12. Auburn Tigers (16-15, 7-11)
Auburn’s season might not be done just quite yet, but there’s little for fans of the Tigers to hold onto following a major letdown of a season. It was always going to be a tough season with a last-minute coaching change, though few could have predicted just how far Auburn would fall, considering the guard talent on the roster. The Tigers did lift their spirits a little with a 14-point win over LSU in their mid-week game. However, what little momentum Auburn did accumulate didn’t last long. The Tigers fell behind early at Alabama, dropping the matchup by 12 points. The only thing that can salvage the season would be long runs in the conference and NCAA tournaments, though that isn’t likely to happen.
11. Texas Longhorns (18-13, 9-9)
Texas is one of the handful of SEC teams to fade down the stretch. The Longhorns have lost four of their last five games, which has caused them to plummet in these rankings. Texas took advantage of a somewhat weak schedule a couple of weeks ago to rack up five straight wins, but since then, the defense has faded - allowing at least 84 in each of its last four losses. This week, we saw the Longhorns give up 105 points to Arkansas in a 20-point loss, then 88 points to Oklahoma in an overtime defeat. Finishing the regular season at .500 in conference play feels right for this Texas team since nobody can figure out whether or not the Longhorns are actually a good basketball team.
10. Kentucky Wildcats (19-12, 10-8)
Considering how much NIL went into this roster, finishing ninth in the conference standings is a major letdown in Lexington. Granted, much like last season, Mark Pope’s squad has struggled with injuries all year, but even with those limitations, the Wildcats have still maintained a spot towards the top of these rankings. Though going 2-5 down the stretch has certainly moved things in the wrong direction. After a big win over Vanderbilt last weekend, Kentucky went 0-2 to close out the regular season with losses at Texas A&M and against Florida. It’s taken some huge offensive performances from Otega Oweh to get to this point, but when it counted the most, Kentucky just wasn’t up to the task.
09. Oklahoma Sooners (17-14, 7-11)
It’s a shame that it took this long for Oklahoma to figure things out, because the version of this team we’ve seen over the second half of conference play could have made waves in the NCAA Tournament. Just a few weeks ago, the Sooners were 0-9 in the SEC and dead last in these power rankings. Since then, the Sooners have gone 7-2 and hold the second-longest active winning streak in the conference at four games. This week, Oklahoma picked up two huge wins - blasting Missouri by 16 and holding strong against Texas for a three-point road upset. Porter Moser still hasn’t finished above .500 in conference play while at Oklahoma, but it's hard to deny that he facilitated a remarkable turnaround this season.