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SEC Basketball: Alabama on top, Kentucky falling in latest power rankings

By Tristan Freeman

Jan 2, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles (12) and forward Juwan Gary (4) and guard Keon Ellis (14) react to a play against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles (12) and forward Juwan Gary (4) and guard Keon Ellis (14) react to a play against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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SEC Basketball Sharife Cooper Auburn Tigers (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
SEC Basketball Sharife Cooper Auburn Tigers (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

10. Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-11, 5-8)

The Bulldogs’ disastrous 21-point loss to Vandy this past weekend puts them down a couple of notches in the SEC totem pole. Overall, they’ve been fairly competitive in SEC play, including a 15-point home win over Missouri and several close losses against the top teams in the league.

It was expected that after losing so much talent from the season prior that Mississippi State would be rebuilding this time around. The bigger problem is the lack of contributors on the roster outside the trio of DJ Stewart, Tolu Smith, and Iverson Molinar, who combines to produce over 80% of the team’s production. If they’re not on, the Bulldogs are near certain to lose.

Outside of Alabama at the end of February, the remaining games on the schedule are winnable for Mississippi State. It’ll help them remain over .500 on the record and have a better seed for the SEC Tournament.

9. Auburn Tigers (11-11, 5-8)

When five-star freshman point guard Sharife Cooper gained his eligibility in the middle of the season, Auburn got a nice jolt, winning four of five games. Unfortunately, teams have been able to scout the new-look Tigers, which has caused them to lose four of the last five. Three of those defeats were by a combined nine points.

The most frustrating part in watching Auburn is that as soon as Cooper joined, Justin Powell, who was leading the team with 6.1 rpg and 4.7 apg, along with 11.7 ppg, has been out with injuries. We’ve yet to see these two together, which limits anything they can do on both ends of the court.

Still, Auburn has been very competitive overall and with no seniors on the roster, is building for what will be a big-time bounce-back campaign. The problem will be getting past this brutal remaining stretch, which includes games against Tennessee, Alabama, and LSU.

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