SEC Player of the Week
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
This week’s SEC Player of the Week is Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford. The 6’1 freshman guard is coming off a great performance in the Tigers’ 87-69 win over Purdue. He tallied 18 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block on 58.3% shooting from the field, 50% from beyond the arc and a perfect 100% from the charity stripe. Despite not being their leading scorer in that game, the Tigers would not have won without Pettiford’s efforts. Not having missed a free throw yet this season, his 11.3 points in 21 minutes per game have been crucial to No. 2 Auburn’s success.
Who’s Hot
Mark Sears, Alabama
I highlighted Mark Sears as my SEC Player of the Week in my first blog of the year, and he’s not cooled off since then. In fact, he hasn’t scored less than 16 points in a game this month, notching 16 against Kent State, 20 against No. 20 North Carolina, 23 against North Dakota and 27 against Creighton. He’s averaging 17.8 points this season, shooting 40.4% from the field, 32.9% from three and 80.5% from the line. The Crimson Tide likely wouldn’t be ranked as highly as they are (#5) without his stellar play.
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Like the aforementioned Sears, Wade Taylor IV has been on a hot streak in the month of December as well. A 6’0 senior, Taylor IV has played 3 games this month, scoring 15 points twice (against No. 11 Purdue and Wake Forest) and 19 against Texas Tech. He’s the Aggies’ leading scorer, posting 16 points per night, along with 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists on 38.5, 36, 87.5 shooting splits. Texas A&M has improved to the 13th best team in the country via the recent AP Poll, and it sounds like Taylor IV won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
Who’s Not
Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats are coming off a very rough loss to Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. They went down 9 at halftime and didn’t put up a much better fight in the 2nd half, losing 85-65 and falling to 10-2 on the season. The once 4th-ranked team nationally is now 10th. While Kentucky saw Otega Oweh score 21 points, only 2 other players scored in double digits as the Wildcats shot 4/22 from beyond the arc as a team. They’ll have a chance to get back on track when they face Brown on New Year’s Eve, but losing to the unranked Buckeyes isn’t a good sign.
Curtis Givens III, LSU
A 6’3 freshman, Givens III is having a rough start to his collegiate career. In 13.2 minutes per game, the Tigers’ guard is averaging 4.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.3 steals on 27.4% shooting from the field, 25% from downtown and 71.4% from the free-throw line. While he earns the 9th highest amount of minutes on the team, he could still be playing better in a small sample size. LSU is 10-2 and could use a boost from Givens III as they enter conference play.
Top 5: SEC Juniors
1. Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt
Edwards was mentioned in my Who’s Hot section of last week’s blog. A 6’1 guard, he’s averaging the most points per game (18.9) among juniors in the country. Across 12 games, he’s also posting 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals. He’s shooting nearly 50% from the field and nearly 85% from the line. The North Texas transfer has been key for the Commodores, who are 11-1 to start the year.
2. Adou Thiero, Arkansas
Thiero transferred to Arkansas prior to his season and has been great so far. Across 11 games, the 6’8 forward is putting up 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. While he hasn’t been spectacular shooting the three ball or from the free-throw line, he’s shooting 61.9% from the field overall which is excellent. Thiero has been a big time player for coach John Calipari and the Razorbacks, who are now once again in the AP Poll at 23rd best in the country.
3. Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Oweh is a transfer from Oklahoma, now an SEC team themselves, but he’s improved drastically since he jumped to a new conference. Many of his stats have progressed; points per game (11.4 to 16.2), assists per game (1 to 1.7), field-goal percentage (49.3 to 50.4) and free-throw percentage (64.3 to 80.6). As previously mentioned, the 6’4 guard was the team’s leading scorer in a brutal loss to Ohio State. Regardless of the outcome of games, Oweh has been a pleasant surprise for the 10-2 Wildcats, one of the SEC’s better teams this season.
4. Mark Mitchell, Missouri
Mitchell left the ACC’s Duke Blue Devils for the SEC’s Missouri Tigers this past offseason. A 6’9 guard, Mitchell has declined in his shooting splits compared to last season but has added some defense to his skillset, averaging 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in 12 games played. He’s also improved his scoring, posting 13.8 points per contest which is 2.2 more than last year. Mitchell and the Tigers will face Alabama State next, with tip off at 7:30 eastern on December 30th.
5. Devin McGlockton, Vanderbilt
Why not have two good juniors? Vandy’s Devin McGlockton has been a nice complimentary piece to Jason Edwards this season. Standing 6’7, the Commodores’ forward is recording 11.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1 assist per night on 65.9% shooting overall. A Boston College transfer, he’s played roughly 7 less minutes per game but has improved from his sophomore year and is averaging nearly 2 blocks per game. Want to watch him and Jason Edwards play? You can catch their next matchup on December 30th at 8:00 eastern as they face New Orleans.