College Basketball Power Ranking: SEC Edition
We hope you are ready because it is time for the power ranking of the best conference in college basketball, the Southeastern Conference. As teams approach the midpoint of the conference schedule, seven squads are within one game of a 0.500 winning percentage. The standings are a bit of a jumbled mess, but we will do our best to guide you through it. Most college basketball fans already know that the SEC is on the verge of historic greatness this year. The current record for most NCAA tournament bids by a single conference is eleven, accomplished by the Big East in 2011. Thirteen SEC teams have a legitimate shot at making the tournament this year if things break the right way. Nine of the top 30 teams in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings and ten teams in the AP Top 25 are from the SEC. There are not any truly bad teams in the conference this year; there are bad records, sure. But the teams at the bottom of the conference standings would be in the top half of any other conference in the country. Trying to separate many of these teams is like splitting hairs, but we are going to give it a shot.
Let us know when baseball season starts.
16. South Carolina
Conference Record: 0-7
Overall Record: 10-10
South Carolina probably felt decent about their season as conference play kicked off. Yes, they started the year with a bad loss to North Florida before losing to Indiana and Xavier in their first “real” games of the season. Not a great start for the Gamecocks, but then they beat Virginia Tech, Boston College, East Carolina and Clemson. After a couple more cupcake wins, South Carolina was 10-3 leading up to their first conference game against Mississippi State. What happened next? Seven straight losses. Give the Gamecocks credit for being incredibly competitive; they have suffered a three-point loss to Auburn, a one-point loss to Florida and a five-point overtime loss to Mississippi State. It is heart-breaking that they haven’t recorded a conference win after coming up just short against some of the best in the SEC. They are last in the conference in points scored per game and average in team defense. Collin Murray-Boyles has been a bright spot this year, averaging 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Only a sophomore, Murray-Boyles’s performance gives South Carolina something to build on next year if he sticks around. But South Carolina’s next five games are brutal: Georgia, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Mississippi and Florida. Don’t expect the pain to end anytime soon.
15. Arkansas
Conference Record: 1-6
Overall Record: 12-8
Less than a year ago, John Calipari signed a 5-year deal to coach the Arkansas Razorbacks. Fans rejoiced at the news; parades ran through Fayetteville and Calipari was appointed vice-governor of the state (obviously none of that happened, but fans were excited). Calipari was going to return the Razorbacks to Nolan Richardson-era levels of success. Things haven’t gone exactly to plan. Losses to Baylor and Illinois before conference play started were not alarming, and a win against Michigan provided some optimism. Then Arkansas ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the SEC schedule. The Razorbacks opened conference play with five straight losses before notching their first victory against Georgia. South Carolina has been more competitive in their losses than Arkansas, but we’ll give the Razorbacks the edge here due to their one win. The program shouldn’t despair; next year’s recruiting class is ranked in the top five in the nation by the recruiting experts. Calipari will have plenty of talent on the bench over the next several seasons. Unfortunately for Arkansas, those seasons can’t come soon enough.
14. LSU
Conference Record: 1-5
Overall Record: 12-7
LSU hasn’t been bad this season. We know they have a terrible record. But their only non-conference losses were to Pittsburgh and Southern Methodist. They are ninth in the conference in points per game and thirteenth in points allowed. Not good, but better than we would have expected. If LSU can clean up the turnovers (they lead the SEC), they may be able to win a few more conference games. Their only SEC win so far came against Arkansas, and they have only played one of the top-tier teams in the league so far (Alabama). The Tigers take on Auburn this week, but their schedule doesn’t really get tough until the last two weeks of the regular season. Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M are their last five opponents. Oof. By the time they are done with that stretch, the Tigers will be relieved that most of Baton Rouge is focused on the football team’s Spring Game.
We’re better than our record. Honest.
