The SEC is one full week into basketball season and chaos has already erupted. It’s not quite March yet, but some madness has already happened.
Power Rankings
- Kentucky (2-1)
- Auburn (3-0)
- Florida (2-1)
- LSU (1-1)
- Tennessee (2-0)
- Ole Miss (2-0)
- Alabama (1-1)
- South Carolina (2-0)
- Mississippi State (3-0)
- Arkansas (2-0)
- Missouri (2-1)
- Georgia (2-0)
- Texas A&M (2-0)
- Vanderbilt (2-1)
Top Tier (1-4)
The SEC is a good league and it’s not just because it’s strong top to bottom. The top of the league has several teams ready to make a Final Four campaign.
Kentucky once again has a very young team. It’s nothing new but coach Cal is working with several young freshmen as well as some upperclassmen and a Bucknell transfer and that’s going to take some time to get the team to mesh together. Nothing to worry about.
Florida lost to a Florida State team that went 29-8 last season and made it to the Sweet 16. Not a loss that can be held against them. The top echelon of the SEC is still a dominant factor in the college basketball landscape.
Mid Tier (5-8)
The middle of the pack still contains four teams that can definitely make the tournament. Rick Barnes at Tennessee has his team rolling. Kermit Davis is putting together a mostly new team that is missing a key player in Blake Hinson who should be returning soon.
Alabama has plenty of talent despite an opening season loss to Pennsylvania. South Carolina’s Frank Martin has started out strong and looks to contend as the season goes on.
All of the top 8 should have an excellent chance to make the tournament come March.
Bottom Tier (9-14)
Mississippi State is facing the challenge of replacing some key players from last year. They’ve struggled early but still have the talent to hit somewhere in the 6-9 range of the SEC final standings.
Outside of the Bulldogs, Arkansas probably has the best chance to continue their success. The Razorbacks have looked good in their first two games and will be a factor come SEC play
Missouri showed some promise against ranked Xavier but they’ll be fighting Georgia for that final spot in the NCAA Tournament. Tom Crean has a good thing going for him in Athens and will be a team no one wants to face.
Outlook
Kentucky showed up against Michigan State to open the season and is going to be a factor to reckon with once they get more team chemistry.
Auburn as proven they’re in the top 25 to stay and Florida is not far behind despite losing to Florida State. The SEC is still in a great spot to get around eight teams in the tournament.
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