SEC Basketball: Vanderbilt rises, Alabama takes back top spot in latest power rankings
By Justin Wiles
06. Mississippi State Bulldogs
A surprise to many, including myself, Mississippi State has one of the top offenses in the country. The Bulldogs are averaging nearly 88 points per game, more than 13 points better than last year's team. Josh Hubbard (20.2 ppg) has looked like the best player in the conference so far this season and has gotten even more efficient in the process. Hubbard is making 50 percent of his threes this season and is currently making 50 percent from the floor.
The Bulldogs started the season with three fairly easy games but have taken down Utah and SMU over its past two games. Mississippi State beat Utah on a neutral court by five and then turned around a couple of days later to beat SMU by five on the road. Picking up to quality wins in the process.
After the wins over Utah and SMU, it’s hard to keep Mississippi State out of the top of the rankings. The Bulldogs have been great on both ends of the court, and are very much deserving of the hype after the first few games of the season.
05. Florida Gators
Florida has looked almost unstoppable on offense so far this season. The Gators are averaging 88.2 points and are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Florida is making 48 percent from the floor and grabbing nearly 15 offensive rebounds per game. No wonder Florida has been so dominant on the offensive end of the court.
Walter Clayton Jr has been Florida’s top player since last season. This year he is averaging 16.5 points, with two games over 25 points. But the biggest surprise has been the play of Alijah Martin. The FAU transfer has looked great this season averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds, leading the team in both categories.
Florida’s biggest win this season was on the road against Florida State, but the Gators will have plenty of chances to pick up a few more big wins over the next couple of weeks with games against Wake Forest, Virginia, Arizona State, and UNC coming up. These games will show if Florida’s improved defense is for real or just a product of a somewhat weak early non-con slate.
04. Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats have continued is hot offensive start this season, dropping 100 points for the third time in a win over Jackson State. Kentucky has made at least 10 threes in every game this year, with a season-high 17 made from deep against JSU.
Otega Oweh (16.2 ppg) and Koby Brea (16.0 ppg) are the team's early leaders on offense. Brea has continued to make threes at a ridiculous rate. Through five games this season Brea is making 74.1 percent from three on 5.4 attempts per game. As a team, Kentucky is making 42.3 percent from deep. Mark Pope has Kentucky playing fast and efficiently on both ends of the court. Offensively the Wildcats are making 52 percent from the floor while holding opponents to 37.4 percent.
Kentucky has been impressive this season, but due to a relatively easy non-con schedule so far I had to drop the Wildcats a spot in the rankings. This doesn’t mean that Kentucky has gotten worse throughout the season, but that the top of the SEC is stacked.