SEC Power Rankings

What happened? Literally. Everything we thought we knew about the SEC just went down in flames. That was a crazy start to SEC basketball and I feel sorry for the person who has to try and rerank all of the teams in this conference. Oh wait, that’s me. The Week 10 SEC Power Rankings look completely different from what they did last week, but you can thank all of the craziness that has been going on in this conference for that.

Who is the best team in the SEC? The Florida Gators? The Missouri Tigers? The Ole Miss Rebels? One thing is for sure and that is the fact that all three of those teams are at the top of the rankings.

The Kentucky Wildcats got beat on their home court, which never happens. Kentucky can thank Texas A&M’s Elston Turner for that one. Turner dropped 40 points against the Wildcats in a winning effort for the Aggies.

Just a week ago, Tennessee was one of the best teams in the conference and now the Volunteers are 0-3 in the SEC. The LSU Tigers are another team that has gotten off to a bad start in conference play.

Just because Kentucky is down this season does not mean that this conference is. There are plenty of great teams in the SEC and plenty of these teams will punch their ticket to the big dance in March.

Read on to see all of the changes in the new SEC power rankings.

14. Georgia Bulldogs (6-9, 0-2 SEC)

You can’t really blame the Georgia Bulldogs for losing to the Florida Gators on the road, but scoring only 44 points is bad, even for Georgia.

The Bulldogs followed that up by losing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs at home.

13. Vanderbilt Commodores (6-9, 0-3 SEC)

The Vanderbilt Commodores’ nightmare season continued in the start off SEC play. However, two out of the three losses to SEC opponents were very close. Vandy lost to Kentucky by two points and went down in overtime against Ole Miss.

12. South Carolina Gamecocks (10-5, 0-2 SEC)

South Carolina may have had a good out-of-conference record, but that clearly did not mean a whole lot because the Gamecocks just lost to Mississippi State and Auburn. Both of those teams were ranked near the bottom of the rankings for the first half of the season, which is a big reason why South Carolina is now ranked No. 12 in the power rankings.

11. Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-7, 2-0 SEC)

If Mississippi State can beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in its next game, it will definitely move up the rankings.

The Bulldogs have gotten off to a great start in SEC play, by beating Georgia and South Carolina.

10. Tennessee Volunteers (8-7, 0-3 SEC)

The Tennessee Volunteers need serious help on offense. Jordan McRae has been great and is leading this team, with 13.9 points per game, but McRae can’t score all of the points.

Tennessee has played very good teams to start off conference play, but four losses in a row does not look good for the Volunteers.

9. Auburn Tigers (8-7, 2-0 SEC)

How about them Auburn Tigers? Auburn has been playing great ball ever since the two-point loss against the Illinois Fighting Illini and now it is 2-0 in the SEC.

Who knows if this team is legit, but a win against LSU looks pretty good on the resume.

8. LSU Tigers (9-4, 0-2 SEC)

LSU looked great all season long and they should get back on track, but the Tigers have gotten off to a very disappointing 0-2 start in the SEC.

Next up will be South Carolina and the loser of this game will fall to 0-3 in the conference.

7. Arkansas Razorbacks (10-5, 1-1 SEC)

The Arkansas Razorbacks lost by 18 points to a very good Texas A&M team. However, they got back on track by blowing out Vanderbilt by the score of 56-33.

6. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-6, 1-1 SEC)

Alabama was in yet another close game against Tennessee, but still managed to come up with the victory. So many games in conference play have been nail bitters thus far.

Look for the Crimson Tide to improve to 2-1 in the conference when they take on Mississippi State.

5. Kentucky Wildcats (11-5, 2-1 SEC)

The Kentucky Wildcats are clearly not as good as everyone thought they would be, but they are still one of the most talented teams in the SEC and they will be right in the thick of things come March.

The Wildcats got a big win against Tennessee at home last night and Nerlens Noel filled up the stat sheet, like usual.

4. Texas A&M Aggies (12-3, 2-0 SEC)

We learned that Elston Turner is an absolute beast last week. Turner dropped 40 points in Rupp Arena and scored in every way imaginable. This kid is good, Texas A&M is good and the Florida Gators will have their hands full when these two teams meet on Jan. 17.

3. Missouri Tigers (12-3, 1-1 SEC)

Once Laurence Bowers is back, Missouri will be just fine. Bowers is the leading scorer for the Tigers and they will really need him to come up big if Missouri plans on upsetting Florida, assuming he will be back for that game.

The only reason for the drop in the rankings by this team is because Ole Miss has really stepped up its game.

2. Ole Miss Rebels (14-2, 3-0 SEC)

The SEC better watch out because the Ole Miss Rebels are for real. Ole Miss opened up conference play by beating Tennessee, Missouri and Vanderbilt. Not to mention, the Rebels held Missouri to just 49 points.

The Rebels just barely forced overtime against Vanderbilt, but they dominated overtime and got the W. All good teams know how to win close games and Ole Miss is no exception.

