The SEC, ACC, and ESPN announced on Nov. 28 the formation of the SEC/ACC Challenge for men’s and women’s basketball, which will begin as part of the 2023-24 season.

Check out our recent SEC Men’s Basketball Update:

· SEC Player of the Week – Florida forward Colin Castleton, a 6-foot-11, 250-pound graduate from Deland, Fla., averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds in wins at LSU and against No. 20 Missouri. Against Missouri, Castleton became the first SEC player this century to post 16 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocked shots in a conference game. He scored his 1,000th point as a Gator in the win against Missouri. Castleton’s 12 free throws made and 15 free throw attempts at LSU were both career highs, as he led the Gators in scoring with 18 points.

· SEC Freshman of the Week – Alabama forward Brandon Miller, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound freshman from Antioch, Tenn., averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in wins over No. 15 Arkansas and LSU. He shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the field, 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from 3-point range, and 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the free throw line. Miller made seven 3-pointers against LSU, tying his career high.

· Six teams are receiving mention in the January 16 Associated Press Top 25 highlighted by Alabama (4th), Tennessee (9th), Auburn (16th), and Arkansas (25th). Texas A&M and Missouri are among the teams receiving votes.

· Two teams rank in the Top 10 of the NCAA’s NET rankings (t-1st nationally), nine are in the Top 60 (t-2nd nationally), and 11 are in the Top 100 (2nd nationally).

· Six SEC teams are rated among the top 25 defensive teams in the nation according to KenPom: Tennessee 1st, Mississippi State 7th, Alabama 8th, Auburn 13th, Florida 14th, and Arkansas 22nd.

· LSU’s KJ Williams needs 27 points to reach the 2,000-career point milestone. He will have then reached both the 2,000-career point and 1,000-career rebound milestones.

· Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe recorded his 1,000th career rebound on Dec. 28 at LSU. He now has eclipsed the 1,000-career point and rebound marks.

· Four SEC coaches rank among the winningest active Division I coaches in the nation: John Calipari (4th with 779 wins), Rick Barnes (6th with 768 wins), Bruce Pearl (15th with 628 wins), and Kermit Davis (29th with 475 wins).

· Alabama became the first team since the 1965-66 season to beat two teams ranked No. 1 (North Carolina on Nov. 27 and Houston on Dec. 10) before New Year’s Day.

· Tennessee has won four straight games against Associated Press Top five opponents.

· Kentucky was the favorite to win the 2023 SEC championship in a preseason poll of media from around the league and nation. Arkansas was picked to finish second and is followed by Tennessee, Auburn, and Alabama. UK’s Oscar Tshiebwe was selected by the media as the preseason player of the year.

· The SEC has had 27 NCAA Tournament selections over the last three tournaments.

· 14 of 14 SEC teams have made at least one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven tournaments.

· The SEC has had at least one team advance to the Sweet 16 in 31 of the last 32 tournaments.

· Nine different SEC teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 in the last five NCAA Tournaments. All 14 SEC members have advanced to the Sweet 16 since 1996.

· The SEC has advanced at least one team to the Elite Eight in nine of the last 12 tournaments.

· The SEC has advanced a team to the Final Four six of the last 11 tournaments.

· 50 SEC players have been selected in the last five NBA Drafts. That leads all conferences: 45 ACC, 33 Big Ten, 33 Pac-12, 25 Big 12 and 14 Big East.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, January 18

*#16 Auburn at LSU ESPN2 7:00 pm

*Florida at Texas A&M SECN 7:00 pm

*#25 Arkansas at Missouri SECN 9:00 pm

Saturday, January 21

*Ole Miss at #25 Arkansas ESPN2 12:00 pm

*Vanderbilt at Georgia SECN 1:00 pm

*Texas A&M at Kentucky ESPN 2:00 pm

*#16 Auburn at South Carolina SECN 3:30 pm

*#9 Tennessee at LSU ESPN 4:00 pm

*#4 Alabama at Missouri SECN 6:00 pm

*Florida at Mississippi State SECN 8:30 pm

Tuesday, January 24

*Missouri at Ole Miss SECN 7:00 pm

*LSU at Arkansas ESPN/2/U 7:00 pm

*Kentucky at Vanderbilt SECN 9:00 pm

Wednesday, January 25

*South Carolina at Florida ESPN2/U 7:00 pm

*Georgia at Tennessee SECN 7:00 pm

*Texas A&M at Auburn ESPN2/U 9:00 pm

*Mississippi State at Alabama SECN 9:00 pm