Merry Christmas, and before the New Year, SEC play is here. With the Christmas holiday, there wasn’t a ton of hoops over the past week. But the opening of conference play on Wednesday will make things different in the week to come. Let’s dive in…

Missouri notches impressive win

Yes, Dennis Gates and the 11-1 Tigers continued to roll over bad opponents. But after an ugly loss to Kansas, it seemed like the Tigers might have leveled off. Not so fast. Thursday’s 93-71 win over No. 16 Illinois indicated that Mizzou just might be farther along in Gates’ rebuilding process than most people imagined. The Tigers shot 59%, including 10-for-20 from 3-point range. Missouri also had 13 steals, and senior Kobe Brown put up 31 points and 8 assists. Mizzou can continue its statement-making quest on Wednesday against Kentucky … but that’s getting ahead of things.

Nick Smith down again

Nick Smith was injured for the second time in less than 2 months as an Arkansas Razorback. This time, a knee issue caused Smith to miss Arkansas’ game with UNC-Asheville. Smith will also miss Arkansas’ conference opener at LSU, which will be the 8th game Smith has missed. Given the loss of Trevon Brazile to an ACL injury, the Hogs will need Smith back more than before. But how serious his injury is and when he’s expected back remain mysteries for the moment.

Bracketology look-ahead

With the calendar nearly flipped to 2023, maybe it’s not too early to start thinking about bracketology. It’s never too early for Joe Lunardi, and the ESPN expert has the SEC with 7 squads in the Big Dance. Alabama and Tennessee are both slated as No. 2 seeds by Lunardi, with Arkansas sitting at a No. 3, Kentucky hanging around at No. 5, Auburn at 6, Mississippi State as a 7 seed, and Missouri now in the field as a No. 9 seed. No SEC teams are on either side of Lunardi’s bubble, so the SEC’s big 7 are in pretty good shape, but aren’t likely to be joined by any new teams in the near future.

Games to watch

The following week — even with a relatively shortened schedule presents several must-see possibilities. A few standouts are:

No. 19 Kentucky at Missouri (Wednesday): The Wildcats are a 3-point favorite at Mizzou, but given the momentum of the teams, if the odds line were flipped, it wouldn’t be that crazy. This would be a big win for Dennis Gates, and a relatively devastating loss for John Calipari’s underachieving Cats.

Florida at No. 20 Auburn (Wednesday): The mutual admiration society has a good one here, with Bruce Pearl in the mentor role against young prodigy, Todd Golden. The Tigers (10-2) have underachieved, but at home, they’ll have a shot to round into shape in their SEC opener.

No. 8 Alabama at No. 21 Mississippi State (Wednesday): This would have been an unlikely first marquee matchup of conference play, but Chris Jans’ Bulldogs are stride for stride with Mizzou as the SEC’s surprise team. They’re a 2-point home underdog against the Tide, but it’ll be interesting to see if MSU’s sticky defense can outlast Alabama.

No. 9 Arkansas at LSU (Wednesday): Two 11-1 teams meet and without Nick Smith, the Hogs remain short-handed, even if they are a clear top 3 squad in the SEC.

LSU at No. 19 Kentucky (Tuesday, Jan. 3): Another stiff challenge for the Wildcats. If UK can open SEC play 2-0, maybe Calipari can right the ship. The problem is that 0-2 seems almost as likely.

No. 21 Mississippi State at No. 7 Tennessee (Tuesday, Jan. 3): Speaking of challenging, State opening conference play against Bama and UT was certainly no favor. The league’s two best defensive teams seem likely to play out a grinder of a game.