Power Rankings
- No.10 Kentucky: 22-5 (12-2) +1
- No.13 Auburn: 23-4 (10-4) -1
- LSU: 19-8 (10-4)
- Florida: 17-10 (9-5) +1
- Mississippi State: 17-10 (8-6) -1
- South Carolina: 16-11 (8-6) +2
- Texas A&M: 14-12 (8-6) +3
- Alabama: 15-12 (7-7) -1
- Tennessee: 15-12 (7-7) -3
- Arkansas: 17-10 (5-9) -1
- Missouri: 13-14 (5-9) +1
- Ole Miss: 13-14 (4-10) -1
- Georgia: 14-13 (4-10)
- Vanderbilt: 9-18 (1-13)
Top Tier (1-4)
Welcome, Florida, to the top tier. The Gators went 3-1 over the two week span and nearly knocked off Kentucky in Rupp. Joe Lunardi has them as a No.9 seed in his latest Bracketology.
Kentucky is back atop the power rankings after a perfect 4-0 run. Their wins included two against other top tier opponents LSU and Florida. Their lone loss to Auburn goes by the waist side due to the Tigers having a rough stretch,
Auburn got their third and fourth loss of the year as they continue to struggle on the road. They lost to Georgia and Missouri – two lower-level SEC teams. Not only that but they were both double-digit losses. They would’ve dropped to third in the rankings if LSU had a better week.
The Tigers had the opportunity to jump in the rankings but fell short on the road against Alabama in a six-point loss last week. They lost a very close one to Kentucky at home and finished the week off with a tough road win against a dangerous South Carolina team.
Middle Tier (5-9)
The middle tier is sprinkled with bubble teams that really need to make a charge in the final two weeks of the regular season. Mississippi State had a favorable slate to get themselves off the bubble but struggled on the road. They got massacred at Ole Miss and lost another bad one to Texas A&M.
South Carolina is another team that is surging into the final stretch. The Gamecocks had a great two weeks that might be overlooked with the 2-2 record. They beat Georgia and Tennessee and just came up short to Mississippi State and LSU. They have a good final stretch of four winnable games to finish the season.
Alabama finds themselves behind Texas A&M in the power rankings after losing their head to head to the Aggies at home last week. This won’t affect them for the tournament though as Joe Lunardi has them on the bubble still and A&M on the outside. Alabama has been very streaky this year and needs to stay consistent to end the season.
Texas A&M and Tennessee are outside of the bubble. Both teams would have to have a very impressive final stretch along with a tournament run to get back in the conversation. The Aggies have been impressive in conference play, defeating Alabama and Mississippi State in the last week.
Bottom Tier (10-14)
Arkansas slips a little more after another 1-3 stretch. They have now lost five of their last six and eight of their last eleven. The absence of Isaiah Joe was felt in Fayetteville as they lost all five games without him. With his return, they dominated Missouri with his 21 points. It is possible he can spark a late run into the tournament conversation.
The next three of the bottom tier is just playing spoiler at this point, and playing it well. Missouri was able to knock off Auburn, as was Georgia. The home environment proved too much for the Tigers in both games.
Ole Miss dominated their in-state rival at home. Mississippi State still sits on the bubble and another loss to Ole Miss in the final game of the season might just pop that bubble.
Vanderbilt rolls in another 0-4 stretch as they continue to struggle in SEC play. They lost a heartbreaker at home to Georgia over the weekend in a game they led for all but about one minute. After missing their final three free throws, Georgia hit a buzzer three from just inside the center court logo to steal the win.
Outlook
The picture is getting set going into March. Kentucky, Auburn, LSU and Florida are comfortably inside the tournament. The Tigers and Gators will want to make sure they don’t stumble at the end of the season and lose their spot.
Bubble teams are far and wide including Mississippi State, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas A&M. South Carolina and Texas A&M had a lot of losses outside of conference play but have won enough SEC games to get themselves noticed.
You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Kyle!
“From Our Haus to Yours”