SEC Power Rankings Week 10

Hey, guess what? A few weeks ago I posited that the SEC had finally started to figure out a pecking order and that we were going to get some idea of a real pecking order where separation of the top to the bottom would occur and we'd have an idea of who was going to be dancing in March and who would be focusing on, well, anything else. Then the SEC went on a basketball bender, got drunk and everything got turned on its head, black was white, up was down, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria, if I can quote Bill Murray. But things seem to be taking shape at least in the eyes of our voters, at least for this week, which makes making sense of the SEC a little easier, at least again, for this week.

At the top of the mountain we've got Kentucky. Big Blue is pretty much going to be sitting there looking down from its perch until they decide they either want to lose, completely check out for a mid week game, get sick, lost on the way to the airport, or have an evening at a strip club where they see Coach Cal as the stripper and their minds are blown away Varsity Blues style. I'm not even sure a loss would drop them down to the second spot, but as has been the case every week this season, Kentucky is still better than you and they know it.

Following the Kentucky spot things get a little more interesting. Over the past few weeks, Arkansas has had nothing but close games, both at home and the road, peppered with some road losses have left the Hogs hold on second to be very tenuous. Last week they had a five point lead on LSU and a six point lead on Georgia, but following a one point win over Mizzou and a five point home win over Tennessee (who I still can't figure out) that lead has shrunk to 1 point. Arkansas goes to Florida tomorrow, where other teams have had some success this season and loses, expect the Razorbacks to do a little tumbling.

Tied for third you've got Georgia and LSU who are both playing extremely good basketball right now. Georgia, after having lost it's first two SEC games (versus Arkansas and at LSU in double OT) have not lost a game and are riding a five game winning streak which is damn impressive, but then you see that Kentucky has won twenty in a row, but still this is better than anyone else has really played.  Georgia hits the road for Saturday's game at South Carolina and then visit Lexington to try and give Kentucky their first loss of the season.
After an early season hiccup at Mizzou where LSU apparently didn't take the Tigers seriously, the Bayou Bengals have a three game winning streak that includes a win at Florida and a close loss to the surging Aggies. LSU really has figured out what they're good at and if they can keep their heads on straight should continue to win at least until Kentucky comes a calling in a couple weeks.

Coming in at 5th we have the biggest surprise of the season and this week's highest riser jumping four spots, the Aggies of Texas A&M. Texas A&M just goes out and wins games, at home, on the road it doesn't matter. It's starting to look like that double overtime loss to Kentucky at home was not a fluke. The belief was that A&M was a year away with an amazing recruiting class coming in this year, but as they say, the future is now in College Station. The idea of A&M dancing in March which seemed silly a month ago now seems like a very real possibility if they keep doing what they're doing.

At the 6 spot we have another tie between Florida and Ole Miss. Florida is a 60 second Dorian Finney-Smith explosion from being under .500 in conference for the first time, in well probably a really, long time. But Florida managed to halt their three game streak and the name across the front of that jersey and the fact that the lower half of the SEC is kind of a mess keeps the Gators in the upper half of the voters rankings. How long this lasts, I have no idea, I still think the Gators are playing a long con. Ole Miss on the other hand beat Florida at home and followed that up with a close win over in state rival Mississippi State which is no longer something of a given. People are believing in the rebels it seems.

Coming in at 8th and 9th respectively you have Tennessee and Alabama who are this week's teams to drop the furthest both dropping three spots a piece. The next two games on Tennessee's schedule won't tell us much about the Vols unless they lose to be honest with you. Looking at their schedule it appears that UT may have been a product of playing the lower half of the conference early and we're feasting on the Mizzou's of the world. On the other hand you have Alabama who have lost four out of their last five and only have a two point win over Auburn as the lone win in the past three weeks to look fondly upon. The buzzards could be circling over Anthony Grant in Tuscaloosa...

Not too long ago in this very spot I said the chasm between Kentucky and everyone else in the league was substantial, well the difference between the 9th place team (Bama with 73 points) and the 10th place team, South Carolina (with 43 points) is quite substantial, a 30 point difference is no joke! I think we've found the lower class of the SEC and it starts with the Cocks who looked so promising earlier in the season but now look just plain ordinary. From the outside looking in it appears that Frank Martin is a year away, again in Columbia who have lost four in a row and now must take on Georgia at home and then head on the road to Arkansas where the fouling disparity will be huge.

