Arnett Moultrie can’t sneak up on opponents anymore.
His success at Mississippi State means he can’t score his points on what he called garbage baskets, like he once did.
Moultrie was a forgotten name after transferring from Texas-El Paso and sitting out last season, but SEC coaches now have to formulate strategies to stop the 6-foot-11 junior from Memphis, who had averaged 16.5 points and a conference-leading 10.9 rebounds per game entering Wednesday night’s game at Mississippi.
Moultrie is the SEC’s player of the week after averaging 19 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the Bulldogs’ victories over Tennessee and Alabama. He already has nine double-doubles this season.
“He brings a consistent rebounder for us — No. 1,” Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said on the SEC teleconference. “He’s going to get you 10 [rebounds] a night. Offensively, he’s gotten better for us and puts a little pressure around that rim.”
Moultrie transferred from UTEP after Tim Floyd was hired to replace Tony Barbee, who went to Auburn. He now teams with 6-10, 285-pound Renardo Sidney to give the Bulldogs one of the more dominant inside presences in the SEC.
“Some guys might be frustrated by sitting out, but [Moultrie] worked hard every day,” guard Dee Bost told Sports Illustrated earlier this season. “The first thing he told me when he showed up was, ‘I want to lead the country in rebounding.’”
Hot shot
There’s no slowing Anthony Davis, who set the school record for blocks in a season in Kentucky’s win over Arkansas on Tuesday.
The freshman had seven to give him 89 this season, which surpassed the previous mark of 83.
“I didn’t even know how many blocks I had,” Davis said after the game. “I can’t keep up, the game goes so fast. I just want to block every shot.”
Davis also had a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds against the Razorbacks. He leads the nation with 4.6 blocks per game and has 10 double-doubles.
Have not
Arkansas is 0-4 on the road after the loss at Kentucky. The Razorbacks also lost at Connecticut, at Oklahoma and at Mississippi, and their only home loss was logistically a road game because it was played in Little Rock.
On a roll
Bruce Ellington has made his transition from football to basketball and has led South Carolina in scoring the past two games, with 20 points against Vanderbilt and 17 in a loss to Florida.
LSU’s Anthony Hickey came off the bench to score 18 points with seven rebounds and six assists in the Tigers’ win over Auburn on Tuesday. He was benched because he was late to a video session.
Florida leads the nation with 195 3-pointers and 10.8 per game. The Gators are shooting 41.1 percent from the 3-point line (195-of-475).
Local ties
Guard Ryan Harrow (Walton) knew it was time to leave North Carolina State when coach Sidney Lowe was fired.
So he transferred to Kentucky, where he is sitting out this season under NCAA transfer rules.
“Coach Lowe and I had a real close relationship,” Harrow told kentucky.com. “I’m kind of disappointed [about leaving] because I was a big fan of N.C. State. I still am, but Kentucky is going to help me reach my goals and what I’m going to do with basketball.”
Harrow averaged 9.3 points as a freshman at N.C. State and would have led the ACC in free-throw shooting at 87 percent if he had enough attempts to qualify. He was 67-of-77 from the line.
Around the conference
Auburn’s Kenny Gabriel has the only triple-double in the SEC this season with a 24-point, 13-rebound and 10-block performance against Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 2. … Bost and UNC Asheville’s J.P. Primm are the only active Division I players with at least 1,400 points, 500 assists and 150 steals in their careers. … Florida is 85-6 under coach Billy Donovan when at least five players score 10 points in a game.
Must-see TV
Vanderbilt at Alabama, 7 p.m. today (ESPN2)
The Commodores (13-4) take their seven-game winning streak and 3-0 SEC record to Alabama (13-4, 2-1), which is 8-1 at home.
Quotable
“When it came time to make those plays, we’re still trying to figure out where we can go. We’re still looking for answers for when we’ve got to get something, who do we go to? Our big guys can’t catch, they trip all over themselves. We ran a couple of plays to get jump shots, and I get one of my best 3-point shooters [Gabriel] that goes 0-for-8. Where do you go?” — Barbee after LSU’s 65-58 overtime victory Tuesday over his Tigers
By the numbers
49.3 3-point percentage for Arkansas' Mardracus Wade, who leads the SEC (37-of-75)
63-1 Kentucky's record under coach John Calipari when opponents are held to 67 or fewer points
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