13. Oklahoma
Conference Record: 2-4
Overall Record: 15-4
The Oklahoma Sooners jumped out to a great start this season, claiming victories over Arizona, Louisville and Michigan and going undefeated before conference play started. Alabama blew them out (nothing to be ashamed of), but then they lost a close game to Texas A&M and a less close game against Georgia before losing to Texas by four points. They rebounded with a win against South Carolina, but the loss to Texas hurts. There are so many games that require near-perfection to win that you can’t let the others slip away. Jeremiah Fears is having as good a freshman season as anyone in the country, but the teams in this league are too deep to be done in by one player. Oklahoma is the third-worst team in the conference defensively, giving up over 70 points per game. The only teams that are worse defensively are Alabama and Kentucky, but the Sooners don’t score like either of those teams.
12. Texas
Conference Record: 3-4
Overall Record: 14-6
Texas only lost two games in the pre-conference season and manhandled most of their cupcake schedule. Fans hoped the basketball team would follow the football team’s lead and find success in their first SEC season. Any hope for that was quickly extinguished with three straight conference losses. They beat Oklahoma before getting crushed by Florida and then beat Missouri. A 22-point comeback win in the rematch against rival Texas A&M has Texas sitting at 3-4 in the conference, a respectable record through the first seven games. Tre Johnson has been stellar offensively, averaging 18.8 points per game in his freshman season. The Longhorns are tenth in the league in scoring and seventh in points allowed, putting them solidly in the middle of the pack. This season would feel rosier for the ‘Horns if their five-point loss to Auburn or four-point loss to Tennessee had gone differently. But that’s life in the SEC; there is no margin for error.
11. Georgia
Conference Record: 2-5
Overall Record: 14-6
Georgia split a pair of early-season games against quality Big East opponents, losing to Marquette by eleven and beating St. John’s by three in games on a neutral site. For a program that was in the NIT last season after barely notching a winning record, those early games may have been the first indication that this Bulldog season might have promise. Then a thirteen-point win over Kentucky in their second conference game woke up the people in Athens. Unfortunately for Georgia, they have been plagued by inconsistency, specifically their performances at home versus the road. At home, they have beaten Kentucky and Oklahoma and lost to Auburn by two points. Away from Stegeman Coliseum, they are winless in the league. Granted, those road games were against Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida. The only game in that stretch where the Bulldogs would be favored was Arkansas, and they only lost by three points. Close losses and moral victories don’t count in the standings, and Georgia finds itself currently sitting in thirteenth place. Freshman forward Asa Newell has averaged 15.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, validating his ranking as the #11 high school player in his class. The Bulldogs have talent; if they can start winning on the road, they’ll jump a few places in this ranking.
We’d be Top 5 in any other conference.
10. Vanderbilt
Conference Record: 4-3
Overall Record: 16-4
We don’t know what is going on in Nashville, but we like it. Picked to finish last in the SEC by the media, Vanderbilt is currently tied for fifth in the conference with a 4-3 record. The wild thing is how they have accomplished that record. Losses to Mississippi State and Missouri reflected preseason expectations, and a three-point win over South Carolina did not help much. Then Vanderbilt beat Tennessee at home by one point. It seemed like that may be this season’s apex, except Vanderbilt then pulled off a home win over Kentucky. Maybe it’s the strange bench configuration, but Vanderbilt knows how to knock off conference Goliaths at home. We believe Vanderbilt’s experience has been a huge advantage for the Commodores this year. Jason Edwards has been tremendous (17.3 points per game), and Vanderbilt’s top four scorers consist of three juniors and a senior. They aren’t rattled by playing the best teams in the country and seem to elevate their game in those situations. Can the Commodores keep this going? We would typically say no, but it’s hard to root against them.
9. Mississippi
Conference Record: 4-3
Overall Record: 15-5
Mississippi is currently tied for fifth in the SEC and ranked 23rd in the country in the latest AP Poll. So how do we have them 10th in our power rankings? We think Mississippi’s success has been aided by a weak overall schedule. You cannot blame Ole Miss for that, but they don’t have the same number of quality wins that the teams ahead of them here do. Prior to conference play, their best win was Louisville, and they lost to the two best teams they played: Purdue and Memphis. After an opening slate of Georgia, Arkansas and LSU, the Rebels were 3-0 in the conference. A huge upset victory over Alabama pushed them to 4-0, but Mississippi has lost three straight games (Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Missouri) since then. A win over Alabama this year is a huge accomplishment. And their losses to Mississippi State and Texas A&M were by a total of four points. Ole Miss can play with anyone, but we want to see them play a few more of the best teams before we move them up in our ranking.
