Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior guard from Hendersonville, Tenn., was named SEC Player of the Week after averaging 27 points, two rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals in wins at Ole Miss and at Georgia.
Jenkins scored 26 points at Ole Miss on only five shots, and was 8-11 from the floor in a 28-point effort against Georgia. For the week, Jenkins was 81.3 percent from the floor (13-16), 83.3 percent from three (10-12), and 85.7 percent from the free throw line (18-21). His free throws made (12) and attempted (15) against Ole Miss were new career highs, and his three steals against the Bulldogs set a new career-best.
• Florida’s Bradley Beal, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound freshman guard from St. Louis, Mo., was named SEC Freshman of the Week after averaging 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and three assists, two blocks and two steals in wins at Alabama and at Arkansas. Beal scored
14 points and added a team-best eight rebounds in a victory at Alabama. He followed up his strong performance against the Crimson Tide with a 21- point and nine rebound outing at Arkansas, his fourth 20-point game of the season.
• Kentucky can earn at least a share of the SEC Championship with one more win. The Wildcats (12-0) currently have a three-game lead over second place Florida (9-3) with
four games remaining. If the SEC Tournament started today Kentucky, Florida and Vanderbilt would all receive first round byes.
• Southeastern Conference teams are currently ranked No. 1 in men’s basketball, football
and baseball. Kentucky is ranked atop the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN basketball polls. Earlier this year Alabama won the football national championship and Florida’s baseball team is No. 1 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll.
• The USBWA announced on Feb. 6 that four SEC players were among the 20 listed on its 2012 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins and Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie are contenders for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, to be presented to the national player of the year.
• Kentucky is leading the nation in scoring margin (19.7), blocked shots per game (9.3)
and by holding their opponents to just 36.2 percent shooting. Florida tops the NCAA statistics with 10.3 three-pointers per game. Individually, Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins leads the NCAA with 3.9 three-pointers per game and Kentucky’s Anthony Davis is the nation’s to shot blocker with 4.9 rejections per contest.
• SEC teams have won 143 of their 181 (.790) of their home games this season, including 51 of 72 (.708) of their home SEC games. Kentucky’s 50-game home winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation. The run includes the 2009 NIT game at Memorial Coliseum and the last 49 games at Rupp Arena.
• SEC teams have won 46 of their last 55 (.836) non-conference games dating back to
Dec. 19.
