SEC basketball power rankings

Well, we're one and a half weeks into the college basketball season and the SEC has done SEC things.  Kentucky is unbeaten as is Arkansas, but so are Alabama, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Everyone else has at least one loss some more embarrassing than others (looking at you Ole Miss and Mizzou) and the perception of the SEC as a football conference with a basketball problem persists, no matter what Frank Martin says.

Our voters are still bullish on Kentucky (it's unanimous!) and Florida (even after the home loss to Miami)  as well as Arkansas, LSU and Georgia but after that we see a big drop off between 5th and 6th, when things get tight again. From that point on we have teams getting ranked as high as 4th and as low as 14th, so clearly our voters are still quite split on who is good and who is not so good.  I don't think will surprise anyone  as the whole tone of the preseason has been one of uncertainty.  
The rankings may also be skewed by the level of competition played to date (this ranking does not take into account games on 11/24/2014) as some teams have challenged themselves in tournaments while others have been dinning on a meal of cupcakes, though it turns out sometimes cupcakes bite back, looking at you Kangaroos of Kansas City.

What you'll find in the space below are the rankings of the SEC SB Nation writers after one week of College Basketball.

Team	Ranking	Points	Highest Ranking	Lowest Ranking
Kentucky	1st	112	1st	1st
Florida	2nd	103	2nd	3rd
Arkansas	3rd	93	2nd	4th
LSU	4th	83	3rd	8th
Georgia	5th	78	4th	7th
Alabama	6th	56	3rd	12th
Texas A&M	7th	53	4th	12th
South Carolina	8th	48	5th	14th
Ole Miss	9th	41	7th	12th
Auburn	10th	39	7th	14th
Mizzou	11th	38	8th	12th
Vanderbilt	12th	32	7th	14th
Tennessee	13th	28	6th	14th
Mississippi State	14th	26	6th	14th

Points were distributed 1st = 14, 2nd = 13, 3rd = 12, 4th = 11, 5th = 10, 6th = 9, 7th = 8, 8th = 7, 9th = 6, 10th = 5, 
11th = 4, 12th = 3, 13th = 2, and 14th = 1

Rationales and Thoughts Behind the Rankings
Note: All SB Nation Site Logos have been linked back to their Site

BAMA SMASH. (Rock M Nation)

I'm optimistic about Anthony Grant's club this year. Ricky Tarrant, Michael Kessens, Justin Coleman, and Riley Norris will be strong additions to a team that returns four starters and their 6th man.(Roll Bama Roll)

Has played no one, but won the games. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Arkansas is very good, and has set about proving it by defenestrating Wake Forest; has an argument with LSU for third. (A Sea of Blue)

Looked really good the first couple of weeks. (Arkansas Fight)

Anderson has enough to be on the right side of an NCAA bubble. (Dawg Sports)

Just a horror show of a result in Boulder. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Step one: don't lose to Western Michigan at home. Step one: Completed. (Rock M Nation)

Showed out well for a half at Colorado, but the depth clearly isn't there yet to seriously contend. (And the Valley Shook)

They and Kentucky are still a step above everyone else in conference. (Dawg Sports)

Yes, they lost to Miami but getting Dorian Finney-Smith back means this is still one of the SEC's elite. (And the Valley Shook)

Florida gets the nod for #2 over LSU, but LSU has a better front court and might be a better team; close call. (A Sea of Blue)

Tough loss, but at least it was a Power 5 opponent. (Rock M Nation)

Gaines, Mann, and Thornton form a core group that should have this team on the bubble come March. (Dawg Sports)

Loss to Ga. Tech puts them behind the 8 ball early on trying to get to NCAAs. (Garnet and Black Attack)

It's obvious, isn't it? (Arkansas Fight)

Kentucky at #1 is a no-brainer, they're #1 in the land. (A Sea of Blue)

This team is absolutely loaded at every position. Anyone who doesn't pick them to finish first should be disqualified from voting. (Roll Bama Roll)

Kinda close, but LSU dominated on the boards by playing their 4 centers at the same time. (Rock M Nation)

More here by default (4th), as they've looked unimpressive but better than most teams behind them. (And the Valley Shook)

A loss to Old Dominion and needing overtime at home against Texas Tech is an inauspicious start. (Garnet and Black Attack)

I have to be honest, I kind of just assumed the Bulldogs would finish last again this year before the season. After seeing each team play, I think these guys could move up. (Roll Bama Roll)

Double Yuck. (And the Valley Shook)

I like there core veterans and coach so this team could be the surprise squad of the season in the SEC. (Dawg Sports)

UMKC? Come on, Missouri. (Garnet and Black Attack)

I'd have no problem with somebody ranking them lower than 11th, I just think this is a team that isn't going to look good early. (Rock M Nation)

Missouri's big win over Oral Roberts was impressive, the loss to UMKC (what's that, a junior college?) wasn't; they do have talent, though. (A Sea of Blue)

Charleston Southern? Come on, Rebels. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Andy Kennedy has stayed somewhere between good and fired for years, why stop the mediocrity now? (Dawg Sports)

A listless home loss to Charleston Southern isn't exactly what we had in mind when we talk about the depth of the SEC. Mizzou, Ole Miss... you go sit in a corner and think about what you've done! (Rock M Nation)

This could be the year that Frank Martin finally puts it together for the Gamecocks. They have a ton of returning players. (Roll Bama Roll)

Two close losses to good teams still bests what basically everyone else has done. So many garbage resumes after the first four. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Should be Frank Martin's best team, but isn't impressing yet. (A Sea of Blue)

Donnie Tyndall cobbled this team together at the last minute, and I don't expect much. (A Sea of Blue)

Yuck. (And the Valley Shook)

I think they're terrible. (Dawg Sports)

They scored a lot of points against... hold on, looking at who them play... oh, well... yeah that makes sense. (Rock M Nation)

Nice win over New Mexico; eligibility of Danuel House vaults them to the top of the SEC muddle after the top three. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Holding up well so far with Alex Caruso as the leader. Still, it's hard to feel they can do much better than middle-of-the-pack. (And the Valley Shook)

They beat a school I've never heard of. But I'll rank them ahead of Mizzou and Ole Miss just for not losing. (Rock M Nation)

The summer devastated Vanderbilt's hopes for getting better this season. (A Sea of Blue)

I don't see Stallings turning this around. And their arena is still illegal, and the shame of the conference. (Dawg Sports)

And there you have it! Our first rankings of the season is in the books, and as was stated above, the SEC is going to be a wild ride this season. There will be twists, turns, ups, downs, dizziness and potentially nausea...basically all the symptoms one finds when they've got SECBASKETBALLFEVER!