SEC Basketball: Tennessee rises while Arkansas slides in latest power rankings
By Justin Wiles
12. Arkansas Razorbacks (7-2)
Arkansas has fallen more than any other team in these rankings over the past few weeks. I had the Razorbacks 4th in my preseason rankings, but John Calipari and his team have done little this season to instill much confidence in this roster. The losses to Baylor and Illinois aren’t bad, but the struggles against Troy, Miami, and UTSA are throwing up some red flags.
Adou Thiero (18.6 ppg) and Boogie Fland (15.0 ppg) have been consistent scorers for Arkansas through the first nine games, but the Razorbacks are still waiting for Johnell Davis to put together a strong stretch of offensive performances. Defensively, Arkansas has been good and could possibly get even better into SEC play now that Jonas Aidoo is back in the lineup.
Arkansas might still be a contender for a conference title once the entire roster is up to speed, but so far the Razorbacks are trending in the wrong direction. The one good thing Arkansas has done has been win games. It will be hard to continue to drop this team much farther if Arkansas keeps winning, I just need to see the Razorbacks put away weaker competition early in the game and not rely on a second-half comeback to pick up wins.
11. Georgia Bulldogs (8-1)
Georgia is one of the teams this season that has already exceeded most of my expectations. I had concerns about the Bulldogs relying heavily on first or second-year players, but the early results have shown that Silas Demary (13.7 ppg), Blue Cain (9.4 ppg), and freshman star Asa Newell (15.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg) are a solid core to build around. Newell has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has two games of at least 20 points. It’s also helped that transfers Dakota Leffew and Tyrin Lawrence are averaging double-digit points.
The Bulldogs have three wins this season over P5 competition. Georgia has close wins over Georgia Tech on the road and over a ranked St. John's team and dominated Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Challenge, beating the Irish by 21 points. The only blemish on the schedule this season is an 11-point loss to a really good Marquette team. The Bulldogs haven’t dropped any that they shouldn’t, and in the early part of the season, that isn’t always a given. Georgia’s schedule is relatively easy to finish out the non-con slate, with Grand Canyon being the only opponent ranked better than 250 in KenPom.