The SEC might be down from where it was just a year ago, but that hasn’t made this league any less tough to get through. We’re only three games into SEC play, and we’ve already had some incredibly important results. Early favorites, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, all have two losses. Missouri, Texas, and Auburn have all knocked off one of the favorites to win the conference. Texas A&M and Vanderbilt are the only two teams without a conference loss. What’s not to love about conference play? Following the first full week of league play, here is the latest iteration of the SEC power rankings:
16. LSU Tigers (12-4, 0-3)
Things aren’t going well for LSU now that we’ve entered SEC play. The Tigers are the only team in the conference without a win in league play, and are starting to fall fast. LSU dropped its first game this week by 10 to South Carolina. The Tigers followed that up with an 11-point loss to Vanderbilt. LSU is averaging nearly 15 points fewer per game since league play started. There’s still time to right the ship, but I have a feeling the Tigers are starting to sink.
15. South Carolina Gamecocks (10-6, 1-2)
It might have taken 15 games, but South Carolina finally picked up its first P5 win of the season. The Gamecocks beat LSU by 10 in Baton Rouge, but couldn’t hold on against Georgia to win a second straight SEC matchup. SC lost its first 13 conference games a year ago, so this team feels like it's miles ahead of that one. I don’t think the Gamecocks will cause many teams issues moving forward, but they are feisty enough to pick up wins if they are overlooked.
14. Ole Miss Rebels (9-7, 1-2)
Teams are going to find out that Ole Miss is going to be a hard team to beat at home. Arkansas escaped with a seven-point win in the mid-week game, but the Rebels took down Missouri by seven to notch their first SEC win of the season. Whether or not Ole Miss can salvage its season will likely depend on whether its hot three-point shooting continues and if the defense can find its footing. I’m not convinced the Rebels will impact the conference race too much.
13. Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-6, 2-1)
Mississippi State’s win streak hit six games this week, with a 19-point win over Oklahoma. The Bulldogs were unable to tack on another win to end the week, falling to a hungry Kentucky team 92-68. The fact that MSU is sitting at 2-1 after three SEC games seems wild after how poor its start to the season was. The Bulldogs are starting to show some fight, and even if they revert back to their early-season ways, Josh Hubbard has looked like the best player in the conference.
12. Oklahoma Sooners (11-5, 1-2)
Since taking over at Oklahoma, Porter Moser hasn’t finished a season with a winning record in conference play. I know we are only three games into SEC play, but it looks like history is going to repeat itself again. A 19-point loss at Mississippi State and a seven-point loss at Texas A&M have the Sooners falling a couple of spots this week. There’s still plenty of time to finish strong, though I don’t have much confidence that Moser can get it done.
11. Texas Longhorns (10-6, 1-2)
Sean Miller notched his first career SEC win, beating Alabama by four points. The victory at Alabama was enough to erase any damage done by the 14-point loss at Tennessee. Texas hasn’t been great this season and has struggled against power conference teams, so finding a way to hold on against a really talented Alabama team has Texas up a couple of places in these rankings. I don’t know if Texas will build on this, but this is the kind of win that can change seasons.
10. Kentucky Wildcats (10-6, 1-2)
This Kentucky team hasn’t lived up to its billing at all this season, which has continued into conference play. Kentucky dropped to 0-2 in the SEC following a home loss to Missouri, a place where the Wildcats had never lost to the Tigers. Luckily for Kentucky, it finally had a solid offensive performance, dominating Mississippi State 92-68, to finally tally its first conference win. The expectations that Kentucky would compete for an SEC title are likely dashed, but on the right night, the Wildcats could beat just about anyone.
09. Missouri Tigers (12-4, 2-1)
Missouri hit two milestones this week. The Tigers beat Kentucky in Lexington for the first time ever, which improved Mizzou to 2-0 in SEC play for the first time in school history. But those highs were short-lived after a disappointing loss to Ole Miss in Oxford Saturday evening - shooting 50 percent from the free throw line will do that to a team. Mizzou is still struggling with the same things it was at the start of the season, which is concerning, to say the least.
08. Texas A&M Aggies (13-3, 3-0)
The Aggies are one of only two SEC teams without a loss through the first three games, and I don’t know if anyone outside of College Station would have predicted this. The Aggies beat Auburn in their mid-week game after a game-winning heave by the Tigers was called off, then knocked off Oklahoma by seven to finish out the week. Other than hitting threes and forcing turnovers, this A&M team isn’t doing anything all that exciting, but for the Aggies, that’s more than enough to rack up wins.
07. Auburn Tigers (10-6, 1-2)
After losing its first two SEC games by six total points, Auburn finally found its rhythm and thumped Arkansas, winning by 22 points, handing the Razorbacks their first conference loss of the season. Keyshawn Hall has been great all year and did most of the work in the win, scoring 32 points. The win over Arkansas doesn’t necessarily mean this team has resolved all of its issues, but it does give Auburn fans a little hope that things are trending in the right direction.
06. Tennessee Volunteers (11-5, 1-2)
A 1-2 start to league play has Tennessee in a slow freefall. The Vols have played a tough conference schedule so far, but they have struggled to slow down the top teams. A 14-point win over Texas gave Tennessee its first conference win, though that was short-lived after the Vols were trounced by 24 points at the hands of Florida. I feel confident that Rick Barnes can straighten this team out; however, a few more lopsided losses might spell disaster for his program.
05. Georgia Bulldogs (14-2, 2-1)
Georgia’s magical season hit a bit of a snag against Florida earlier this week, losing by 15. Though the Bulldogs weren’t down for long, as they bounced back to beat South Carolina on the road to improve to 2-1 in SEC play. Ever since Georgia put up 104 points to beat Auburn to open SEC play, the Bulldogs haven’t scored more than 77 points. Mike White has done an incredible job this season. Let's just hope his squad can get its offense firepower back soon.
04. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-5, 1-2)
For the first time since the 2021-22 season, Alabama has a losing record in SEC play. The Tide still made the NCAA Tournament, but it ended with an opening round loss. Dropping a game to Vanderbilt isn’t a bad result at all, though getting beaten by Texas at home is another story. I still think Alabama has Final Four potential, but the folks in Tuscaloosa are hoping the Tide are just going through a rough patch and this isn’t a preview of what's to come.
03. Arkansas Razorbacks (12-4, 2-1)
Playing two road games this week was a bit tougher than Arkansas would have hoped. The Razorbacks picked up a win in Oxford over Ole Miss on Wednesday. Though their game on Saturday has the Hogs dropping down a spot. Arkansas made the game look closer in the end, losing by 22, but that doesn’t erase the fact that it was down nearly 30 points at Auburn on Saturday. Even though the SEC is down slightly, the league is still incredibly deep, but the Hogs should be fine.
02. Florida Gators (11-5, 2-1)
This is the Florida we all expected coming into the season. The Gators dialed in on both ends of the court to beat two ranked opponents by double digits this week, and in turn, helped them rocket up these rankings. Florida shut down Georgia, the country’s top scoring offense, then lit up Tennessee, one of the top defenses in the SEC. If this is what we can expect from the Gators throughout conference play, then I don’t see how they don’t win the conference.
01. Vanderbilt Commodores (16-0, 3-0)
Still perfect after 16 games. After two more wins this week, Vanderbilt has started to pull away from the rest of the conference. The 11-point win over LSU on Saturday was nice, but taking down Alabama by six points earlier in the week is the highlight of the week. Not bad for a team that “hasn’t played any real, real good teams”. If you’ve been waiting for the Commodores to slip up, it looks like you might be waiting just a little while longer.