There was a moment before the end of the half where Maik Kotsar was matched up on potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards.

Edwards, sensing he was against a guy much taller and a little slower just based on weight—Kotsar outweighs him by almost 50 pounds—decided to drive.

Kotsar kept up with him and contested the shot, without fouling, and ended with a miss as the Gamecocks continued to stifle Edwards and Georgia.

The possession epitomized Kotsar's senior season and validated what Frank Martin has thought for a long time; Kotsar might be the SEC's defensive player of the year.

Now on the surface that might make someone's eyebrow go up, but a deeper dive into the numbers and Kotsar's senior season makes Martin's assertion a little less out there.

He might not be the front runner currently, but there is an argument to be made for Kotsar to be in the running for the award.

If the voting was done based on the best defender on the best defensive team, that would put Kotsar near the top of the list.

The Gamecocks are the best team in terms of defensive efficiency in SEC games only and Kotsar, with Minaya out, is unequivocally the team's best and most versatile defender as he can step out on the perimeter and guard someone smaller and quicker.

But even looking at the numbers, Kotsar is still by far one of the best defenders in the SEC.

He's top five in defensive rating, which measures how few points a certain player gives up per 100 possessions, defensive win shares and defensive box plus-minus this season.

Even though he's not leading in any three, he's the only player in the SEC who's top five in all three categories.

He's also eighth in steals per game since SEC play began with the highest steal percentage of any big in the SEC.

Since league play started he's also top 15 among every SEC player in block percentage (12th), defensive rebound rate (10th) and eighth in steal percentage.

His biggest competition is Arkansas's Adrio Bailey, who leads the SEC in defensive rating and defensive box plus-minus and a few other guys who he's played over the course of the season.

Kotsar, though, has made a habit of playing great defense against some of the best bigs in the country: Virginia's Mamadi Diakite, Tennessee's John Fulkerson, Kentucky's Nick Richards, Texas A&M's Josh Nebo twice, Auburn's Austin Wiley and Arkansas's Reggie Chaney.

In those seven games, bigs are averaging 11.6 points while shooting 61 percent from the field and averaging six rebounds per game.

He's also helping to force 1.9 turnovers per game and 2.7 fouls per big.

So while it's not a forgone conclusion or he may not be a front runner, he's putting together a solid resume.

He'll have a big test again Saturday night against John Fulkerson, who's one of the best bigs in the SEC right now. Last time Kotsar faced off with Fulkerson, he gave up 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.