SEC dramatically weaker this year as surprising reason clearly shows why

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Last year was for SEC basketball what SEC football wishes it is.

The conference made up half the NCAA Tournament field for nearly the entire event. Arkansas, a team that started conference play at 0-5, ultimately finishing in a four-way tie for ninth place at 8-10, officially making it a below average SEC team, advanced to the Sweet 16.

Not only did the SEC dominate other conferences in regular season non-conference games, but to no one's surprise, took home the national championship when Florida put down Houston.

Fast forward a few months and the bravado is definitely gone. Sure, there are still a few teams snagging Top 25 rankings, but it's nothing impressive.

Only five SEC teams are ranked, none of which are in the Top 10. Only Vanderbilt, which has inflated its undefeated record playing a long list of weak programs threatens to crack the upper echelon at No. 11.

Heading into the start of conference play, the SEC is an anemic 9-26 against Top 25 teams. Only Tennessee has a winning record at 2-1 with Arkansas and Alabama trailing behind at second best at 2-3 each.

One big measuring stick showing things aren't what they were last season is the 14-2 record put up in the SEC/ACC Challenge last year fell back to 7-9, which is the worst the SEC has done since it began in 2023 and the only time the conference has posted a losing record.

A big part of the reason is because, for some reason, the SEC has suddenly forgotten how to score. After years of being a league led by huger scorers, that ability has fallen off the table.

For our non-conference leader tabulations and All-SEC Non-Conference team selections, we had to go all the way down into the mid-90s to find an SEC scorer to round out our Top 5. Considering most databases cut off at 100, it almost wasn't possible to put together a full Top 5 because at 17.6 points per game, Alabama's Aden Holloway almost didn't score enough to make the chart.

On top of that, the SEC almost didn't have a single player in double digits, which is what it takes to make the Top 20 in that category. Only Florida's Rueben Chinyelu pull off that feat.

LSU's Pablo Tamba and Auburn's Keyshawn Hall finished in a tie ranging between No. 77 and No. 85 to slide in under the gun at No. 5 in rebounding with eight each. The point is, the SEC is neither good at scoring, nor rebounding, which is a significant problem.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr (5) drives to the basket in the first half against the James Madison Dukes at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

As for the Razorbacks, if it weren't for Darius Acuff, Jr. who makes both the assists leaders and scoring leaders, fitting a well-known philosophy of former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson, then there would be no Hogs among a rather paltry set of statistical leaders.

Richardson once commented that his point guards should always strive to lead the league in both scoring and assists. His thought on the matter was after his guard passed off the ball, if the shot was missed, there was nothing stopping him from fighting for the rebound and putting the shot back.

As for SEC leader Vanderbilt, it appears defense is key to their success as they make up first through third in steals. With Georgia having players show up in free throw percentage, assists and multiple blocks leaders, their appearance at No. 2 heading into SEC play makes sense.

Meanwhile, both Arkansas and Alabama played horrific schedules with a combined 10 Top 25 teams, but also appear slightly lower on the list coming out of non-conference than most thought in comparison to some of the other teams because of rosters that have a minor case of one-man shows.

Acuff, while he has had solid support each night, doesn't have another player who consistently plays at a high level each night. The closest is forward Trevon Brazile who will be needed heavily for the Razorbacks to make the run many believe them capable of making this season.

As for Alabama, it's Labaron Philon, Jr. who is carrying the bulk of the weight as a high producer both in assists and scoring, much like the Hogs' Acuff. However, one promising sign is Philon gets a ton of defensive support in the paint from massive big man Aiden Sherrill, who leads the league by a mile in blocks with almost three per game, including eight each against No. 1 Arizona and Clemson.

With it being a much weaker conference, it's certainly there for the taking. The one thing that is clear is it's a good thing John Calipari had his team rack up on Quad 1 games in the non-conference. No. 11 Vanderbilt isn't likely to stay highly ranked for long now that cupcake row is complete and it remains to be seen whether Georgia can hold it together against a relatively tougher schedule also.

Tennessee and Alabama provide sure opportunities beginning with the Hogs' SEC opener today. Florida, with its extreme case of buyer's remorse in regard to former Arkansas guard Boogie Fland, appears to be the only other possibility.

With that game being on the road in Gainesville, it's much more likely that one holds up, although it may not be by much. However, not by much is all Calipari and his Razorbacks need to bump their resume just good enough to crack a Top 4 seeding this year.

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