SEC Basketball: Final 2019-20 power rankings for end of the season

By Dakota Cox | Mar 23, 2020

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - NOVEMBER 12: John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts to a mistake by his team in the first half in the game against the Evansville Aces at Rupp Arena on November 12, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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SUNRISE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 21: Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

4. Florida Gators

Florida is in a weird situation. They found their way into the top four of my power rankings, but I still believe that they failed to meet expectations this year. With their recruiting class, I thought that they would be the best team in the SEC. That just didn’t end up being the case.

I think the main reason for their struggles was the inability for their freshmen to take over the team. I put faith in them because of the new energy the young players would bring, but the only consistent starter on the team was Scottie Lewis. Without any new players contributing much to the rotation, how can you expect to see significant improvement from the year before?

That being said, the win percentage did increase this year in the SEC. They were a great defensive team to help counterbalance their struggles on offense. The Gators were also the best rebounding team in the SEC. They liked to slow the game down and look for quality shots.

They had some high moments in SEC play. The first that comes to mind was their comeback against Alabama early in the season, but you could argue that they shouldn’t have had to come back in that game.

Looking ahead, the only senior in the main rotation is their leading rebounder Kerry Blackshear Jr. We’ll have to see who goes to the NBA and who comes back, but maybe they retain enough pieces to make a legitimate NCAA Tournament run next season.

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