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SEC Basketball: Alabama, Auburn leads way-too-early power rankings for 2024-25 season

The 16-team SEC is set to be one of college basketball's most talented conferences.

By Cole Amundson

Clemson v Alabama
Clemson v Alabama / Ronald Martinez/GettyImages
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The NBA Deadline has passed and players have been back on campus for the past few weeks. We may be officially entering the “dog days” of the college basketball offseason, but that means the picture has become even more clear regarding where each roster stands.

Entering the 2024-25 season, the SEC will be a gauntlet. With new faces roaming the sidelines in Mark Byington (Vanderbilt), John Calipari (Arkansas) and Mark Pope (Kentucky) and new schools entering the fold in Oklahoma and Texas, the SEC is set to be one of the more competitive conferences in college basketball next season, one through 16.

With that being said, take a look at the way-too-early power rankings for the 2024-25 season in SEC Basketball.

16. LSU Tigers

LSU made strides in the right direction last season, improving their SEC win total from two to nine en route to an NIT appearance. Entering year three of the Matt McMahon era, the expectations will continue to increase, yet the unforgiving nature of the SEC presents a daunting challenge for the Tigers.

Losing their top three scorers -- Jordan Wright, Jalen Cook (who only played in 13 games) and Will Baker -- leaves a substantial void to be filled, meaning Matt McMahon will have to bank on the development of returning pieces such as Tyrell Ward (9.1 PPG), Jalen Reed (7.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG) and Derek Fountain (5.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG) to keep the Tigers at pace with the rest of the SEC.

On an optimistic note, the Tigers landed three key pieces in the portal: DJi Bailey (Richmond), Jordan Sears (UT-Martin) and Cam Carter (Kansas State). These pieces alone give Matt McMahon a completely rebuilt backcourt to work with heading into the season. They will also welcome the 12th-best composite recruiting class, according to 24/7 Sports.

However, questions remain about how these portal pieces will fit together in the backcourt and given just how daunting the SEC will be this season, it's hard to envision the LSU Tigers putting together a strong 2024-25 campaign.

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