If there were any questions about which conference would be the best in the country this year, the SEC has quickly put any discussion to rest. Since last week's power rankings, SEC teams have taken down the likes of Kansas, Michigan, and Purdue. There have been a few surprises early this season, but nearly every team in the conference is playing much better than expected. The top five teams in the SEC are arguably better than nearly every team in any of the other power conferences.
The SEC has been great this year and is showing no signs of slowing down, which makes ranking the conference incredibly difficult, but here are the latest SEC power rankings.
16. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-3)
South Carolina has started to turn things around following three non-conference losses already this season. The Gamecocks have a winning streak of four games, although South Carolina needed eight second-half threes to squeak past a pesky East Carolina team. South Carolina’s best wins so far this season have been over Boston College and Wake Forest, which are moving many needles at this point in the season. The Gamecocks have a matchup with Clemson this upcoming week, so we will see if South Carolina can compete with a tournament-caliber team.
15. LSU Tigers (8-2)
LSU has exceeded most expectations during the non-conference slate but hasn’t always looked great in doing so. The Tigers have two different four-game win streaks this season, although each of those streaks has ended at the hands of an ACC team. First Pitt then SMU. The wins over Kansas State, UCF, and Florida State are still good wins but each of those teams has multiple losses on the season. LSU has some easy games coming up before SEC play to get back on track.
14. Vanderbilt Commodores (9-1)
Vanderbilt has already equaled its win total from last season and we are only two weeks into December. The lone blemish on the Commodores' record is a loss to Drake, which has aged well. Vanderbilt has already beaten four P5 teams this season and has wins over Virginia Tech on the road and TCU on a neutral court the last two times it played. Mark Byington has done wonders for this program. Vanderbilt doesn’t have another power conference opponent before SEC play, so the Commodores should be in a good spot to start conference play.
13. Georgia Bulldogs (9-1)
Georgia continues to rack up wins this season, most recently taking down Grand Canyon in a close game. The Bulldogs are winning the games they should be and the only loss was to Marquette, but the Golden Eagles have struggled a little over the past couple of weeks. The win of St. Johns has aged fairly well, but a few of the other wins are looking a little less impressive as the season moves along. If it weren't for huge wins from other teams in the conference Georgia would still be a couple of spots higher.