1. Florida Gators (12-2, 2-0 SEC)

The Florida Gators look like the team they were before they lost two out of three games in their out-of-conference schedule.

The Gators beat Georgia and LSU on average of 27.5 points per game.

However, injuries are starting to cumulate for this team, so it will be interesting to see how long Casey Prather and Mike Rosario are gone. Not to mention, Erik Murphy and Scottie Wilbekin are both playing with broken bones.

Regardless, the Gators are the team to beat in the SEC.

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SEC Power Rankings

The first game of SEC play finally tipped off when the No. 10 Missouri Tigers took on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Missouri, of course, won that game. After tonight we will have a much better idea of how many of the SEC teams matchup against each other, since so many conference games will be played tonight. However, before those games tip off, take a look at the latest rankings in the Week 9 SEC Power Rankings.

Would you look at the Auburn Tigers. This is a team that has been ranked near the bottom of the rankings for most of the season so far. Then the Tigers play Illinois on the road and barely lose by two points. Auburn followed up that game with victory over the Florida State Seminoles.

There seems to be some injuries going down for the top teams in the conference, with Florida’s Erik Murphy not playing in the Gators’ last game against Yale. Murphy will likely be out in Florida’s SEC opener against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Missouri also took a hit in its SEC opener, with leading scorer Laurence Bowers getting injured. However, the Tigers did manage to win that game by the score of 84-68.

There are currently only two ranked teams in the conference, which is kind of bad, considering that the SEC is considered as a powerhouse conference in college basketball.

Whether the case, SEC teams will be battling each other from here on out until the NCAA tournament takes place.

Read on to see this week’s power rankings.

14. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-7)

Not much has changed for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, however, they did manage to blowout New Orleans in their last game by the score of 97-46. The Bulldogs will take any victories no matter how easy the competition though.

13. Georgia Bulldogs (6-7)

The Georgia Bulldogs are on a four-game winning streak, but that streak will likely end when the Bulldogs open up SEC play at Florida.

Georgia will have to play its best basketball of the season to pull of an upset in that game.

12. Vanderbilt Commodores (6-6)

Vanderbilt will unfortunately have to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in its first game of conference play, but it will be played at home for the Commodores.

Kentucky seems to be coming on strong as of late and the same cannot be said about Vandy.

11. Auburn Tigers (6-7)

The way that Auburn is playing right now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Tigers beat the other Tigers out of LSU.

Frankie Sullivan has been playing big in his last three games, scoring 20 or more points in those games. Another 20 point performance would be huge for Auburn.

10. South Carolina Gamecocks (10-3)

Time to see how meaningful South Carolina’s out-of-conference schedule was. Sure, the Gamecocks have a pretty impressive record, but they have no impressive wins on the season.

9. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-6, 0-1)

Alabama did not start of conference play like it would have wanted, but it has a chance to make up for it. The Crimson Tide entered the season as one of the best teams in the SEC, but with six losses already on the season, that died pretty quickly.

Alabama can get back on track with a win over the Tennessee Volunteers in its next game.

8. Texas A&M Aggies (10-3)

Texas A&M’s out-of-conference schedule may have not been that difficult, but life will be very tough for this team to open up conference play.

First, the Aggies will take on Arkansas and then they will play Kentucky, Florida, Alabama and LSU in consecutive games.

7. Arkansas Razorbacks (9-4)

Time to see what B.J. Young and the sixth ranked scoring offense (82.9 PPG) in the nation are made of.

Arkansas will open up SEC play against the Aggies, which is a game that could really go either way. Don’t let the Razorbacks’ four losses on the season full you because this team has played some tough competition.

6. LSU Tigers (9-2)

Although the LSU Tigers have not had the toughest schedule in the world so far this year, this team is talented enough to pull of some big upsets in SEC play and possibly contend for a conference title.

5. Ole Miss Rebels (11-2)

Ole Miss currently has one of the most lethal offenses in the nation, scoring on average of 83.1 points per game. Time to see how the Rebels’ offense fairs against teams like Tennessee and Missouri, whom they will play in back-to-back games to kick off SEC play.

4. Tennessee Volunteers (8-4)

A win against the Memphis Tigers would have been great for Tennessee, but it came up short by five points in that contest.

Whether the case, Tennessee is not an easy matchup for anyone and you can expect this team to make the NCAA tournament.

3. Kentucky Wildcats (9-4)

The Kentucky Wildcats have been one of the biggest disappointments this season, but they are a good enough team to rebound in conference play.

Sure, the Wildcats may have four losses on the season, but don’t count out this team for an SEC title.

2. Missouri Tigers (12-2, 1-0)

Missouri looked pretty good against Alabama, despite Laurence Bowers being injured in the game.

The Tigers should cruise through its first couple of games in conference play, until it plays the Florida Gators on Jan. 19. Everyone circle that date because that will be one heck of a game between two teams that are good enough to go on a Final Four run.

