Florida Gators

AUBURN, Ala. — When the phone conversation last summer was wrapping up, Bruce Pearl was asked if he was looking forward to coaching against Todd Golden.

"I'm very proud of him, but it won't be any fun," Pearl said. "He's going to try to kick my ass and I'm going to try to kick his ass." 

And there you have it.

And now here we are. 

Credit the folks at the Southeastern Conference. They know storylines and have a sense of humor. As such, Golden and his new team, the Florida Gators (7-5, 0-0), will open league play Wednesday night at Neville Arena against Pearl and the Auburn Tigers (10-2, 0-0) program he began resurrecting from irrelevance with Golden by his side almost nine years ago. 

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup]

In between his junior and senior seasons at Saint Mary's, Golden took a summer playing for a US-Maccabi team in Australia. Steve Pearl, Bruce's son, was on the team and a couple years later Golden played point guard for the Bruce Pearl's team in the Maccabi Games (aka "The Jewish Olympics") as a prelude to his two professional seasons in Israel. A few years later, after tiring of a job in advertising, Golden turned to the coaching profession, with his first job at Columbia. He'd done two years in the Ivy League when Pearl was hired at Auburn in 2014 and called Golden to offer entre' into the SEC. A basketball operations post for the first season turned into a full-time assistant's post in the second and Golden's coaching career was on the move. 

Golden, 37, will say the foundation of his coaching is rooted in the ways of Randy Bennett, who he played point guard for at Saint Mary's, and Kyle Smith, who was on Bennett's staff, but branched off and eventually hired Golden at both Columbia and later at San Francisco, paving the way for his first head job. 

But his two seasons alongside Pearl at Auburn gave him an altogether different perspective of how the job could be done, as well as the importance of relationship-building. 

"My two years with Bruce and my almost 15 years of knowing him well have been very influential to different aspects with how I coach, in terms of the relationships with our guys, trying to build strong relationships and the recruiting piece," Golden said. "I always felt he was the hardest-working recruiter, just being out and really working the phones a lot; and really galvanizing the community around the program, whether it's season-ticket holders, boosters, alums or former players. I always understood the family and bringing it all together. So I definitely pulled a lot from those two years with him, with regard to how we're trying to build this [UF] program and get it back going." 

During his three seasons as head coach at San Francisco, Golden imagined returning to Auburn to play a game one day — he has nothing but fond memories of the place — perhaps bringing his Dons cross-country on an east coast road swing. The thought of making his SEC debut on the road against one of his mentors, however, never occurred to him. Why would it?

As it turns out, Pearl, now 61, is one of the reasons Golden will be standing on the opposite sidelines. And when Golden takes his place on the opposite sideline, yes, Pearl's ass-kicking statement definitely will apply. 

"Both in the arena together, in a way, it's a little surreal," Golden said. "No I didn't see it coming."

What a way to get the conference season rolling. So, with that, let's take a twirl around the league, starting with where the 14 SEC teams currently stand. 

SEC Standings (pre-conference play)

Team (AP ranking)	Record	NET Ranking	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak	SEC opener
Arkansas (10)	11-1	10th	7-0	0-0	4-1	W-7	Wednesday at LSU
LSU	11-1	81st	8-0	0-0	3-1	W-6	Wednesday vs ARK
Mississippi State (21)	11-1	26th	6-0	1-0	4-1	L-1	Wednesday vs ALA
Missouri	11-1	40th	9-1	1-0	2-0	W-2	Wednesday vs KY
Alabama (9)	10-2	8th	6-0	2-0	2-2	W-1	Wednesday at MISS ST
Auburn (20)	10-2	28th	7-0	1-1	2-1	W-1	Wednesday vs FLA
Tennessee (8)	10-2	3rd	6-0	0-1	4-1	W-1	Wednesday at MISS
Georgia	9-3	136th	7-0	0-2	2-2	W-2	Jan. 4 vs AUB
Kentucky (19)	8-3	31st	7-0	0-1	1-2	W-1	Wednesday at MIZ
Ole Miss	8-4	92nd	6-2	0-1	2-1	L-1	Wednesday vs TEN
Florida	7-5	65th	4-2	1-0	2-3	L-1	Wednesday at AUB
Texas A&M	7-5	110th	4-1	1-1	1-3	W-1	Jan. 4 at FLA
South Carolina	6-6	272nd	5-0	1-2	0-4	W-1	Jan. 3 at VANDY
Vanderbilt	6-6	142nd	4-3	1-1	1-2	W-1	Jan. 3 vs SC

 

THE COACHES

For two consecutive seasons, the pandemic-hammered 2020-21 and '21-22 campaigns, the SEC experienced zero coaching turnover. Pretty remarkable to have back-to-back seasons of coaching stability, given the fragile and ferocious competitive nature of the business.

So it was probably no surprise that the '22-23 saw wicked turnover in the league, including on the UF home front. 

