12. Texas Longhorns (10-2)
Texas has taken out its frustrations on the last three teams the Longhorns have faced following the home loss to UConn. The Longhorns won these games by an average of 38 points, including a 64-point win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Sunday. Jordan Pope has scored in double figures in each of the past three games, with a huge offensive performance against New Orleans. Pope scored 42 points on 15/21 shooting to improve his scoring average to 11.7 points per game. Texas has the next week off but still has one more game to play before the conference slate starts.
11. Missouri Tigers (10-1)
Missouri struggled on the defensive end this past week in its win over Jacksonville State. The 11-point win over the Gamecocks was the closest margin of victory against a mid-major program for the Tigers since the seven-point win over Eastern Washington early this season. Jacob Crews scored 19 points in the win over JSU becoming the eighth different Mizzou player to lead the team in scoring this season. Missouri has played one of the easiest non-conference schedules this season, with only three games against power conference opponents, but the win over Kansas is still one of the top wins in the country.
10. Ole Miss Rebels (11-1)
The Rebels have looked good on both ends of the court this season, but outside of a three-game stretch a few weeks ago Ole Miss hasn’t played anyone of note. Ole Miss has solid wins over BYU and Louisville and a loss to Purdue, but other than that haven’t been tested that much this year. The Rebels beat Southern and Queens this week, but neither were as dominating as many thought they would be. Ole Miss travels to Memphis this week before SEC play begins. Sean Pedulla has emerged as the team's leading scorer and is averaging 17.4 points in December.