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· SEC Player of the Week – Arkansas guard Khalif Battle, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound junior from Hillside, N.J., averaged 28.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in wins at Texas A&M and against Missouri. He started the week with 15 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the free throw line in the win at Texas A&M. Against Missouri, he scored 42 points on just 15 shots (11-of-15) while going 14-of-14 at the line. The career-high 42 points are the most by an SEC player this season. He scored half (26 points) of the Razorbacks’ 52 second half points, including 19 of Arkansas’s points on a 24-10 run.
· SEC Co-Freshmen of the Week – Kentucky guard Justin Edwards and Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard were named Co-Freshmen of the week. Edwards, a 6-foot-8, 203-pound guard from Philadelphia, Pa., averaged 18.5 points per game and shot 92.9 percent from the field, 87.5 percent from 3-point range and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe against LSU at Alabama. He erupted for a career-high 28 points against No. 13 Alabama, going 10 of 10 from the field, 4 of 4 from 3-point range and 4 of 5 at the free throw stripe. Hubbard, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound freshman from Madison, Miss., averaged 18.5 points and 1.5 assists in wins over Ole Miss and at LSU. He exploded for a season-best 32 points at LSU.
§ Six SEC teams are ranked in the February 26 Associated Press poll: 4th Tennessee, 11th Auburn, 14th Alabama, 16th Kentucky, 18th South Carolina, 24th Florida.
§ Ten of the SEC’s 14 teams have been ranked in the Associated Press poll at one point this season.
§ The SEC’s three Top 10 NET teams are tied for the most in the nation, four Top 20 are the second-most, and seven Top 50 teams are second-most in the nation (as of Feb. 29).
§ Five SEC teams (1. Alabama, 7. Kentucky, 13. Auburn, 15. Florida, 18. Tennessee) rank in the Top 20 of KenPom’s offensive efficiency rankings.
§ Three SEC teams (3. Tennessee, 6. Auburn, 17. Mississippi State) rank in the Top 20 of KenPom’s defensive efficiency rankings.
§ Three SEC teams rank in the Top 5 nationally in attendance: 1. Arkansas (324,705/19,100 avg), 3. Kentucky (318,048/19,878 avg), 4. Tennessee (292,411/19,494 avg).
§ Kentucky’s John Calipari (810) and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes (801) are the only two active coaches in Division I with 800 or more wins.
§ ESPN’s College Gameday will visit an SEC school for the third time this season when the traveling road show visits Tuscaloosa for Tennessee at Alabama on March 2. College GameDay has also visited Auburn (Kentucky at Auburn on Feb. 17) and Fayetteville (Kentucky at Arkansas on Jan. 17).
§ Three SEC teams were among the NCAA Selection Committee’s Top 16 teams that were announced on February 17: Tennessee (6th/2 seed), Alabama (9th/3 seed) and Auburn (13th/4 seed).
§ Eight former SEC players were named to the 2024 NBA All-Star roster: Bam Adebayo (MIA/UK), Devin Booker (PHX/UK), Anthony Davis (LAL/UK) Anthony Edwards (MIN/UG), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC/UK), Tyrese Maxey (PHI/UK), Julius Randle (NYK/UK), and Karl-Athony Towns (MIN/UK).
§ Three SEC players have been named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 List: Johni Broome (AU), Dalton Knecht (UT), Antonio Reeves (UK).
§ The January 22 AP poll marked the third straight season that the SEC has had three teams in the Top 10 of the Associated Press Poll at the same time.
§ The SEC won the final three games of the first ACC/SEC Challenge to take a 7-7 tie with the ACC. The ACC/SEC Challenge marks the third interconference challenge the SEC has been a part of. The SEC also had events against the Big East (2007-08 to 2012-13) and Big 12 (2013-14 to 2022-23).
§ 60 SEC players have been selected in the last six NBA Drafts. That leads all conferences: 50 ACC, 41 Big Ten, 37 Pac-12, 29 Big 12 and 19 Big East.
§ Three SEC teams won holiday tournament titles this season: Auburn (Legends Classic), Mississippi State (Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off), South Carolina (Arizona Tip-Off).
