We are still just in the early weeks of the New Year, with the calendar still reading January. In the college basketball world, this means the regular season is more than half over, but the fun has only just begun. While things like holiday tournaments and nonconference rivalry games are finished for the year, we’re only just starting to learn about these players, coaches, and teams all over the country.
For some leagues, we’re only just beginning conference play in recent days. After all of the anticipation and buildup both of the offseason and the nonconference slate, these are the games that really matter. It’s the bitter rivals that you see every season; it’s the chances to make a name for yourself. All of this applies at the power conference level and especially in this current version of SEC Basketball.
It’s a finale of sorts for this league, as Oklahoma and Texas will turn fourteen into sixteen in this upcoming season. While this move was solely a football venture, there’s no doubt that those additions will change basketball in the conference, but it’s not like this isn’t a great league without them. In recent years, the SEC has been tight, exciting, highly-anticipated, and loaded with talented players and successful programs. We’re no longer in that era where Kentucky or Florida run rampant.
Today, we’re looking at the current state of the conference, keeping in mind that league play has only just begun. We’ll be ranking the teams on how they stand, though this isn’t just a look at the conference standings. Just two league games have been played, meaning a hot or cold start matters but isn’t everything in our analysis. Without saying too much more, let’s begin our deep dive into the total picture on these teams while at the same time wondering how each of their seasons will develop.