Another week, another exciting set of SEC basketball power rankings.
With conference play just around the corner, we’ll start to see a lot more separation when these teams go at it.
Let’s dive into this week’s rankings.
1. Kentucky (10-1)
Wow. And, wow again. Malik Monk put on a performance of a lifetime in scoring 47 points to lead Kentucky to a thrilling 103-100 win over North Carolina Las Vegas. The Wildcats are now averaging 95.2 points per game, and if you watched any of this game, you see how difficult it is to stop this team.
The competition doesn’t get any easier for John Calipari’s team as they prepare to head to Louisville on Wednesday.
This week: at Louisville (12/21)
2. South Carolina (9-1)
The Gamecocks lost their first game of the season last Monday when they fell by three to Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden.
South Carolina is still without Sindarius Thornwell for the foreseeable future, but Frank Martin’s squad is still using defense to win games. The Gamecocks are fourth in nation in points allowed (57.7 PPG), and they’ll need to be at their best in slowing down an excellent Clemson team this week.
This week: vs. Clemson (12/21)
3. Florida (8-3)
An easy 87-46 win over Charlotte helped Florida get back to its winning ways after back-to-back defeats. Shooting the ball consistently remains the key concern with this team, but if they can ever put it all together, the Gators are the team with the best chance of beating Kentucky in the SEC
This week: vs. Little Rock (12/21)
4. Arkansas (9-1)
Winning away from home has always been a struggle for the Razorbacks, but Arkansas made a nice statement with a 77-74 win over Texas in Houston.
It was only the second game that Mike Anderson’s team had played away from home this season, and they won’t hit the road again until January 3 when they travel to Knoxville to play Tennessee.
This week: vs. North Dakota State (12/20), vs. Sam Houston State (12/22)
5. Texas A&M (7-3)
A late 18-0 run wasn’t enough for the Aggies to knock off Arizona this past Saturday. The four-point loss showed how good Texas A&M can be when its rolling, and how bad it can be when its not.
This week’s schedule features a guaranteed win against St. Francis (PA).
This week: vs. St. Francis PA (12/21)
6. Georgia (7-3)
We still don’t know a ton about this Georgia team except that its won the games it should win and lost the games it should lose.
Winning at Georgia Tech this week is very important.
This week: at Georgia Tech (12/20), at Oakland (12/23)
7. Auburn (8-2)
When Auburn lost to Boston College last Monday, I was fully ready to drop them several spots in the power rankings. But then came the 117-72 win over Coastal Carolina in which the Tigers tied an SEC record with 21 threes. And then came the unexpected addition of Austin Wiley to the lineup.
Bruce Pearl’s squad needed a buzzer-beater to beat Mercer on Sunday, which probably isn’t ideal with Oklahoma and UConn coming up next.
This week: vs. Oklahoma (12/21), at UConn (12/23)
8. Ole Miss (7-3)
The Rebels earned a 78-73 home win over Murray State this past week, but there wasn’t much else of note.
This week should produce two home victories.
This week: vs. Bradley (12/19), vs. South Alabama (12/22)
9. Tennessee (6-5)
The Vols put together another good effort against one of the nation’s top teams, as Tennessee fell 86-76 to Gonzaga in Nashville.
Rick Barnes will need to get his team to bounce back quickly with a tough road game at ETSU on the horizon.
This week: at East Tennessee State (12/22)
10. Vanderbilt (6-5)
After being thumped on the road at MTSU, no one knew what to expect from the Commodores when they took the floor against a solid Chattanooga team.
However, Luke Kornet hit a clutch three-pointer late to give Vandy a 76-74 win over the Mocs in Nashville. It didn’t fix all of this team’s problems, but it was certainly a huge boost heading into a big game at Dayton on Wednesday.
This week: at Dayton (12/21)
11. Alabama (5-5)
Alabama has fell to this spot simply because of the strength of their schedule. The Crimson Tide can’t seem to catch much of a break, with their most recent loss coming at home against a very good Clemson team.
Now Alabama must turn its attention to an intriguing home game against sneaky good Arkansas State.
This week: vs. Arkansas State (12/21)
12. LSU (7-2)
The Tigers won two rather close games this past week against North Carolina Central and Texas Southern.
This week features a a more difficult slate of games.
This week: vs. College of Charleston (12/19), at Wake Forest (12/22)
13. Mississippi State (6-3)
Things didn’t go as planned for Mississippi State in a home loss at the buzzer to ETSU.
Now the Bulldogs must start putting some momentum together before they begin SEC play at the start of the new year.
This week: vs. Southern Miss (12/19), vs. Morehead State (12/22)
14. Missouri (5-5)
Missouri lost at home to Eastern Illinois this past week. That wasn’t good.
This week: vs. Illinois (12/21)
Blake Lovell has worked in sports media for over 10 years. He currently covers SEC football and basketball for various publications.