Around SEC Basketball: November 4

Written By Tucker Harlin

By Tucker Harlin

The 2024-25 SEC basketball season tipped off Monday evening.

Of the 16 teams in the league, 13 of them played Monday. LSU, Auburn, and Arkansas are waiting to tip their seasons off Wednesday.

Most of the Monday games were buy games so I’ll be skipping a lot of them, but there were two surprising results among the buy games that you should care about.

#13 TEXAS A&M 61 @ UCF 64

I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t forecast a slow start for a Buzz Williams Texas A&M team. Williams’ teams always drop several non conference games they shouldn’t only to put together a strong SEC campaign and a run to the SEC tournament semifinals at minimum.

The Aggies lost on the road to UCF, who was in the middle of tough Big 12 pack last season. Johnny Dawkins has led the Knights to the NCAA tournament in his tenure in Orlando, so this is a competent bunch.

The field goal percentages on both ends was in the 30s, so the defense was where the Aggies would like it to be. The really frustrating part of this game for A&M was the fact it led by 11 with just over six minutes to play and let the game get away.

Minnesota transfer Pharrel Payne was the brightest spot for the Aggies, scoring 6/9 shots inside and scoring 15 for the game. However, both Payne and rebounding magnet Andersson Garcia fouled out of this game.

Additionally, preseason All-SEC guard Wade Taylor was a chilly 4/15 from the floor.

NORTH FLORIDA 74 @ SOUTH CAROLINA 71

I can’t say I was high on South Carolina off Lamont Paris’ first tournament appearance, but I also can’t say I thought the target on South Carolina’s back would weigh this heavy.

As a certain basketball insider says, losing a buy game is the “epitome of brutality,” and that’s what it was for Gamecock fans in Colonial Life Arena.

What’s generally a strong defensive team went into a full meltdown in the final four minutes. The Ospreys scored 44 in the second half, a mark you don’t see often against South Carolina.

A 14/25 free throw performance isn’t going to help in close games, and seven of those misses came from big men Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle.

The Gamecocks will try to rectify this stinker against South Carolina State Friday.

TENNESSEE TECH 78 @ GEORGIA 83

Mike White’s first win in a high-pressure year at Georgia wasn’t a smooth ride.

Defense was the primary issue for the Bulldogs as the Golden Eagles never allowed for a deficit to expand past 10 points, shooting just shy of 40% from distance. On the note of three-point shooting, nobody in the Georgia starting lineup hit a three all night.

But there were some positives from this escape.

Transfer guard Dakota Leffew scored all of Georgia’s made threes and Clemson transfer R.J. Godfrey posted a double-double of 10 and 10.

Most impressive was freshman forward Asa Newell, who posted a double-double of 26 and 11, tying Dominique Wilkins for most points in a freshman debut in Athens.

MISSOURI 75 @ MEMPHIS 83

Missouri put together a respectable first half but let the other Tigers blitz it with a 51-spot in the next half.

There’s some gelling to be done with Dennis Gates’ bunch as starters Josh Gray and Mark Mitchell are acquainting themselves as transfers. Mizzou’s best returning scorer going into the season was Tamar Bates, but he only scored 13 in the loss.

Memphis guard P.J. Haggerty also gave Mizzou fits by scoring 21 of his 25 total points in the second half.

There are brighter days ahead for Mizzou, but Dennis Gates has lost 20 consecutive games.

USF 83 vs #21 FLORIDA 98 (Jacksonville)

If you aren’t allowed to pick Nate Oats’ offense at Alabama, Todd Golden’s offense at Florida may be the best in the SEC coming into the season. By the way, Golden’s Gators spanked Oats and the Tide in Gainesville at the end of the regular season and in the SEC tournament in 2024.

Florida trailed by a point to a strong USF team at the half, but the defense got enough stops while the offense scored an impressive 59 in the second half. Keep in mind, the Gators only shot 20% from the three-point line.

Preseason All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr. and his colleague Will Richard scored 10 field goals apiece against the Bulls while forward Alex Condon and Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin scored 13 points apiece.

27 made free throws also goes a long way. But don’t worry, Olivier Rioux isn’t seeing the floor, so officials don’t have to give him the Zach Edey whistle.

OHIO STATE 80 vs #19 TEXAS 72 (Las Vegas)

The Longhorns trailed from the jump in their opening day loss to Ohio State in the Hall of Fame Classic.

Ohio State went 14/28 from distance, 10 of those makes coming in the first half. Texas didn’t have such fortune at the three-point line, scoring just 7/28 on the night.

The brightest spot for Texas in the loss was the play of freshman Tre Johnson, who went 10/20 from the field and scored 29 points as a result.

Outside of Johnson, forwards Arthur Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick were the only two players to hit double digits, both with 10 points.

The schedule lightens up for the Longhorns over the next three games, but they’ll go right back to facing power five competition soon enough.

Tucker Harlin
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