08. Missouri Tigers (18-9, 8-6)
This Missouri team might have played its way into the NCAA Tournament this week, with a one-point win over a ranked Vanderbilt team in its mid-week matchup. That shouldn’t distract from the fact that the Tigers led by 21 points in that game. Dennis Gates’ squad couldn't pick up its second-ranked win of the week at Arkansas, falling to the Razorbacks by eight in Fayetteville. Consistency hasn’t been this team's strong suit most of the season, so if the Tigers want to stay off the bubble, they’ll need to find some with four tough, but winnable, games left on the season.
07. Texas Longhorns (17-10, 8-6)
This week really tested this Texas team. The Longhorns entered the week winner of their last four games, and barely held on against LSU to extend their winning streak to five games. That’s where the streak ended. Texas’s defense struggled against a tough Georgia offense, giving up 91 points in the loss. The Longhorns got off to a slow start in SEC play, so winning five of their last six games has made up a lot of the ground that was ceded early on. Texas has a few opportunities to rack up some statement wins with its next three opponents being solidly in the NCAA Tournament.
06. Vanderbilt Commodores (21-6, 8-6)
Had Tyler Tanner’s half-court shot fallen against Missouri, we’d probably be talking about this team slightly differently. The Commodores are by no means playing bad basketball; they were just playing so well early in the season that the drop-off has been noticeable. The one-point loss to Missouri was followed by a four-point loss against Tennessee, giving Vanderbilt a two-game losing streak. The Commodores need to reset and get back to playing great team basketball. Their remaining schedule doesn’t allow for much time to bounce back, but with how well Mark Byington has coached over the past two seasons, there really isn’t much concern.
05. Kentucky Wildcats (17-10, 8-6)
Kentucky has lost its last three games and is seemingly starting to spiral, especially the head coach, Mark Pope. His profanity-laced tirade against the officials has put his team in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The Wildcats' losses recently have been against teams that should make the NCAA Tournament, so they are in no way bad losses. But the one thing this Kentucky team can’t do is let these close games against Georgia and Auburn snowball into more losses. If the Wildcats can’t bounce back in their next game at South Carolina, then we can start to worry about how far they can go in the postseason.