8. Mississippi State
Conference Record: 4-3
Overall Record: 16-4
Another team in the 5th place logjam, Mississippi State is a bully of a basketball team. They are seventh in the league in scoring, but twelfth in team field goal percentage and fourteenth in team three-point percentage. Rebounding and defense are the calling cards of this team. Fourth in the conference in both offensive rebounds and steals per game, they take the ball from you and are relentless in attacking the glass. While not aesthetically pleasing, their brand of basketball has been effective. That being said, two of their conference wins have come against South Carolina; the other two are against Vanderbilt and Mississippi. Losses to Kentucky, Auburn and Tennessee show that Mississippi State’s style has its limitations against top-tier talent, and the schedule gets tougher from here on out.
7. Missouri
Conference Record: 5-2
Overall Record: 16-4
Besides Vanderbilt, Missouri may be the biggest surprise this season. Generally expected to be in the bottom five of the league, the Tigers are sitting in a tie for third place after a 5-2 start. Missouri has had a kind conference schedule out of the gates (although that’s relative in the SEC), and we would expect their results to normalize as the season goes on. But Missouri is a very good basketball team (have we said that about every team so far?). They have quality conference wins over Vanderbilt, Florida and Mississippi and spanked the two weaklings they played (sorry, LSU and Arkansas). The Tigers have a high-powered offense (fifth most points per game in the conference) aided by league-leading 28.6 free throw attempts per game. But they also utilize their quickness defensively, creating 10.1 steals per game. We are interested to see if their lack of size starts to hurt them as the grind through the SEC continues. If they can keep taking care of business against the bottom half of the league and stay competitive against the top half, Missouri could sneak into the top five in the SEC.
6. Texas A&M
Conference Record: 4-3
Overall Record: 15-5
Texas A&M has come a long way from their season-opening loss to UCF. After that embarrassment, the Aggies bounced back to beat Creighton, Texas Tech and Purdue. Except for a one-point loss to Texas, they have beaten the teams they should beat and lost to the teams they should lose to. Don’t take that the wrong way. Texas A&M is on the cusp of the upper echelon in the SEC. But are they as good a team as Alabama or Kentucky (their two league losses besides Texas)? Simply put, no. Their Achilles heel is scoring the basketball; Texas A&M is fifteenth in the league in scoring average, only ahead of South Carolina. They make up for the lack of scoring with the fourth best team defense. Having an elite defense can lead to a lot of wins, but the lack of offensive firepower also caps how much success they can have against the best teams in the country. Alabama and Kentucky managed to score 94 and 81 points against them, respectively. And when their opponents figure out a way to score, Texas A&M doesn’t have much of a response.
Championship or Bust
5. Kentucky
Conference Record: 3-3
Overall Record: 14-5
Kentucky is ranked twelfth in the country despite being tenth place in the SEC standings. Think about that for a second. While we certainly don’t expect the Wildcats to finish in the bottom half of the league, it’s indicative of what been an up-and-down season for them this year. There have been tremendous highs with wins over Duke and Florida. But they also lost to Clemson, Ohio State and Vanderbilt. Kentucky does not have the same overall talent level that they enjoyed during the Calipari glory years. Mark Pope deserves a ton of credit for hitting the transfer portal to keep Kentucky nationally relevant. Want to hear something amazing? The nine leading scorers from Kentucky are all transfers. The top nine! Kentucky was a couple transfers away from scouring the intramural courts for players. Those nine include seven seniors, one junior and a sophomore, but experience alone does not make up for the fact that none of this team had ever played together before this season. Otega Oweh has been outstanding in his first year in Lexington, and we think Kentucky has the most upside of any of the top 5 SEC teams.
