Busting Brackets
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SEC Power Rankings: Kentucky slips, Tennessee takes top spot

By Dakota Cox

LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 06: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates during the 61-59 win against the Kentucky Wildcats in the game at Rupp Arena on February 6, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 06: Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates during the 61-59 win against the Kentucky Wildcats in the game at Rupp Arena on February 6, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 16: The Vanderbilt Commodores cheerleaders sit on court in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 16: The Vanderbilt Commodores cheerleaders sit on court in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

9. Vanderbilt Commodores

Last Week: 8th (↓ 1)

Vanderbilt has a lot of potential to slide up the rankings as the teams before it get further in their schedules, but a major concern for the Commodores will be depth. Last month, they lost Darius Garland to a knee injury, and his timetable is unknown. It is safe to assume that he will not be back any time soon, however.

Garland was the team’s leading scorer with 16.2 points. These numbers will be hard to replace, but Vandy has the ability to do so. Two players that will need even larger roles will be Simisola Shittu and Saben Lee. The Canadian Shittu has stepped up, but there is still room for growth. Lee continues to build on his distributing skills to get himself going, leading the team in assists.

As a squad, the scoring comes from a specific game plan to get efficient shots up. Their efficiency helps limit blocks from opponents, and this has led them to scoring 83.9 points a game. However, their defense has been less than stellar. They need the offensive firepower to win games, and it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up when the bulk of their schedule comes to play.

Upcoming games against Arizona State and Kansas State will give us a better idea on what to expect from this Garland-less Vanderbilt team. In SEC play, they will have a couple of games to prepare before they have to face off against Kentucky. If they could find a way to upset the Wildcats, that would do well to prove that they have built around the injury to still compete. If they struggle in the coming weeks, Vandy might lose its luster with its stellar freshman class.

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