The SEC continues to showcase its depth even at this point in the season. 14 of the 16 schools have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for at least one week and the SEC made up 10 of the 25 schools in the latest poll. The two favorites, Auburn and Alabama, continue to be the class of the conference. Still, it's been the play of Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Kentucky that has allowed the conference depth to really shine. On Saturday alone seven of the eight conference games were decided by at least 10 points including five that were won by 20 or more points. Following yet another great week of games, here are the latest SEC power rankings.
16. South Carolina Gamecocks (10-12, 0-9)
Another week of games and still no wins for South Carolina, and in the process the Gamecocks became the first SEC team to fall below .500 on the season. Lamont Paris has his squad playing competitive basketball, three of the last four losses have been by single digits, but the offense just hasn’t been good enough to knock off a conference foe. This has been a depressing season for the Gamecocks and their fans as a follow-up for completely exceeding expectations last season.
15. LSU Tigers (12-9, 1-7)
Trying to figure out how this LSU team beat Arkansas a couple of weeks ago is a fool's errand. The Tigers have looked like one of the worst defenses over the last four games, especially in their most recent game against Texas. Getting blown out at home by 31 points is embarrassing. At one point LSU looked like it might surprise some teams this season, but at this rate, the Tigers will be lucky to pick up another win in conference play.
14. Georgia Bulldogs (15-7, 3-6)
Georgia needs to find some offense or the rest of this season is going to end very badly for the Bulldogs. Since upsetting Kentucky in their second conference game of the season, Georgia has failed to score more than 72 in a game. Georgia still has an outside chance of making the NCAA Tournament, but the Bulldogs can’t afford too many more 20-plus point losses moving forward. Georgia will need to play flawless defense down the stretch to make up for its non-existent offense.
13. Arkansas Razorbacks (13-8, 2-6)
Maybe there's still some hope for Arkansas this season. The Razorbacks started 0-5 in SEC play but have won two of their last three games. Oddly enough these wins have come in the games that star freshman Boogie Fland has missed. But, beating Kentucky in Rupp Arena for John Calipari’s first game back since taking the Arkansas job was better than anyone could have asked for at this point in the season. 52 of Arkansas’ 89 points were scored by former Kentucky players in the win.
12. Vanderbilt Commodores (16-5, 4-4)
A second-half meltdown of epic proportions We were all rooting for Vanderbilt, and at some point knew the Commodores would stumble. But having a full week to prepare to only get destroyed by 30 at Oklahoma is a bad look. The second half was a complete disaster as the Commodores lost the final 20 minutes by 34 points after leading by four at halftime. Vanderbilt’s first AP ranking since 2015 was short-lived, but the Commodores live to fight another day.
11. Oklahoma Sooners (16-5, 3-5)
The Sooners have won three of their last four games and look to be back on track for the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma hasn’t been great offensively in SEC games so the 97-point outburst against Vanderbilt was a little unexpected. The 30-point win over the Commodores was very unexpected. If Oklahoma plays this way the rest of the season the the Sooners will be a team to watch out for. But until we see this type of game replicated Oklahoma is still a bottom half of the SEC team.
10. Ole Miss Rebels (16-6, 5-4)
Ole Miss rose to No. 5 in these power rankings following an upset win at Alabama. Since then the Rebels have gone 1-4, with the lone win being against Texas. The once-feared defense has yet to show up in the last three games for Ole Miss. The Rebels took Auburn to the wire on Saturday but came up short. There is still plenty of time to right the ship, though any hopes of Ole Miss winning the conference are probably dashed.
09. Texas Longhorns (15-7, 4-5)
Texas started the SEC schedule with seven of its first nine games against ranked opponents. So the 4-5 record isn’t a terrible start for the Longhorns in their first SEC season, though the roller coaster ride that is watching their offense is a little concerning. Texas had a terrible offensive outing against Missouri but scored 89 points at LSU to win by 30. Texas is one of the teams that could make things hard for the top of the conference but will need a little more consistent play.
08. Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-6, 4-5)
Should we start worrying about the Bulldogs? Mississippi State was once a dominant defense, but over the past two games, you’d never know it. MSU gave up 88 points twice this week, both losses to ranked opponents. The Bulldogs played Alabama close, losing by two, but followed that up by getting crushed at home by Missouri. Josh Hubbard is doing his part the rest of the team needs to step up their game to help out. The Bulldogs are still dangerous, just not as much as once thought.
07. Kentucky Wildcats (15-6, 4-4)
What’s happened to Kentucky over the past couple of weeks is concerning. Kentucky was once a top team in the country, but the Wildcats have completely gone off the rails recently. Kentucky’s defense has been awful causing the Wildcats to lose some games. The defense wasn’t great before SEC play, but the offense consistently scored huge numbers to make up for it. Now that Kentucky is giving up nearly 85 points per game in SEC play, the offense has taken a step back at the worst time.
06. Texas A&M Aggies (17-5, 6-3)
A solid defense, great rebounding, and now an improving offense? Texas A&M is starting to hit its stride at the right moment of the season. The Aggies only shot better than 40 percent six times in the non-con, Texas A&M has almost equaled that number (5) in only nine SEC games. There will always be concerns about offensive efficiency with the Aggies, but for the most part, shaky shooting hasn’t been much of a hindrance for A&M.
05. Florida Gators (18-3, 5-3)
Only one game this week for the Gators and it couldn’t have gone worse. Florida made the return trip to Tennessee and got completely shut down. For the first time all season, the Gators failed to score at least 70 points in a game. But what was the biggest surprise was that Florida only managed 44 points against a Volunteers team that was without the conference’s best defender. Florida is still good, but the offense might not be as invincible as it once looked.
04. Tennessee Volunteers (18-4, 5-4)
There was some concern about Tennessee following back-to-back losses to Auburn and Kentucky, but the Vols bounced back in a big way to completely shut down a great Florida offense. It’s even more impressive that Tennessee was able to hold Florida to only 44 points without the conference’s best defender Zakai Zeigler. We’ll see if the Vols defense can keep it up in the next few games if Zeigler misses some time, but early returns are that Tennessee should be fine.
03. Missouri Tigers (17-4, 6-2)
There aren’t many teams playing as well as Missouri right now. Since the start of SEC play, the Tigers have been the fourth-best offense (77 ppg) and defense (74 ppg) in the conference. Mizzou has also beaten ranked teams in back-to-back games for the first time since Dennis Gates’ first season in Columbia. Expectations are high for the Tigers, and as long as Caleb Grill continues to be unstoppable from behind the arc, the sky’s the limit for Mizzou.
02. Alabama Crimson Tide (19-3, 8-1)
There’s no slowing down Alabama's offense. Outside of the game against Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide have scored at least 80 points in every conference game, including three games in which Alabama hit triple digits. The defense, on the other hand, might cause the Tide some troubles down the stretch. But right now, it looks as if Alabama can easily outscore nearly every team in the country. If it weren't for rival Auburn, the Tide would easily be the best team in the conference.
01. Auburn Tigers (20-1, 8-0)
After eight games, it looks as if Auburn might be unstoppable. What has made Auburn so dangerous this season is its ability to win games no matter the style of play. Even without Johni Broome, arguably the best player in the country, the Tigers still picked up wins over solid SEC opponents. But since Broome’s return, the Tigers have taken down the likes of Tennessee and Ole Miss. Will Auburn finish SEC play undefeated? Probably not. But if the Tigers do, it won’t be a surprise to anyone.