It’s been a good two weeks for the top tier of the SEC. LSU finds them back in the top after a solid 4-0 run. They were able to string wins over then-undefeated Liberty, on the road at Tennessee followed by two close games against Arkansas and Mississippi State.
Auburn continued their undefeated season and find themselves at a 15-0 mark now. Their dominant win against Georgia helped quell the lack of strong opponents faced so far this season.
Arkansas outscored Indiana 19-3 to close out the win in Bloomington. (Photo by arkansasrazorbacks.com).
Kentucky bounced back after a two-game losing streak with a huge win over then No.3 Louisville. The win over their in-state rival has begun a four-game winning streak that has them off to a quick 3-0 start in conference play.
Arkansas has proven their early season was no fluke with a big win on the road at Indiana. The Razorbacks lone loss was a two-point loss in Baton Rouge but they stand at 2-1 with wins over Texas A&M and Ole Miss.
Three teams have separated themselves from the rest of the middle of the SEC to begin conference play. While Georgia is 0-2 their two losses are against the only two ranked teams in the SEC. The big win on the road to then No.9 Memphis has propelled them to the fifth spot in the power rankings.
Tennessee and Florida slipped a little in the rankings. Tennessee lost two at home by significant margins to Wisconsin and LSU but bounced back with wins against Missouri and Texas A&M. They’ll face a big challenge Wednesday on the road against Georgia.
Florida had a much needed three-game winning streak after dropping the game at home to Utah State.
They are 2-1 to start conference play after a bad loss on the road to Missouri.
Missouri continues to surprise under head coach Cuonzo Martin. The Tigers lost their first two in conference play to Kentucky and Tennessee but had a very impressive win against Florida.
Texas A&M might be the biggest surprise to begin conference play. After a bad out of conference record, the Aggies have started conference play very well. They convincingly beat Ole Miss and dominated Vanderbilt on the road.
Alabama defeated Mississippi State 90-69 for their first SEC win of the season. (Photo by tidesports.com).
Alabama rounds off the top of the bottom tier. Alabama got good wins against Richmond and Mississippi State. They lost a close one in overtime against Florida and played Kentucky very well in Rupp Arena. Alabama seems to be finding their groove at the midway point of the season.
Ole Miss suffered the biggest drop in the power rankings. The Rebels lone win came against Tennessee Tech before dropping three in a row. They were dominated by Wichita State before having an embarrassing showing at Texas A&M and losing another to Arkansas in a game they let slip away in the final minutes.
Mississippi State similarly started conference play in a very bad way. They were blown out by Auburn and Alabama before losing a heart breaker at LSU in a one-point loss.
South Carolina took a lot of positive momentum into conference play and looked like they would be a force in the SEC this year. A bad loss to Stetson before losing their first two in conference play have them at the bottom of the league.
Finally, Vanderbilt finds themselves at the bottom once again. The Commodores are still looking for their first SEC win in the last two seasons. They played Auburn on the road very well before getting blown out by Texas A&M at home in a 19 point loss.
Georgia is trying to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2014-2015 season. (Photo by commercialappeal.com).
Joe Lunardi’s latest release for bracketology has the SEC with five teams in the tournament. Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida and LSU are among the teams in the tournament. LSU is on the bubble though and he has Georgia out but on the bubble as well.
Tennessee has some work to do. It doesn’t help that their big out of conference win against Washington no longer holds much weight as the Huskies have lost four of their last five.
A couple of other teams could make an argument for the tournament if they can put some wins together in the conference slate. Missouri and Alabama have positive momentum going and would have arguments if they can find 10 or 11 wins or make a run in the conference tournament.
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