Around the SEC (Nov. 22, 2016): Cupcakes, women’s hoops domination, Tennessee wins the game of LIFE and more

Gators chomp Bruins (Alligator Army)

Florida’s men’s basketball team began its Monday meeting with Belmont on a 15-0 run that eventually became a 24-4 run. When Belmont closed the gap to nine points early in the second half, Florida responded with a 16-0 run that put the game out of reach.

That could’ve gone better, Vandy (Anchor of Gold)

This is, obviously, demoralizing: Bucknell is now 3-2 on the season and ranked #197 in KenPom; the Bison lost to Wake Forest by 20 and Butler by 26.

An in-depth look at Arkansas-Mississippi State (Arkansas Fight)

For the second straight year, Arkansas and Mississippi State got into a wild shootout. This time, though, Arkansas did everything right on offense on a 58-42 win. The Hogs’ 663 yards and 58 points are school records for SEC games in regulation.

Cupcakes are actually good (College and Magnolia)

Auburn did what they were supposed to do Saturday, to no one’s surprise. Alabama A&M was not going to challenge Auburn in the least bit. Auburn rested key players and filled in for injured players. Rudy Ford even played 2 ways for the Tigers.

More talk about cupcakes (Dawg Sports)

Last week I said, “Y’all we’re going bowling and with only ULL and Ga Tech remaining in regular season, we could actually win out and finish the year at 9-4. No promises of course, but statistically speaking, there’s a 12.5% chance it could happen.” Well we’re getting there. There will be two more games for the 2016 Georgia Bulldog Football Team and we have a 50% chance of winning each game. So the 9-4 possibility is now at 25%. I do love positive progress.

State women’s hoops is #7 in the nation (FWtCT)

Mississippi State women’s basketball took down then 8th ranked University of Texas 79-68 on Sunday and did it in commanding fashion. Vic Schaefer’s squad surged in the second quarter and was up 42-25 at the half as a result. The Bulldogs rode that comfortable lead to their eventual victory, their first over a program ranked in the Top 10 since 2010.

SC women’s hoops blows out Maine (GAB Attack)

The third-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks ripped Maine 79-42 to start their 2016-17 campaign at 3-0. Five players landed in double figures, led by A’ja Wilson’s 14 and a 13-point night by freshman Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. Alaina Coates added yet another double-double with 12 points and fourteen rebounds.

Previewing LSU-Texas A&M (GB Hunting)

Aggies, we made it. It’s the end of the college football regular season and our newly minted rivals from Louisiana State await a date with the Aggies on Kyle Field this Thanksgiving. The Tigers roll into College Station Les-less, and are now coached by Farmer Fran from The Waterboy (h/t to Cameron for this astute observation). The Aggies, however, should be confident coming off a huge win against in-state rivals t.u.S.A this past Saturday. It’s good to see that shifting conferences doesn’t mean that we have to shed traditional rivalries.

Rebels not at full strength for the Egg Bowl (Red Cup Rebellion)

Ole Miss’ ugly loss against Vanderbilt last weekend was a crushing blow to the psyche of a Rebel team that thought it had finally turned a nightmare 2016 season in the right direction. Shea Patterson’s heroics in College Station had seemingly charted an upward course that would continue into the offseason, but the 38-17 setback in Nashville shattered the perceived stability.

Well, SOMEONE likes Mizzou (Rock M Nation)

I’ve been open for a while about how I’ve been viewing the second half of the 2016 season. Talking about wins is better than talking about losses, and it was certainly fun to breathe in the win over Vandy last week. But for the most part, for everything that has happened in recent games, I’ve tried to view it through the prism of 2017 and beyond.

Vols fall to Badgers (Rocky Top Talk)

Wisconsin opened this thing on a 12-0 run in the first three minutes and built an early 17 point lead, and it seemed like it was going to be that kind of day in that kind of year. But the young Vols didn’t go away whatsoever: Tennessee was down eight at halftime, took the lead 46-44 with 12 minutes to play, and an and-one by Shembari Phillips still had the Vols within six at the under four timeout. On the ensuing possession Detrick Mostella got a steal and a two-on-one but couldn’t convert, and the Vols would get no closer thanks to big threes from the Badgers late. Wisconsin won 74-62.

Power Rankings! (Roll ‘Bama Roll)

This late in the season, you’re seeing very little movement in the rankings each week. At this point, we all know who the best players are and who will make the biggest impact week-in and week-out. Compound that with the fact that Alabama just won a game against an FCS squad while sleepwalking with an extremely vanilla game plan, and you get what is easily the most boring set of rankings this season.

Here’s what went wrong for LSU (SB Nation)

Guice’s awkward-looking footwork backs that up. His steps aren’t right because he knows he needs to get to the other side of the line of scrimmage. Sometimes coaches can get this immediate postmortem analysis wrong, because they haven’t watched the tape, and you’ll often hear them couch a postgame comment with that qualifier. But no, O’s hit the nail on the head there.

Tennessee won the game of LIFE! (SB Nation)

You do have to play Bama if you lose Life, though. Playing Bama sounds like a circle of Hell in which you’re doomed to have 310-pound Jonathan Allen continually throw you into the air as if he’s a killer whale while you try to complete passes.

Stephen Johnson is ready for Louisville (A Sea of Blue)

Stephen Johnson didn’t start last week against Austin Peay due to a knee injury he suffered against Tennessee, but ended up having to play after a disastrous first quarter. Kentucky won’t have to concern themselves with who to play at quarterback this week, though, as Johnson is back at full strength.