It’s difficult to not wax poetic about how great the SEC has been this season, through the first two months of the season the conference has an incredible 170-22 record for a winning percentage of 88.5. 11 of the 16 member schools have wins over a ranked opponent and every team has at least one win over a power conference opponent. Each of the 16 SEC teams has a win that most teams in the other power conferences could only dream of picking up during the early part of the season.
There weren’t many games played over the past week, so instead of doing the usual SEC power rankings, I thought it might be a fun exercise to rank each of the 16 teams' best wins of the non-conference slate. Here are those rankings.
16. Vanderbilt Commodores
Best win: TCU Horned Frogs
The Commodores have played a handful of power conference opponents but none of them have done much with their seasons, but a win away from home against a Big 12 opponent was easily the Commodore's best win of the season. While not a true road game, Vanderbilt traveled to Fort Worth to take on TCU for the Coast-to-Coast challenge. The game was back and forth for the first 30 minutes before the Commodores outscored the Horned Frogs 24-16 over the final nine minutes of play. The win over TCU was win number nine on the season for Vanderbilt, tying the win total from the previous season.
15. Texas Longhorns
Best win: NC State Wolfpack
Texas didn’t schedule the toughest in the non-conference, so there weren’t many games to pick from when it came to the Longhorns. Also, Texas lost its two hardest games of the season, so it needed to venture into the second tier of the ACC to find a win that moved the needle. The Longhorns played NC State in the SEC/ACC Challenge, beating the Wolfpack 63-59 on their home court. Tre Johnson led Texas with 18 points in the low-scoring affair. The win might not have been the most exciting, but it was an actual road test, which is rare for most power conference teams early in the season.
14. LSU Tigers
Best win: UCF Knights
Wins over Kansas State and Florida State were in contention for LSU’s best non-con victory, but the win over UCF in the Greenbriar Classic stands out in both quality and excitement. Early in the game against the Knights, it looked like it was going to be a blowout with LSU on the losing end. The Tigers were down 20 points just before the half, but LSU fought back and ended up winning 109-102 in triple overtime. Jordan Sears, Jalen Reed, and Cam Carter all scored at least 20 points with Reed adding 13 rebounds. Sears was one assist away from his first career double-double.
13. Ole Miss Rebels
Best win: Louisville Cardinals
Power conference teams rarely play true road games in the non-con, but Ole Miss picked up its best win of the season in a true road game. The Rebels easily beat the Louisville Cardinals on their home court when the two met as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge in early December. Ole Miss won the game by 23 points and made nearly 57 percent from the floor. Four Rebels scored in double figures in the win with Dre Davis leading the team with 20 points. Ole Miss only had a couple of P5 games on the schedule, so dominating a solid Louisville team was huge to the Rebels.