SEC Basketball: Kentucky and LSU rise in latest power rankings.

06. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State hasn’t played the best non-conference slate so far this season, but the Bulldogs have been dominant in each of its games this season. MSU is 3-0 and has won every game by an average of 30.3 points. Josh Hubbard has been on fire from three this year, making 61.9 percent on seven attempts per game. 

What Chris Jans has done with this Mississippi State offense has been impressive, but the fact that the defense hasn’t dropped off at all is even more impressive. I know that the quality of the opponent hasn’t been great, but the Bulldogs are allowing less than 62 points per game this season. We’ll learn more about how good MSU is this upcoming week with Utah and SMU on the schedule, but I think the Bulldogs have been one of the better teams in the conference through the first few games. 

05. Florida Gators

Florida has looked really good so far this season. The Gators have won every game by at least 13 points and are currently 4-0 on the year. The best win on the season was an 87-74 win over Florida State on the road. The defense has impressed me this season. After giving up 79 points per game last season, the Gators are holding opponents to up 70 points per game this year. 

There haven’t been too many causes for concern this year for Florida. Walter Clayton Jr (18.8 ppg) has looked like one of the best players in the conference early on and Florida has one of the most efficient offenses in the country. The top five teams in the SEC have been awesome this year and the fact that Florida is checking in at No. 5 isn’t a slight to the Gators, but a testament to how strong the top of the conference is. 

04. Tennessee Volunteers

In my opinion, the gap between Florida and Tennessee is razor-thin. The Volunteers get the higher seed because of how great the team has looked on defense. Tennessee is currently 3-0 and has only given up more than 60 points once this season, which was in the opening game of the season against Gardner-Webb. Since then Tennessee has allowed 55 points to Louisville on the road and 57 points against Montana. 

Chaz Lanier (16.7 ppg) has proven to be a viable replacement for Dalton Knecht. And the offense is averaging 83 points per game. Tennessee has one of the best road wins of the season but really hasn’t been tested. I can’t imagine Tennessee falling off in any meaningful way this season, the defense is just too good. The offense still has room to grow, which should terrify future opponents.