Tom Crean was fired at Georgia after a disastrous four-season run and replaced by Florida's Mike White, who was replaced by Golden, who opted not to raid his former roster and bring San Francisco players to Gainesville. That was not the case for a couple of his conference brothers. LSU fired Will Wade amid an ugly NCAA investigation and filled his spot with Matt McMahon, by way of Murray State, an NCAA Tournament regular, with McMahon bringing three of his best Racers to Baton Rouge. Mississippi State cut ties with Ben Howland after seven seasons and brought in Chris Jans, who had four seasons of at least 25 wins over the past five at New Mexico State and went to three tournaments. Missouri cut ties with Cuonzo Martin after five seasons and just two NCAA trips and brought in Dennis Gates, one of Leonard Hamilton's top lieutenants at Florida State who left Tallahassee three years and worked wonders at Cleveland State the last three years. Gates brought his best Vikings with him to Columbia. And South Carolina showed Frank Martin the door after 10 seasons and one tournament appearance, bringing on Lamont Paris from Tennessee-Chattanooga. 

Nearly two months in and the new guys have mostly distinguished themselves quite well. White already has eclipsed Crean's win total from last season. Jans has the Bulldogs ranked and rolling, while Gates has the Tigers on the doorstep of the Top 25 after they absolutely demolished 16th-ranked Illinois in a neutral-site meeting at St. Louis last week. Some of the aforementioned teams haven't exactly played a murderer's row of opponents, but that's about to change. Welcome to the SEC, gentlemen.
 

THE TEAMS 

The case for the best in the league looks like a neck-and-neck horse race between Tennessee and Alabama, currently the nation's Nos. 8 and 9 teams, with Arkansas right behind them at No. 10, but dealing with injury issues. 

The Crimson Tide have some good-looking victories on their resume, including wins over Michigan State and North Carolina (in quadruple overtime) sandwiched around a blowout loss to Connecticut at the PK Invitational in Portland last month. Their other loss came against Gonzaga in a semi-home date in Birmingham, but both of those defeats against excellent teams are covered by the Tide's upset of then-No. 1 Houston on the road. Bama coach Nate Oates plays fast, bombs 3s and has one of the best young bigs in the country (read on). We'll tab them as the favorites, by a nose. 

The Volunteers lost a weird one early, falling to Colorado in a game at Nashville just days after the Buffaloes were beaten by Grambling. UT, though, rolled through the Battle 4 Atlantis, beating reigning NCAA champ Kansas, before a road setback at Arizona last week. The Vols are a balanced, veteran bunch, led by four-year starting point guard Santiago Vescovi, with that calling card Rick Barnes toughness. 

The Razorbacks, with Coach Eric Musselman making seismic recruiting waves last offseason, were a fashionable pick to win the league, even with a roster highlighted by five freshman, including a trio of McDonald's All Americans. But Arkansas lost marquee transfer Trevon Brazile to a season-ending knee injury and freshman phenom Nick Smith, the highest-ranked recruit in program history, was announced out "indefinitely" with a knee injury last week. Smith also missed the first six games of the season due to injury, but was averaging 16.6 points when the latest one hit. His longterm status is uncertain.

What about Kentucky, you ask? The Wildcats, for now, check in after these three teams, but they can never be ruled out.
 

THE METRICS 

The Tennessee-Alabama-Arkansas triumvirate is confirmed by all the data running through the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool), KenPom.com and the like. That said, the same numbers say dismissing Kentucky and Auburn would be a mistake (not than anyone is doing that). 

Both the NET and KP rate the SEC as the third-best league in the country, behind the Big 12 and Big Ten, but ahead of the Big East, Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference. The NET places three league teams in its top 10 — Tennessee (3), Alabama (8) and Arkansas (10) and another two — Mississippi State (26) and Auburn (28) — in the top 30. KenPom likes the SEC even more, with five teams in its top 16, though it shuffles the order some at the top: Tennessee (3), Arkansas (9), Kentucky (10), Alabama (12), Auburn (16). 

And then there's the Quadrant games, which we talk a lot about in this space, especially in game previews and recaps. The NET basically asks three questions: Who did you play? Where did you play them? And who did you beat? Its power rankings define Quadrant 1 opportunities (the so-called "gold star" games for a resume) in three ways: Playing a top 30-ranked NET team at home; playing a top 50 NET team on a neutral floor; or playing a top 75 NET team on the road. The parameters change to Q-2, Q-3 or Q-4 games as the rankings of the respective teams decrease. 

Florida has played five Quad-1 games, more than any team in the league, with only Alabama with as many as four, and Arkansas, Tennessee and Ole Miss with three. The remaining nine SEC teams have played two or less. That's good news for the Gators, but the bad news far outweighs the good. Blows the good away, actually.

Yes, the Gators are 0-5 in those Quad 1 games, with their sixth crack coming Wednesday night at Auburn.

Again, the NET rewards aggressive scheduling, but not without some success. 

Right now, it's looking like a six-bid league, but obviously much can change over 126 conference games (plus the SEC/Big 12 Challenge next month). 
 

