SEC basketball week five: surprises and turnarounds

Texas A&M continues to prove itself the class of SEC basketball, Tennessee the biggest surprise, and the unlikely Missouri turnaround project continues.

America is noticing SEC basketball.

For the second consecutive week, three SEC basketball teams rank in the AP top 10. Florida ranks number five, Texas A&M is number seven, and Kentucky number eight. Tennessee ranks number 24 while Alabama, Mississippi State and Georgia are receiving votes

Texas A&M is Tops

Texas A&M is enjoying its best start since the 2008 season. This week, the Aggies beat Prairie View 73-53, but took their first loss to Arizona, 67-64.

Against Arizona, A&M had a 40-22 edge for points in the paint and a season-high-tying 10 steals. Arizona countered with a 24-10 advantage in free throw attempts. Aggie Junior Tyler Davis scored a game-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting to crack the 20-point mark for the eighth time in his career.

Alabama also lost a tight game to Arizona in week five, 88 – 82, despite freshman Colin Sexton’s 30 points.

The Tennessee Volunteers surprise

Tennessee head Coach Rick Barnes kept his Volunteers ahead of schedule, blending a large crop of newcomers with veterans to beat Georgia Tech 77-70 and Lipscomb 81-71. Tennessee’s record is now 7 – 1.

The Volunteers are so far the surprise SEC basketball team. After being picked to finish thirteenth in the conference, Tennessee is now ranked number 24 nationally by the AP and has the leading active scorer in Division 1, James Daniel III. Daniel’s career point total is 1972. Tennessee also leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.2 percent and in assists with 19.1 per game.

LSU won against UNC-Wilmington 87-74 and is 5 and 2. The Tigers are shooting 52.6 percent from the field, fifth best in the nation.