilt
(9) Alabama over (8) Tennessee
(12) Ole Miss over (5) Florida
(10) Missouri over (7) Texas A&M
(6) South Carolina over (11) Arkansas
(1) Kentucky over (9) Alabama
(12) Ole Miss over (4) Mississippi State
(2) Auburn over (10) Missouri
(6) South Carolina over (3) LSU
(1) Kentucky over (12) Ole Miss
(6) South Carolina over (2) Auburn
(1) Kentucky over (6) South Carolina