THE SCHEDULES 

Speaking of scheduling, kudos to Alabama (5), Auburn (24) and Tennessee (26), who thus far are the only SEC teams to play a non-conference slate worthy of a top-30 ranking. Games against Liberty, Michigan State, UConn, UNC, Memphis, Houston and Gonzaga have the Crimson Tide with seven NET top 75 opponents, including games against Nos. 1 and 2. 

Ole Miss, at No. 44, is the only other SEC team that checks in among the top 50 in strength of schedule. The Gators? Even with those Quad-1s (five against the top 47, including three against the top 13) they show up at No. 62 because six of their seven wins are Quad-4 games. The seventh is a Q-3.
 

THE PLAYERS 

Here's eight you need to know. 

* Note: UF forward Colin Castleton could be on this list (so could a handful of others), but this is a look elsewhere around the league. 

* Note II: Smith, of Arkansas, definitely would be in here — he's being talked about as a top-3 NBA pick — but injuries have limited him to just five games and who knows when (or if) the Razorbacks will get him back?  

* Brandon Miller, Alabama (forward, 6-9/200) — In a league that returns the NCAA and SEC player of the year, the Crimson Tide superstar freshman gets the nod at the top of this list. The McDonald's All American from Antioch, Tenn. (think the Vols were hurt by this defection) went for 36 points and six rebounds in the loss to Gonzaga, giving two-time All American Drew Timme fits in the post. Through his first 12 collegiate games, Miller actually is shooting better from the 3-point line (.442) than from 2 (.388), so just wait until he gets that figured out. Even so, Miller is averaging 19.3 points, tied for first in the conference, to go with 8.7 rebounds (fourth) and is projected as a top-five pick in the draft next summer.  

* Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (forward, 6-9/260) — Perhaps it was fitting that the Wildcats' tireless low-post workhorse, who set a UK record with 27 double-doubles last season, did a different double-double by being named the 2022 NCAA and SEC player of the year. Since the pros weren't all in on him, Tshiebwe came back for a fourth college season (thank you, NIL). He started the season on the injured list, but made his season debut with a 22-point, 18-rebound outing in a loss to Michigan State and has five double-doubles in nine games, while averaging 15.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and scoring at 56.4 percent.  * Anthony Black, Arkansas (guard, 6-7/200) — One of those marquee five-star freshmen for the Hogs and, like Smith, he already has top-five draft buzz. Black scored 26 points in back-to-back games (win over Louisville, loss to Creighton) and currently sits at 12.6 points per game, over 51 percent from the floor and 39 from distance. He's not just a scorer, either, Black has seven games of at least five rebounds and six with at least four assists. 

* GG Jackson II, South Carolina (forward, 6-9/210) — He should still be in high school. Instead, Jackson will likely do his one college season and be in the NBA (a likely top-10 pick) next year when he should be a freshman. Jackson was rated the No. 1 overall prospect in the country for the 2024 class, but not only reclassified to '23 but also decommited from North Carolina to play for his hometown Gamecocks. He's at 16.6 points, 7.4 boards and 1.1 blocks per. * K.J. Williams, LSU (forward, 6-10/245) — Williams hasn't had to go night in and out against SEC bigs, but so far he's putting up the kind of fat numbers he tallied during four seasons playing in the Ohio Valley Conference, including last year's run to the NCAA Tournament's second round. He's currently tied with Miller as the league's scoring leader, but along with those 19.3 points (on 55.7-percent shooting overall, plus 37.9 from deep) are 8.3 rebounds. Williams already has three games of at least 28 points, including a 35-point, 10-rebound outing in a win over Wake Forest that saw him hit 14 of 21 shots and seven of nine 3-balls. Sheesh.

* Kobe Brown, Missouri (forward, 6-7/240) — Brown stuck it out through both the good and the bad at Mizzoui and maybe now will be rewarded for it. The Tigers are off to a better start than anticipated (at least externally) and Brown did not get lost in the influx of Gates' guys from Cleveland State. He is not only a box-score stuffer (14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists per game), but deadly efficient on the offensive end at at 61.5 percent overall and 44.4 from the arc.  * Cason Wallace, Kentucky (guard, 6-4/195) — He was a top-10 prospect and headline signee of the Wildcats. He has not disappointed, either, playing very well in some of UK's biggest games. Wallace is just shy of 12 points per game and hitting 50 percent overall, including a sizzling 22-for-44 from the 3-point line, with his last go a 27-point outburst against Florida A&M. Wallace has a complete game on offense (3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists), but also may be the best perimeter defender in the league, which is another reason he's in lottery-pick conversations. How 'bout eight steals against Michigan State? Eight! He's at 2.5 swipes per.

* Ricky Council IV, Arkansas (guard, 6-6/205) — He trails only Miller and Williams in conference scoring, with his best outing a 26-point display (plus five boards) in a win over Oklahoma. Council, a Wichita State transfer, is not a great 3-point shooter (just over 31 percent), but he is an elite driver and finisher, evidenced by that 51.6-percent overall shooting percentage despite his misses from deep.