06. Tennessee Volunteers (20-9, 10-6)
The Volunteers have just two wins over tournament-bound teams over their last ten games. The latest came last week in a low-scoring affair against Vanderbilt. This week was far less kind to Tennessee, and it found itself on the losing end of both of its games. The Vols battled back, but fell short at Missouri on Tuesday. And then let a double-digit lead slip away in the final minutes against Alabama. Rick Barnes’ squad has scored 69 points in each of its last three games. He’s going to need a little more offensive output if this Tennessee team plans on making a deep tournament run.
05. Kentucky Wildcats (19-10, 10-6)
Kentucky is starting to make up some of the ground it lost in the conference standings, but the three-game losing streak last week really hurt this team. Until that point, Kentucky had been playing some great basketball. The losses to Florida and Georgia were by no means disqualifying, but the one-point loss to Auburn looks horrible now. The Wildcats bounced back nicely this week to pick up two much-needed wins. They took down South Carolina by nine to kick off the week, and then beat Vanderbilt by 14 on Saturday. Kentucky might not be the team we expected this season, but Mark Pope has done a great job keeping the Wildcats in the conference title hunt.
04. Missouri Tigers (20-9, 10-6)
Moving Missouri up three spots might seem like a lot, but with how well the Tigers played this week, combined with the recent struggles of the two teams below them, the rise was inevitable. Mizzou started the week by taking down Tennessee by four in a tough defensive battle before absolutely blitzing Mississippi State in Starkville. The Tigers led by as many as 36 in the second half before taking their foot off the gas. It’s wild to think that this is the same team that got destroyed by Illinois, Kansas, and Alabama this season. Missouri might not be a top team in this league on paper, but you can’t count the Tigers out.
03. Arkansas Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5)
Most of the time, this Arkansas team is one of the most exciting to watch. The rest of the time, you're left wondering how it's so bad defensively. This week, we saw both. First, the Razorbacks put up 62 points in the second half of a 15-point win over A&M. Then, the Hogs got completely shut down against Florida, giving up 111 points in a 34-point loss. But one of the biggest developments has been Billy Richmond III finding his shot, scoring at least 21 points in each of the past three games. Arkansas offense has been dominated by two reliable scorers. A third might be enough to push this team over the top.
02. Alabama Crimson Tide (22-7, 12-4)
Alabama is starting to close the gap in these rankings on Florida, but the Tide is still a considerable distance behind. Alabama has won its last eight games since the 23-point loss to Florida a few weeks ago. The Tide might have dominated Mississippi State in a 25-point win, but the bigger outcome was a two-point win over Tennessee. Alabama had only beaten one ranked team in SEC play until it overcame a 13-point hole against the Vols. Alabama’s defense is still a weak spot for this team, but as we’ve seen many times over the past few seasons, a bad defense isn’t always enough to hold back a Nate Oats offense.
01. Florida Gators (23-6, 14-2)
Florida has gotten into the habit of embarrassing really good SEC teams. The Gators beat their latest victims, Texas and Arkansas, by an average of 23.5 points, with a majority of that deficit coming from the 34-point win over the Hogs. Florida’s front court trio has been good enough all season to make this team a title contender, and now that the guard play has started to improve, the Gators have been nearly unstoppable. The funny thing is, this team might not be as good, overall, as the team that won the title a season ago. Which should scare every potential opponent Florida might face between now and the end of the NCAA Tournament.