Mike Strange: All-SEC team, from Tennessee perspective
The regular season in the books, it’s time for the All-SEC basketball team. My honors team is a little different.
Forget the big picture. My All-SEC team is based on one thing: how a guy played against Tennessee.
Some guys got two cracks at the Vols, others only one. For a couple of guys, once was plenty.
Here is my eight-man team. Eight? Hey, it's my team.
J.J. Frazier, Georgia: Frazier is the captain and MVP. He scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half as the Bulldogs wiped out a 14-point deficit and beat UT 76-75 in Thompson-Boling Arena. This was on Feb. 11, before the Vols had sunk into a full-speed tailspin. Or maybe it started the tailspin. In the second half, after Georgia had lost leading scorer Yante Maten, Frazier took over and Tennessee had no answer for the cat-quick senior point guard who was the smallest man on the court. Throw in six assists and two steals.
The Vols get another dose of Frazier Thursday in the SEC tournament.
Luke Kornet, Vanderbilt: Kornet had 18 points, seven boards and three blocked shots in a loss to the Vols on Jan. 14. That’s not why he made the team. On Feb. 22, the 7-foot senior notched 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots in a Vandy win in Knoxville.
When Kornet started doubling UT players in the post in the early minutes, you could almost visibly see the Vols shrivel. He dominated the final minutes, thwarting a UT rally with block after block.
Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina: Another senior, Thornwell helped harass Tennessee into an awful game in Knoxville on Jan. 11. He had 22 points, five boards, four assists and four steals. In the rematch in Columbia, the Vols were so bad Thornwell didn’t have to take over. Over both games he made 13 of 14 free throws to go with his nasty defense and veteran leadership.
KeVaughn Allen, Florida: Way back on Jan. 7, the sophomore guard stuffed a box score with 23 points, five rebounds and four steals. He hit four of six 3-pointers in what turned out to be a comfortable Gator win.
Schnider Herard, Mississippi State: The 6-10 freshman was a pain in the butt during UT’s second-half collapse in Starkville on Feb. 4, the turning point of the SEC season. He scored 12 points and had 15 rebounds in a 64-59 Mississippi State win. His eight offensive rebounds were a killer, generating second-chance points as the Bulldogs erased a 19-point UT lead.
He also had 14 points and 11 rebounds in UT’s earlier win in Knoxville.
Malik Monk, Kentucky: The league’s best freshman wasn’t the sole reason Kentucky lost in Knoxville or won big in Lexington, but he was excellent in both games, averaging 22.5 points against the Vols. In the second half at Rupp, he helped crush a mild Tennessee rally by going 4 of 4 from 3-point range.
Terence Davis, Ole Miss: Sebastian Saiz had double-doubles in both games against UT, but Davis was a bigger pest in the Rebels’ comeback win in Oxford with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Figuring in the rematch in Knoxville, Davis averaged 16 points, nine boards and three steals against the Vols.
Jalyn Patterson, LSU: He scored 22 points in a 92-82 shootout last week, two fewer than Brandon Sampson, but Patterson gets the nod for being close to unstoppable. He was 8 of 12 overall and 3 of 4 from 3-point range as the Tigers torched UT’s defense to snap a 15-game losing streak. Patterson averages 6.0 ppg against everybody else.
Mike Strange may be reached at mike.strange@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @Strangemike44.
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