We’ve officially reached conference play in the SEC. You know what that means:
Chaos. Pure chaos.
Admittedly, the rankings don’t mean much this week. Now that these teams are gearing up to play each other, we’re going to get a clearer picture as to where things stand in the SEC.
Let’s get right to this week’s power rankings.
1. Kentucky (10-2)
Just as we all expected, the Wildcats enter conference play as the overwhelming favorite to win the SEC. It’s hard to see this team losing more than a game or two in the conference.
Yes, the Louisville loss showed that John Calipari’s team is human, but slowing the Wildcats down will be a tall order for the majority of SEC teams.
Ole Miss will find that out on Thursday.
This week: at Ole Miss (12/29)
2. South Carolina (9-2)
A two-point home loss isn’t anything to be upset about if you’re the Gamecocks. It’s clear that this team isn’t the same without Sindarius Thornwell in the lineup, so South Carolina will continue to battle until he returns.
This week features an intriguing trip to Memphis. Frank Martin’s squad doesn’t open SEC play until next Wednesday in Athens.
This week: vs. Lander (12/27), at Memphis (12/30)
3. Florida (9-3)
The Gators finally played a home game for the first time this season in a 94-71 victory over Little Rock. It was the most points that Florida has scored this season, so that’s a good sign for future play in the O’Connell Center.
The best opening week SEC matchup will come on Thursday when the Gators travel to take on this week’s No. 4 team.
This week: at Arkansas (12/29)
4. Arkansas (11-1)
There’s no longer any doubt that Arkansas has the tools to be an NCAA tournament team. However, my concerns with the Razorbacks remain the same heading into conference play: can this team win games on the road?
Arkansas has only played one true road game this season, which resulted in a 85-71 loss at Minnesota. We’ll find out more about this team this week and next week, with the home game against Florida and road trips to Tennessee and Kentucky on the schedule.
This week: vs. Florida (12/29)
5. Texas A&M (8-3)
It’s been difficult to get a true feel of what this Texas A&M is capable of. The non-conference schedule hasn’t been overly challenging, with single-digit losses to three very good Pac-12 teams (USC, UCLA and Arizona) being the only blemishes on the record.
The offense will continue to go through Tyler Davis, but better outside shooting is needed to be a serious threat in the league.
This week: vs. Tennessee (12/29)
6. Auburn (10-2)
Although I’ve been higher than most on Bruce Pearl’s team this season, I still didn’t think the Tigers would go two-for-two in last week’s games against Oklahoma and Connecticut.
No, this isn’t last year’s Oklahoma and Connecticut, but those were two great road wins for Auburn. That loss to Boston College still hurts, but the Tigers have set themselves up nicely entering conference play.
The first four games on their SEC schedule – Georgia, Vandy, Ole Miss, and Missouri – are all winnable.
This week: vs. Georgia (12/29)
7. Ole Miss (9-3)
If you’ve heard me talk about the Rebels this season, you know that I’ve continued to ask one important question: can Ole Miss guard anyone?
The answer to that will be clear when it hosts Kentucky on Thursday.
This week: vs. Kentucky (12/29)
8. Georgia (8-4)
Georgia’s 86-79 road loss at Oakland last Friday wasn’t ideal. The Grizzlies aren’t a bad team, but Mark Fox’s team should have won the game. It’s that simple.
Now, the Bulldogs enter SEC opening week in an interesting situation. Georgia still doesn’t have a quality win on its schedule (George Washington is the best win at this point), so it’s time to turn things up if it wants to be the NCAA tournament team we all thought it could be.
If not, Fox’s seat will start to heat up.
This week: at Auburn (12/29)
9. Tennessee (7-5)
The Vols got an outstanding win on the road at ETSU this past week. After a lot of close losses, it was a much-needed confident boost for Tennessee to pull out a close win.
Now this team must travel to College Station for another tough challenge against Texas A&M.
This week: at Texas A&M (12/29)
10. Vanderbilt (6-6)
You could switch Vandy and Alabama here, and there wouldn’t be much of an argument from me. However, the Commodores get the nod for now due to better wins (but that home loss to Bucknell is still ugly).
This team has to find consistency on both ends of floor if it wants to salvage what’s been a disappointing first year under Bryce Drew.
This week: at LSU (12/29)
11. Alabama (6-5)
The Crimson Tide had another impressive defensive outing in a 67-52 win over Arkansas State. Alabama is 24th in the nation in scoring defense (62.0 PPG), and that’ll continue to be what fuels this team going forward.
I don’t expect Alabama to be this low a few weeks from now. This team has played a tough OOC schedule, and I still think it can beat any team in the league (minus Kentucky) on any given night.
However, Avery Johnson simply needs more consistent shooting from his team if the Crimson Tide are going to finish in the top half of the SEC.
This week: vs. Stetson (12/29)
12. LSU (8-3)
Well, losing your first true road game of the season by 34 points at Wake Forest wasn’t great for the Tigers. Giving up 110 points in the process wasn’t great, either.
It could be a long SEC season in Baton Rouge.
This week: vs. Vanderbilt (12/29)
13. Mississippi State (8-3)
This is still a team that will benefit from experience more than anything else. That’s typically the case when you’re the youngest team in the nation.
The Bulldogs have enough talent to surprise people in SEC play, but putting it on all together on a regular basis will be the real challenge.
This week: vs. UMKC (12/29)
14. Missouri (5-6)
Normally a home game against a 6-9 Lipscomb team would be a guaranteed victory for an SEC team. That won’t be the case on Thursday when Missouri hosts the Bisons.
Yeah, that’s where this program is at right now.
This week: vs. Lipscomb (12/29)
Blake Lovell has worked in sports media for over 10 years. He currently covers SEC football and basketball for various publications.