Top 2 Teams in SEC Battle for Conference Title

The SEC conference regular season title is coming down to the wire. Currently, the Kentucky Wildcats have a 1 game lead over the Vanderbilt Commodores, but that may all change as they square off Saturday at 6pm ET.

Vanderbilt is coming off of a huge road win against a very good Mississippi Rebels squad on Thursday. The Commodores fought back from an 11 point deficit early in the first quarter behind their 6’ 11” junior A.J. Ogilvy. Ogilvy finished the game with 27 points and 8 rebounds as Vandy went on to win 82-78.

After suffering back to back losses in mid-December to Illinois and Western Kentucky, the ‘Dores have won 14 of their last 16 games and find themselves in sole possession of second place in the Southeastern conference. A perfect 13-0 home record has attributed to their success this season. Wins against Missouri, Florida, Mississippi St and Tennessee at home should give them a strong case for a high seed come tournament selection.

Vandy has a solid perimeter game to compliment Ogilvy’s inside presence. Jeffery Taylor, Jermaine Beal and John Jenkins all contribute double-digits in scoring for a Commodore offense that scores an average of almost 79 points per game. They aren’t overwhelming in the rebounding category, but play a solid team defense that has held many of their opponents well under their season averages.

Vanderbilt will need to be at their best Saturday as they face the #2 team in the country in Kentucky. The Wildcats had their way with Vandy earlier this year beating them handily at home 85-72. Mississippi St’s stifling defense created some problems for the Wildcats on Tuesday. After leading at halftime, Kentucky allowed the Bulldogs to take back the lead late into the second half before John Wall made several key shots to force the game into overtime. It will take a similar type effort defensively from Vanderbilt Saturday if they have any chance of containing this talented Wildcat attack.

Freshman sensation John Wall leads Kentucky’s offense with a 17 point per game average. He is a true point guard that can pass just as well as he shoots. DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson are often on the receiving end of Wall’s passes as they combine for 31 points per game. The one glaring weakness for Kentucky is their lack of depth. Outside of their top 6 scorers there is nobody that averages over 5 points per game. As long as they stay healthy they should retain a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and cruise to a final four appearance.

This should and will be a great game as the top 2 teams from a loaded SEC conference battle it out for the title. Expect a slower tempo then their previous meeting, because the Commodores now know that they can’t beat Kentucky in a shootout.

Related posts:

1. Big East Battle of Top 10′s Fight for Conference Title
2. NCAAB SEC Showdown: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
3. Tennessee vs. Kentucky: SEC Showdown
4. SEC Showdown: Florida vs. Kentucky
5. SEC Top-25 Showdown: Auburn vs. LSU

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