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Who will claim the SEC regular season title? |
Alabama |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Arkansas |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Auburn |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Florida |
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3% |
[ 1 ] |
Georgia |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Kentucky |
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3% |
[ 1 ] |
LSU |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Mississippi |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Mississippi State |
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3% |
[ 1 ] |
Missouri |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
South Carolina |
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53% |
[ 17 ] |
Tennessee |
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37% |
[ 12 ] |
Texas A & M |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Vanderbilt |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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Total Votes : 32 |
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NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
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Posted: 07/03/15 11:33 am ::: Who wins the SEC regular season? |
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Who will claim the SEC regular season title?
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Conway Gamecock
Joined: 23 Jan 2015 Posts: 1900 Location: Here
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Posted: 07/03/15 6:28 pm ::: |
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Gotta think the top money will be on both USC and UT being the front-runners. Should be a great battle throughout the course of the season as it has been the past 2 seasons.
During that time USC has gone 29-3 in SEC play and UT has gone 28-4. Head-to-head it is knotted up at 1-1 in regular-season games, and 1-0 for USC in SEC tournament matches.
USC loses:
Aleighsa Welch (9.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.o bpg in '14-'15)
Elem Ibiam (6.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.9 bpg)
Olivia Gaines (1.7 ppg, 0.9 apg, 0.6 spg)
UT loses:
Izzy Harrelson (12.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
Ariel Massengale (11.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.5 apg)
Cierra Burdick (11.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.7 apg)
Looking at those losses, one has to think that Tennessee loses more from their roster than USC lost. Either way both teams have great talent incoming to replace those losses, in UVA transfer Sarah Imovbioh and PG true freshman Shay Colley for USC, and UNC transfer Diamond DeShields and PG true freshman Te'a Cooper for UT.
Tennessee also has very talented post Mercedes Russell who was not able to play last season, while USC will have very talented post Jatari White who - while she didn't deal with injuries such as what Russell dealt with, hers still sort of derailed her freshman season last season.
USC's biggest issue last season (the last 2 seasons really) was their guard play particularly with offense. They essentially return all of their guards from last season, and while Gaines always made a positive impact on the floor when she was brought in off the bench, she still only averaged 10 minutes per gm and less than 2 ppg, so her lost production can surely be replaced. Welch was an unquestioned leader and warrior for the Gamecocks during her career, but she and Ibiam both took a step or two back to allow Coates and Wilson to shine more for USC, and both those players should become full-game starters next season. Imovbioh in her own right is a great talent and she will replace most of what Welch took with her out of the program.
The big question will be, will Russell be able to replace the rebounding and physical presence of TWO talented players lost, in Harrison and Burdick? IMO Cooper should be a solid to great PG for the Lady Vols off the bat, and DeShields is a proven instant impact player as well.
This season USC will play UT in Knoxville if they only play 1 regular season game, and UT - like USC - was unbeaten at home last season. Both teams have played twice in the same regular season before, with home and home formats, and there's no SEC bylaw forbidding that from happening this season. We'll have to wait and see....
Right now my subjective perspective is that USC has the better potential to improve more from their level of last season, than Tennessee does, but I've been wrong before. IMO the pressure has been on USC more than UT to win their games as the series has been in UT's back pocket for most of it's history, and USC is trying to get to where UT has dwelt for many years. After the success of last season, I'm thinking that USC will take more of a position of belief in their place than before. We'll see....
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summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013 Posts: 7822 Location: Shenandoah Valley
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Posted: 07/03/15 7:09 pm ::: |
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It's Harrison, not Harrelson. And UT gains Mercedes Russell, who will have good feet, finally, and some international experience, Diamond DeShields, and Te'a Cooper. So we'll see. I thought the Lady Vols did pretty well last year even after Izzy went down.
_________________ Don't take life so serious. It ain't nohows permanent.
It takes 3 years to build a team and 7 to build a program.--Conventional Wisdom
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NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
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Posted: 07/03/15 7:48 pm ::: |
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While I don't see them challenging South Carolina or Tennessee, Mississippi State's team should be innthe second tier along with Kentucky and maybe A&M. Vic brought in a talented frosh class with Victoria Vivians and Morgan Williams and while they have to replace Martha Alwal, there are a number of experienced upperclass players well schooled in defense.
Vanderbilt's thin roster may have gotten thinner. heather Bowe is not listed on the website's 2015-2016 roster. Bowe was temporarily suspended two years back on an academic misconduct related issue.
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linkster
Joined: 27 Jul 2012 Posts: 5423
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Posted: 07/03/15 8:04 pm ::: |
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Tenn & SC are clearly head and shoulders better than the rest of the SEC, which never seems to go much more than 4 deep in any year. Either of my picks could toss in a stinker and lose to one of the SEC scrap but I'd say it comes down to their game at TBA to decide the regular season title. So I picked Tenn because of the home court advantage. Personally I think SC is the better team but they seem to lose their confidence when they play Tenn.
The only reservation I have is that Russell is coming off bunion surgery and it has yet been determined whether or not her feet can stand long minutes for an entire season. After losing 3 starters and nearly half their offensive production Tenn needs both Russell and Deshields to have big years.
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lvf08
Joined: 11 Jun 2008 Posts: 624
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Posted: 07/03/15 8:53 pm ::: |
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South Carolina
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Ladyvol777
Joined: 02 Jul 2013 Posts: 248
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Posted: 07/03/15 10:31 pm ::: |
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This game is a tie, so with Tennessee playing at home I pick them by 3 points, and the later in the season I thank will be better for Tennessee. They did lose a lot but pick up a lot also. I love having Mercedes Russell and Diamond DeShields, but I thank Te'a Cooper will be what makes Tennessee move on up. They have some really good young Ladies on the bench also that will be hungry to play. Jasmine Jones is my pick to be the surprise player of the team.
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icey23
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 5723 Location: Louisiana
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Posted: 07/04/15 8:44 am ::: |
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Mississippi State might make a run
_________________ WIN THE DAY
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purduefanatic
Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 2819 Location: Indiana
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Posted: 07/04/15 10:47 am ::: |
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Florida got a vote in this poll? Interesting...
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ArtBest23
Joined: 02 Jul 2013 Posts: 14550
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Posted: 07/04/15 10:55 am ::: |
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purduefanatic wrote: |
Florida got a vote in this poll? Interesting... |
And Miss St.
Guess we need two separate polls: "Who do you wish would win" and "Who do you seriously believe will win."
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