09. Oklahoma Sooners (13-1, 0-1)
Oklahoma made it through non-con play undefeated, but promptly lost its very first SEC game 107-79 at Alabama. The Sooners fell behind early and kept the game close for about 12 minutes, after that Oklahoma never got Alabama’s lead to under 11 points. All five starters scored in double figures with Jalon Moore leading the way with 20 points, but Oklahoma only got five points from its bench. If it hadn’t been such a bad loss Oklahoma might not have dropped as far, but the Sooners looked completely overmatched from early in the game. Not a great start to Oklahoma’s SEC tenure.
08. Ole Miss Rebels (12-2, 1-0)
Ole Miss looked great defensively against Georgia to open conference play. The Rebels held the Bulldogs to 51 points while winning by 12. The offense was a little disappointing only making 41.2 percent from the floor, but with how good the defense was, Ole Miss didn’t need to score all that much to get the win. Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield each scored 15, but no other Ole Miss player scored more than nine points. The Rebels had 10 steals and 10 blocks against the Bulldogs. The offense will need to step it up if they want to be a threat to win the conference.
07. Texas A&M Aggies (12-2, 1-0)
The Aggies might be the most consistent team in the country. Every game looks about the same - a close first half due to not great shooting, then a second-half blowout because of a dominant defense. This will probably win Texas A&M quite a few SEC games. This worked well against Texas. The game was tied at 37 at halftime before A&M completely shut down Texas’s offense, winning the second half by 20 points. The Aggies will be in most games with how well they defend and rebound on the offensive end, but will that be enough to take down the elite SEC teams?