SEC Basketball: Auburn rises, Texas A&M falls in latest power rankings

12. LSU Tigers

LSU as well as Vanderbilt and Oklahoma are all ranked in this range simply because they have only one game played against weak mid-major teams. But all three teams dominated these games grabbing easy wins. For LSU the win came against Louisiana-Monroe. Two Tigers scored over 20 points in the 95-60 win. Jalen Reed with 24 points and Cam Carter with 21 points led the Tigers to the win.

LSU has two games this week, one at home against Alabama State and the other being its first road test at Kansas State. I have no doubt that the Tigers will put up a ton of points against Alabama State, but if LSU can get the win on the road against a tough K-State team then this season might go a little better an expected. 

A power conference win will definitely help in the power rankings, but until that point, LSU’s upside in the SEC will still be a little unknown. I might be putting too much stock into the games this week, but with the conference being so tough, LSU needs to make a statement if it expects to be considered for an NCAA Tournament spot. 

11. Georgia Bulldogs

At the time of writing this Georgia has only played one game this season, an 83-78 win over Tennessee Tech. The Bulldogs dominated inside the three-point line making 62.5 percent and on the boards. Georgia out-rebounded Tennessee Tech 44-25. Much like the three teams below Georgia in the rankings, I had a hard time moving them up since it has only played one game to date. 

Asa Newell proved to be everything he was expected to be in his first game in college. Against Tennessee Tech he recorded a double-double, with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Dakota Leffew added 18 points and RJ Godfrey recorded a double-double of his own. Godfrey scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

The Bulldogs struggled to get stops on defense in game one of the season. Georgia allowed Tennessee Tech, 57.6 percent, to score pretty easily from inside the three-point arc. This is concerning moving forward since Mike White brought in a couple of interior defenders this offseason. I like what Newell has done this season, but still need a lot more from the rest of the team before Georgia can crack the top ten of the conference. 

10. Texas A&M Aggies

I had Texas A&M ranked as one of the top teams in the conference entering the season. The Aggies returned nearly everyone from last season and looked to be a similar team. But that’s ended up costing A&M in its opening game of the season. The 64-61 loss to UCF was the first time under Buzz Williams that the Aggies failed to win the opening game of the season. 

The Aggies won the second game of the season by 32 points over Texas A&M-Commerce. But through two games Texas A&M hasn’t looked good on offense. The Aggies are averaging 74 points per game while making 46 percent from the floor. Without the 15.5 offensive rebounds per game,, A&M might truly be one of the bigger letdowns this season. 

Wade Taylor IV has gotten off to a slow start this season. Through the first two games he is averaging 11.5 points per game, well below the 19 points he averaged last season. If this continues over the next few games, Texas A&M might be in trouble. The Aggies will have a big test later this week against Ohio State. A win against the Buckeyes would be huge for the team's confidence moving forward.