Week after week, the SEC continues to provide some of the best games in the country. The league as a whole might be down slightly, but that hasn’t impacted just how exciting the games have been on the court. This week alone, we witnessed multiple upsets of ranked teams, including Auburn's victory over Florida, Tennessee's win over Alabama, and Texas' triumph over Georgia. We also got to witness a game with not one, but two buzzer-beating threes, in Missouri’s OT win over Oklahoma.
We’re nearly halfway through the conference slate, and the race for the conference title is still wide open, which should make for some must-see games down the stretch. After a third full week of SEC play, here are the latest power rankings:
16. Oklahoma Sooners (11-9, 1-6)
The Sooners have lost their last three games by a total of 11 points and were just two Mizzou buzzer beaters away from snagging a win on the road. Porter Moser, at one point this season, had a strong offense. Now that the schedule has picked up, Oklahoma hasn’t done anything particularly well. The Sooners are down bad, and with a really tough stretch of games coming up, it doesn’t appear things will get better anytime soon.
15. LSU Tigers (13-7, 1-6)
LSU might be up a spot in these rankings, but the Tigers aren't playing particularly inspired basketball. The once highly efficient offense now ranks near the bottom of the conference standings, though the defense has been one of the best, which has allowed the Tigers to keep games close - other than the 18-point loss to Florida this week. LSU might win a couple more games before the season ends, but probably not many.
14. South Carolina Gamecocks (11-9, 2-5)
The Gamecocks took down a driftless Oklahoma team to pick up their second SEC win of the season, but quickly followed that up with a 23-point loss at Texas A&M. Lamont Paris has done a good job keeping his team competitive most nights, though even that hasn’t led to many wins. What we saw this week is likely what we can expect moving forward - close games at home and potential blowouts on the road.
13. Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-10, 2-5)
MSU tricked us by winning its first two conference games. Since then, the Bulldogs have lost five straight, including dropping their games to Texas A&M and Vanderbilt by a combined 52 points this week. It looks like the heavy workload is starting to get to Josh Hubbard, who hasn’t scored more than 13 points over his last three games. Without Hubbard scoring a ton of points, this team won’t have an offense, which could lead to disaster.
12. Ole Miss Rebels (11-9, 3-4)
Offense has been hard to come by for the Rebels this season, though it looked like Ole Miss might have started to find some to start SEC play. After averaging more than 82 points over their first four conference games, the Rebels haven’t scored more than 68 points since then, including only managing 66 against Auburn and 63 against Kentucky - both losses. Scoring was a concern in the preseason, and after this week, it's easy to see why.
11. Tennessee Volunteers (13-6, 3-3)
Tennessee is in unfamiliar territory under Rick Barnes. The Vols have alternated wins and losses in every SEC game and currently have the No. 11 scoring defense in the conference. Tennessee allowed 80 points to Kentucky in a loss, then beat Alabama while giving up 73 points this week. The Vols could still make a play for the top of the conference, but right now it appears that a long postseason reunion is slipping away.
10. Auburn Tigers (13-7, 4-3)
Three straight wins, including victories at Ole Miss and Florida this week, have helped Auburn finally find its footing. The Tigers haven’t overwhelmed their opponents with scoring, but with solid defense, which hasn't been this team's strong suit this season. If this is something we can expect from Auburn moving forward, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Tigers finish towards the top of the SEC, but with some of their other performances, that’s a big if.
09. Texas Longhorns (12-8, 3-4)
With how many ranked SEC teams Texas has taken down this season, you’d expect the Longhorns to be a much better team. All three of Texas’ league wins have been against ranked opponents, while three of its four losses have been to unranked teams. Texas might just be a giant killer this season, which makes the Longhorns a terrifying team to play. Now, only if they could figure out how to beat the rest of the conference.
08. Missouri Tigers (14-6, 4-3)
Missouri hasn’t been playing the most inspired basketball as of late. The Tigers ended last week with a disappointing loss at LSU and picked up where they left off in a loss to Georgia on Tuesday. It might have taken a Trent Pierce buzzer-beating three to send the game to overtime and a Mark Mitchell buzzer-beating three to win the game against Oklahoma, but Mizzou finally got the job done.
07. Alabama Crimson Tide (13-6, 3-3)
Under Nate Oats, Alabama has generally succeeded in scoring the ball on everyone it faces. However, against a struggling Tennessee team, the Tide only managed 73 points, dropping their second straight home game in SEC play. If it weren't for Labaron Philon, the six-point loss to the Vols could have been much worse. This was likely a one-time thing, but in dropping three of their last five games, the Tide are starting to lose sight of the lead pack.
06. Georgia Bulldogs (16-4, 4-3)
Playing two road games in a week is never easy. Georgia found that out the hard way. After hanging on to a two-point win at Missouri, the Bulldogs’ high-powered offense was completely shut down in a 20-point defeat at Texas. Georgia sported the top-scoring offense most of the season, though over the past few games, you really haven’t seen it. The Bulldogs are still in great shape, though the offense isn't quite as scary as it once was.
05. Kentucky Wildcats (14-6, 5-2)
This season has been a rollercoaster for fans in Lexington. Since a 0-2 start to SEC play, Kentucky has won its last five games, capping the week off with wins over Texas and Ole Miss. Mark Pope’s team had developed a nasty habit of getting behind big and storming back in the second half. However, in the wins over Texas and Ole Miss, the Wildcats never trailed by more than four points, so maybe Kentucky has finally figured things out.
04. Vanderbilt Commodores (17-3, 4-3)
The Commodores looked lost in a 25-point defeat at Arkansas in their mid-week game, but got their season back on track against Mississippi State on Saturday. Clobbering the Bulldogs 88-56. It was only a matter of time before Vandy slipped, but with how well the Commodores had been playing, dropping three straight seemed out of the question. Vanderbilt looks mortal now, though this is still the team that started the season with 16 consecutive wins.
03. Arkansas Razorbacks (15-5, 5-2)
Arkansas has been virtually unstoppable offensively since the start of league play, and this week was no different. The Razorbacks put up 93 points in a lopsided win over Vanderbilt and 85 points to eke out a win over LSU. It’s not often we see a lockdown defensive performance from Arkansas, so it was refreshing to see the Razorbacks hold a great Vanderbilt team to 68 points. As long as the offense stays hot, Arkansas is a top SEC team.
02. Florida Gators (14-6, 5-2)
Florida had been scoring the ball at will, which, likely, was the product of improved play from its guards. However, against LSU and Auburn this week, the Gators failed to score more than 80 points and split their matchups. Guard play and perimeter scoring are really the only things holding this team back. We saw how great they played over the past few games, so Florida should be able to get back on track soon.
01. Texas A&M Aggies (16-4, 6-1)
Bucky McMilan’s squad has won its last three games, including dominating wins over Mississippi State and South Carolina this week, winning both games by at least 20 points. While most of the conference has struggled, A&M is one of the few teams with only a single blemish in the conference standings. The Aggies might not be the best team in the conference, but there arguably isn’t anyone playing better basketball than Texas A&M right now.