1. Florida Gators (10-2)

The Florida Gators seem like they are back into the rhythm of things after two consecutive victories. Florida has only lost two games on the season and it has looked like the best team in the SEC.

This is a Billy Donovan team that is very capable of making a third straight Elite Eight and beyond this season.

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SEC Power Rankings

Conference play for the SEC is just a week away, which means we will get a better idea on how teams will fair this year in the SEC. First though, let’s take a look at the Week 8 SEC Power Rankings.

The Kentucky Wildcats rallied back against the Louisville Cardinals, but when it was all said and done, the Wildcats still managed to lose. Kentucky has not won a big game all year, which is why it is 8-4 on the year. However, the Wildcats have played many good teams and are starting to play much better together.

So, who will be the No. 1 team in the SEC entering conference play?

Both the Florida Gators and Missouri Tigers make great cases to take this feat. Both teams have two losses on the year and both teams are barely ranked outside of the top 10 in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Is there any team that can challenge Florida, Missouri or Kentucky for an SEC title? Well, if there is any team it is looking like the Tennessee Volunteers at this point in the season. There are a few other teams with good records in this conference, but they have not been tested at all this season, but that will change with the start of conference play.

Before SEC play tips off, many teams in the SEC will be playing their final tuneup games. With just a week left until conference play, get ready with the Week 8 SEC Power Rankings.

14. Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-7)

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are in for a very long season. SEC teams are not supposed to lose to teams like Alabama A&M, but the Bulldogs still managed to do so.

13. Auburn Tigers (5-7)

Surprisingly, the Auburn Tigers played great basketball against the Illinois Fighting Illini, losing in overtime by two points. That was one of the Tigers’ best performances of the year, despite the loss.

Next, Auburn will take on the Florida State Seminoles.

12. Georgia Bulldogs (5-7)

The Georgia Bulldogs are on their best streak of the season, with a three game winning streak. The Bulldogs will take on George Washington before entering conference play against Florida.

11. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-6)

The Vanderbilt Commodores will have three tough games to open up SEC play. First, they will take on Kentucky, and then they will have to face Arkansas and Ole Miss. Things could get ugly for the Commodores in a hurry.

10. South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3)

South Carolina’s record is one of the best in the conference, but they have no quality wins on the resume. With a very easy out-of-conference schedule, Frank Martin and the Gamecocks will have to look for quality wins in conference play.

9. Arkansas Razorbacks (8-4)

B.J. Young and the Arkansas Razorbacks have one of the most lethal offenses in all of college basketball this year, scoring 82.7 points per game, which ranks sixth in the nation.

The Razorbacks have a pretty good team, despite the four losses on the year and they could definitely upset the top teams in the conference.

8. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-5)

The Alabama Crimson Tide are not playing good basketball right now. Alabama is losing to teams it has no business losing to and it better find its grove soon because games against the Missouri Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers will not be easy.

7. Texas A&M Aggies (9-3)

It is still very hard to say how good of a team Texas A&M is this season, since the Aggies have not played one ranked opponent all season long. However, this team has some playmakers and only three losses on the year.

6. LSU Tigers (8-2)

The LSU Tigers should enter conference play with only two losses on the season. This is a team that could really make some noise this season, especially when at home.

However, LSU will have to take on the Gators in just its second game of conference play.

5. Ole Miss Rebels (10-2)

In terms of record, the Ole Miss Rebels are tied with Missouri for the best record in the SEC. However, the Rebels have not faced the best teams in the world this season and we will find out real quick how good of a team they will be, playing Tennessee and Missouri right off of the bat.

4. Tennessee Volunteers (8-3)

After recording three early losses, the Tennessee Volunteers look like one of the best teams in the SEC. Tennessee is on a four game winning streak and a victory over Memphis would really look good on the resume.

3. Kentucky Wildcats (8-4)

The Kentucky Wildcats are very close to being good, but they aren’t quite there yet. Yes, Kentucky has as much talent as anyone in the country, but they need to learn how to play like a team. Someone needs to step up for Kentucky rather than players taking turns on coming up clutch.

Who is going to take the game-winning shot for this team? Kentucky still needs to find its identity, but this team will be one of the best come midseason.

2. Missouri Tigers (10-2)

The Missouri Tigers were on quite the roll, until they lost to UCLA on the road in overtime. The Bruins are clearly a great team, but a loss is a loss.

So much weight is put on Phil Pressey’s shoulders and the Tigers need to find a way to fix this. Whether the case, Missouri is still one of the best teams in the SEC.

1. Florida Gators (9-2)

The Florida Gators had a shaky first half against Air Force, but Kenny Boynton finally found his shot in the second half of the game. For Florida to be elite this year, it absolutely needs Boynton to come up big, especially when playing good teams.

Florida has the talent to be a top five team in college basketball, thanks to its well-rounded play on both sides of the court.

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