§ Former Missouri forward Kobe Brown has been honored as a recipient of the NCAA Today’s Top 10 award and was honored at the NCAA Convention in January. The award recognizes former student-athletes for their exceptional athletic and academic achievements, as well as their contributions to their campuses and communities. The SEC led the nation with four honorees, also including Callie Dickinson of Georgia swimming & diving, Ashley Rogers of Tennessee softball and Trinity Thomas of Florida gymnastics.
§ 35 NCAA Tournament selections over the last four tournaments.
§ 92 players from SEC schools were on 2023-24 NBA Opening Day rosters. Twelve of 14 SEC schools are represented and at least one SEC player is on 29 of the 30 NBA rosters.
§ The SEC led all conferences with 10 players selected in the 2023 NBA Draft. Six first round selections also led the nation.
§ 13 SEC players on 2023-24 NBA Opening Day rosters have made an NBA All-Star Game.
§ The first two college players selected in the 2023 NBA Draft – Alabama’s Brandon Miller (2nd overall) and Arkansas’ Anthony Black (6th overall) – were from the SEC.
§ A record-tying 10 SEC teams received postseason bids in 2023. The SEC’s eight NCAA Tournament selections tied its previous best set in 2018. Additionally, two SEC teams competed in the National Invitation Tournament.
§ 14 of 14 SEC teams have made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight tournaments.
§ Nine different SEC teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 in the last six NCAA Tournaments. All 14 SEC members have advanced to the Sweet 16 since 1996.
§ Four SEC coaches have been named national coach of the year: Rick Barnes, Chris Beard, John Calipari and Bruce Pearl.
§ The SEC ranked second nationally with 2,756,659 fans attending games during the 2022-23 season. An average of 11,344 fans attended games at SEC schools in 2023, an increase of 787 from 2022.
§ Three of the top four attendance leaders in 2022-23 were from the SEC. Kentucky led the nation with a total attendance of 357,721, Arkansas ranked third with 323,875) and Tennessee was fourth with 300,496 fans.
SCHEDULE/RESULTS (All Times Eastern):
Tuesday, February 20
Arkansas 78, at Texas A&M 71
#5 Tennessee 72, at Missouri 67
Wednesday, February 21
at #13 Alabama 98, #24 Florida 93 ot
Georgia 76, at Vanderbilt 64
at LSU 75, #17 Kentucky 74
at Mississippi St. 83, Ole Miss 71
Saturday, February 24
at Arkansas 88, Missouri 73
at #24 Florida 77, Vanderbilt 64
#20 South Carolina 72, at Ole Miss 59
at #17 Kentucky 117, #13 Alabama 95
#14 Auburn 97, at Georgia 76
at #5 Tennessee 86, Texas A&M 51
Mississippi St. 87, at LSU 67
Tuesday, February 27
#16 Kentucky 91, at Mississippi St. 89
at LSU 67, Georgia 66
Vanderbilt 85, at Arkansas 82
Wednesday, February 28
at #24 Florida 83, Missouri 74
at #4 Tennessee 92, #11 Auburn 84
#18 South Carolina 70, at Texas A&M 68
#14 Alabama 103, at Ole Miss 88
Saturday, March 2
#24 Florida at #18 South Carolina ESPN/SEC Network 12:00p
Arkansas at #16 Kentucky CBS 1:30p
LSU at Vanderbilt SEC Network 3:30p
Mississippi St. at #11 Auburn ESPN2 4:00p
Texas A&M at Georgia SEC Network 6:00p
#4 Tennessee at #14 Alabama ESPN 8:00p
Ole Miss at Missouri SEC Network 8:30p
Tuesday, March 5
Ole Miss at Georgia SEC Network 7:00p
Alabama at Florida ESPN 7:00p
Auburn at Missouri SEC Network 9:00p
Wednesday, March 6
Tennessee at South Carolina ESPN2 7:00p
LSU at Arkansas SEC Network 7:00p
Mississippi St. at Texas A&M ESPN2/U 9:00p
Vanderbilt at Kentucky SEC Network 9:00p
Saturday, March 9
Arkansas at Alabama ESPN 12:00p
Texas A&M at Ole Miss CBS 2:00p
South Carolina at Mississippi St. SEC Network 2:30p
Kentucky at Tennessee CBS 4:00p
Florida at Vanderbilt SEC Network 4:30p
Georgia at Auburn SEC Network 6:30p
Missouri at LSU SEC Network 8:30p