This week, we saw Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas pick up huge wins over ranked opponents, but no win was more meaningful than South Carolina’s over Texas. The Gamecocks avoided becoming the third SEC team in the last 20 seasons to go winless in conference play. Auburn is still, without a doubt, the top team in the conference, but Florida is closing that gap.
With only a couple of weeks left in the regular season, it's still impressive just how solid the SEC is from top to bottom - even the bottom few SEC teams could compete in any other power conference. We’re starting to see the conference standings shake out, but a couple of the coveted double-bye spots are still up for grabs, which should lead to some great basketball. Following a great week, here are the latest SEC basketball power rankings.
16. South Carolina Gamecocks (11-16, 1-13)
No longer winless in SEC play. It was only a matter of time before South Carolina notched its first conference win of the season. The Gamecocks have been competitive at home, so taking down Texas wasn’t a complete surprise, but winning big was a little unexpected. The 15-point win over the Longhorns was a long time coming. The loss to LSU earlier in the week didn’t help matters, power rankings-wise, but the important thing is that South Carolina has finally won a conference game.
15. LSU Tigers (14-13, 3-11)
LSU finally had a winning streak in SEC play, but it didn’t last long only two games. The Tigers beat South Carolina on Tuesday and then ran into a buzzsaw against Florida. It did look the LSU was on pace to upset the Gators following a 22-2 run over the final six minutes of the first half, but LSU quickly gave up a 22-6 run early in the second half. The Tigers have looked better lately but still don’t have the top-end talent to compete in the conference.
14. Georgia Bulldogs (16-11, 4-10)
Georgia has lost four in a row, with three of them being by at least 10 points. This week, the Bulldogs played Auburn tough but couldn’t close out the game. One of the biggest reasons Georgia has struggled in SEC play is its offense. And that was the case against Auburn. The Bulldogs' defense is one of the best in the conference, but without a serviceable offense, there isn’t much hope that Georgia can take down the top of the conference.
13. Oklahoma Sooners (17-10, 4-10)
After getting blown out in each of the last five games, including a 22-point loss to Florida in the mid-week game, Oklahoma finally picked up a much-needed win. The Sooners had been stuck on three conference wins for nearly a month, but an upset win over a ranked Mississippi State might have breathed some life back into this program. While not completely out of the NCAA Tournament conversation, the Sooners have been trending in the wrong direction since SEC play started.
12. Texas Longhorns (16-11, 5-9)
Nobody wanted to be the first SEC team to lose to South Carolina this season, but Texas ended up being that team - so maybe the Longhorns should have been a little lower in these rankings. Tre Johnson continues to shine and should be the SEC Freshman of the Year, but the rest of the roster is mostly meh. It’s hard to know what to expect from Texas, one day they are knocking off a ranked opponent, and the next falling to the worst team in the conference.
11. Ole Miss Rebels (19-8, 8-6)
It looked like Ole Miss was going to be a team to watch out for early in SEC play. But back-to-back losses have the Rebels slipping late in the season. Ole Miss blew an early lead against Mississippi State last week and came out flat against Vanderbilt in the Rebels only game this week. Ole Miss trailed by 19 late in the first half before making the game competitive. The Rebels have looked great at times this season but are slumping at the worst possible time.
10. Arkansas Razorbacks (16-11, 5-9)
No team in the conference has made a midseason turnaround like Arkansas. The Razorbacks started off SEC play with five straight losses, but since the Boogie Fland injury, the Hogs have a 5-4 record. Arkansas played Auburn close earlier in the week before putting up 92 points in an upset of No. 15 Missouri. When playing well on both ends of the court, Arkansas is a dangerous team the only problem is the offense isn’t always there. However, the Hogs are starting to peak at the perfect time.
09. Vanderbilt Commodores (18-9, 6-8)
Vanderbilt has had a rough go of it lately with four straight games against ranked opponents. And after getting run off the court at Kentucky, the Commodores bounced back with a nice home with over No. 24 Ole Miss. Vanderbilt is so close to turning the corner on the season, but the Commodores haven’t always been the most consistent team. At home, Vanderbilt has knocked off three ranked teams, but the Commodores haven’t won a road conference game since LSU to open SEC play.
08. Mississippi State Bulldogs (19-8, 7-7)
Going from holding Texas A&M to 54 points to giving up 93 to Oklahoma is a wild swing for Mississippi State. The Oklahoma result might be unacceptable at this point in the season, but the win over the Aggies is doing a lot of work for the Bulldogs. If MSU can defend the way they did against A&M they could pull some major upsets, but if we get what they did against Oklahoma, then it will be an early exit in both the SEC and NCAA tournament.
07. Kentucky Wildcats (18-9, 7-7)
The Wildcats needed the blowout win over Vanderbilt earlier in the week to bounce back from the weird loss to Texas. It looked like Kentucky had turned a corner defensively, holding three of its last four opponents to under 70 points, but the Wildcats gave up 96 points to Alabama, throwing any defensive improvements into question. When healthy, Kentucky is one of the best teams in the country. Until then, it's hard to know what to expect on a day-to-day basis.
06. Texas A&M Aggies (20-7, 9-5)
The Aggies are in relatively unfamiliar territory. For only the second time this season, Texas A&M has lost back-to-back games. A&M got dominated by Mississippi State earlier in the week, losing by 16, and then couldn’t hang to beat Tennessee at home. The Aggies have been by no means a good offense this season, but A&M hasn’t scored more than 69 points in five straight games. Texas A&M’s superpower has been winning ugly games, but maybe the magic is starting to wear off.
05. Missouri Tigers (20-7, 9-5)
Missouri proved they are a great team against Alabama on Wednesday night, taking down the Tide 110-98, but following that emotional game, the Tigers put together an awful defensive performance on the road at Arkansas. The defensive effort against the Hogs was most likely a fluke, but it did show that the Tigers are still vulnerable. But even with the loss on Saturday, Missouri is still playing like one of the top teams in the conference over the last month.
04. Tennessee Volunteers (22-5, 9-5)
Tennessee has a 5-1 record in February, with the only loss coming at the hand of Kentucky two weeks ago. This week, the Vols only had one game against Texas A&M which Tennessee won 77-69. The Vols hit a season-high 13 threes in the win while also shutting down a solid Aggie offense. This version of Tennessee could win it all, but until the Vols have a consistent offense, they will be solidly a second-tier SEC program.
03. Alabama Crimson Tide (22-5, 11-3)
It looked like Alabama might slip in the rankings after a 110-98 loss at Missouri, which gave the Crimson Tide their first losing streak of the season. But Alabama bounced back to take down Kentucky at home 96-83, scoring at least 80 points for its tenth straight game. Alabama might have ceded some ground in these rankings over the past week, but the Tide are still capable of winning it all. A slight defensive improvement would go a long way for this team.
02. Florida Gators (24-3, 11-3)
Florida has won six straight and is looking very much like the No. 2 team in the nation. The Gators had no problem dispatching Oklahoma early in the week, beating the Sooners by 22 points. However, there was a moment of panic against LSU. Florida led by 14 before giving up a 22-2 run over the last seven minutes of the first half. But any concern was quickly forgotten when the Gators had a 22-6 run early in the second half. Stopping this offense is nearly impossible.
01. Auburn Tigers (25-2, 13-1)
Auburn’s ability to win, no matter the style of play, is one of the big reasons the Tigers are the top team in the country. This week, we saw Auburn take down Arkansas 67-60 in a defensive slog and then follow that up with an 82-70 win over Georgia. Neither of these wins were overly impressive, but at this point in the season as long as Auburn keeps winning it will be hard to bump the Tigers from the top spot.