12. Ole Miss Rebels (11-7, 3-2)
A three-game win streak and three straight impressive AJ Storr offensive performances have the Rebels back in the thick of things. Ole Miss looked dead in the water just a couple of weeks ago and is now sitting with a winning conference record. The Rebels upset Georgia in overtime in Athens and quickly followed that up with a one-point win at in-state rival Mississippi State. I still don’t know what to make of this team and whether or not they are actually good, but with how tough the league is, any win is a quality one.
11. Tennessee Volunteers (12-6, 2-3)
Not many people would have expected a 2-3 start from Tennessee in conference games, but that’s exactly where the Vols are after the first five games. Other than a game against Texas, Tennessee hasn’t held another SEC team to fewer than 80 points in a game - a far cry from how well this team defended earlier in the season. With a loss at home to a short-handed Kentucky team on Saturday, the only things preventing Tennessee from falling even farther are a win over a really good Texas A&M team in the mid-week game.
10. Kentucky Wildcats (12-6, 3-2)
Even though Kentucky will be without Jaland Lowe for the rest of the season and Jayden Quaintance might be out for a while, the Wildcats have won their last two games. Mark Pope’s squad trailed by double-digits against both LSU and Tennessee this week, but somehow ended up with wins in both, including an incredible shot by Malachi Moreno at the buzzer to take down LSU. Obviously, this isn’t how BBN thought this season would go. The Wildcats are still winning games, but I doubt they will be able to fight out of huge deficits every night.
09. Auburn Tigers (11-7, 2-3)
This Auburn team has been one of the more confusing teams lately. The Tigers upset Arkansas by 22 points last week. Then this week, lost at Missouri by 10 and snuck past South Carolina at home by four. The offense has performed well, mostly buoyed by free throw shooting, 21.4 made per game, though the defense isn’t really helping the team at all - Auburn ranks either No. 15 or 15 in opponent field goal percentage, opponent made threes, and opponent three point percentage. With these numbers, it’s no wonder the Tigers aren’t winning games.