4. Tennessee
Conference Record: 4-3
Overall Record: 17-3
Tennessee is the best defensive team in the conference. In our last weekly preview, we expressed concern that their defense might be slipping after giving up more than 70 points to Florida and Georgia. Well, the Volunteers just held Auburn to 53 points on 39% shooting from the field and 15% shooting on three-pointers. Granted, the entire game was a rock fight, and Tennessee didn’t shoot much better than Auburn. But the Volunteer defense resembled what we have come to expect from them. They pressured the ball aggressively on the perimeter and used a trio of athletic bigs to contest shots at the basket. The game against Auburn could have gone either way, and a two-point loss on the road to the #1 team in the country is nothing to cry over. Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler won’t combine to go 2-for-12 on three-pointers in many more games this season. The only reason Tennessee is fourth in our rankings is that they lost both games they played so far against the other top four teams in the conference. They will have a chance to rectify that this week with games at home versus Kentucky and Florida.
3. Florida
Conference Record: 5-2
Overall Record: 18-2
Florida and Auburn have been the two most balanced teams in the SEC. The Gators are third in the conference in scoring and points allowed, and they play at the third fastest pace. Alabama and Kentucky are the only teams to average more possessions per game than the Gators. Neither of those teams play the kind of defense that Florida does. We would expect that kind of balance to result in consistency on a game-to-game basis, but Florida has been Jekyll and Hyde this season. Six-point loss to Kentucky. 30-point win over Tennessee. Eight-point win over Arkansas. 1-point loss to Missouri. 24-point win over Texas. One-point win over South Carolina. 30-point win over Georgia. They follow up every decisive victory with a head-scratcher and then return to form the next game. Chalk up some of that to life in the SEC where every team can beat you on any given night. Or maybe this Florida team relaxes when they are playing a team at the bottom of the standings. Nonetheless, the speed at which Florida transitions from defense to offense is beautiful to watch, and they are hard to beat when they are focused.
2. Alabama
Conference Record: 6-1
Overall Record: 17-3
Alabama has everything you could ask for in a basketball team. They have battle-tested seniors that lead the team in scoring (Mark Sears and Grant Nelson). The Tide have two stud underclassmen guards that were highly rated high-school recruits. They can play four athletic big men that stand 6’10” or taller and can bang with anyone in the country. Alabama has roared out of the gates this season despite playing a tougher schedule than anyone in the conference to date. Yes, their defensive numbers aren’t great. They give up more points per game than any team in the conference. But it seems to be a conscious choice for them. They are so big and so athletic that they can get stops whenever they want to; they would just prefer to outscore you. It is an insanely entertaining brand of basketball. We will see if they can crank up the defense for longer stretches if the offense has an off night, but that hasn’t been necessary so far. Alabama’s lone SEC blemish is a ten-point loss to Mississippi. The Rebels played out of their minds that game and probably won’t be able to duplicate that again this season. The Crimson Tide are rolling, firmly entrenched in the #2 spot in our SEC college basketball power ranking. We can’t wait to see what happens when they finally get to play Auburn.
1. Auburn
Conference Record: 6-0
Overall Record: 18-1
We can’t rank anyone above Auburn in good faith. They are the #1 team in the country and are undefeated in the toughest conference. Johni Broome is one of the two favorites for College Basketball Player of the Year, and Auburn beat Mississippi State and Georgia when he was out of the lineup with an injury. They are fourth in the conference in scoring and second in defense. They boast the highest field goal percentage and third highest three-point field goal percentage, but they also lead the league in blocks per game. In short, this Auburn team does everything well. Auburn has experience – five of their top six scorers are seniors. The Tigers are capable of scoring 90 points in a game but can also win a defensive struggle, as they did in their most recent 53-51 win over Tennessee. Speaking of the Tennessee game, it wasn’t pretty. But Johni Broome was visibly limping most of the game, and he still managed to put up 16 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. Very impressive stuff. We do not expect Auburn to go undefeated in SEC play. The league is just too deep this year. But Auburn has shown that they can win despite adversity. They are not going to beat themselves. Until someone knocks them off, they are all alone at the top of the conference. And at the top of our SEC College Basketball Power Ranking.