In 11th, 12th, and 13th we've got Auburn, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State all separated by a total of four points, meaning they're all quite interchangeable. Auburn is playing tough but just aren't the same team at home as on the road and showing their age, Vandy seems to be in a bit of a free fall and are also showing their age and State seems to be suffering a little from a perception stand point; almost paying for their sins of earlier in the season which have tainted our voters minds a bit towards them. Mizzou on the other hand sits squarely in 14th are currently riding a 6 game losing streak and finding new ways to lose every week. The young Tigers are showing some fight and playing together, but uh, it's not happening.

With all that being said, let's get to the numbers, to the rankings with us!

Team	Points	Ranking	Ranking Last Week	Change	Highest Rank	Lowest Rank
Kentucky	154	1st	1st	None	1st	1st
Arkansas	129	2nd	2nd	None	2nd	2nd
Georgia	128	Tied for 3rd	4th	Up 1	2nd	5th
LSU	128	Tied for 3rd	3rd	None	2nd	5th
Texas A&M	109	5th	9th	Up 4	4th	8th
Florida	91	Tied for 6th	8th	Up 2	5th	8th
Ole Miss	91	Tied for 6th	7th	Up 1	6th	9th
Tennessee	79	8th	5th	Down 3	6th	9th
Alabama	73	9th	6th	Down 3	7th	9th
South Carolina	43	10th	10th	None	10th	13th
Auburn	37	11th	12th	Up 1	10th	13th
Vanderbilt	35	12th	11th	Down 1	10th	14th
Mississippi State	33	13th	13th	None	10th	14th
Mizzou	24	14th	14th	None	12th	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

I'm going to predict Bama's future right now. Grant gets fired, new guy comes in and wins with Grant's players, people get excited, then that guy flames out, but gets a job in the AAC and Grant succeeds somewhere else, it's called the Frank Haith equation. (Rock M Nation)

The Tide's spot in the rankings really just depends on who they play, because the Tide always play to the level of their opponent. No matter who it is, the winner will almost always fall backwards into a two point win. (Roll Bama Roll)

If Alabama has a home basketball game, but nobody is there to see it, did it ever really happen? (Red Cup Rebellion)

Somehow a team that forces this many turnovers has a terrible defense. I can't figure it out either.(Anchor of Gold)

The Hogs have wavered ever so slightly at home, so keep an eye on that as they try to avoid a bad loss for their NCAA resume. (And the Valley Shook)

A nice win over Tennessee pulls the Hogs into the three-way tie for second in the SEC. (Garnet and Black Attack)

All hustle and effort, but not much game. (A Sea of Blue)

Auburn has the conference's hottest coach, second leading scorer, leading rebounder, and a son of an NBA all star leading the way. How are we 2-5? (College and Magnolia)

Cinmeon Bowers' rebounding numbers seem to be a function of nobody else on his team bothering. (Anchor of Gold)

I wanted to write, "saved their season against Alabama," but there are so few free wins in the league this year you can't assume they're bouncing right back.(Rocky Top Talk)

Florida finally ended a 3 game losing skid with a low-scoring win in Tuscaloosa, there is talent there, but the Gators aren't one of Billy D's best teams. (Red Cup Rebellion)

Florida's probably not going to the NCAA Tournament because of too many close losses, but you still don't want to see these guys coming into the gym. Ask Alabama. (Garnet and Black Attack)

I trust Georgia right now, which is not something I can say about many other SEC teams. (And the Valley Shook)

The team is improving, and if it stays healthy should dance. But the tough part of the schedule is coming. (Dawg Sports)

The Dawgs just keep taking care of business. Honestly, head-to-head losses are the only reason I've got them below Arkansas and LSU right now. (Roll Bama Roll)

[Reasons]. (Dawg Sports)

20-0 will get you here every time. (A Sea of Blue)

They're terrible, no idea how they keep winning all these games. (Rock M Nation)

What is it about LSU and overtimes? They have had 4 OT games this season and there are still lots of games left. To their credit, they won all but one. (A Sea of Blue)

The Tigers keep on winning and looking mostly less than impressive doing so. Hard to be too upset with 16-4, though. (And the Valley Shook)

This team has come a long way in the last few months. Still not sure how they're doing this with only a six-man rotation, but when those six players are really good, I guess it works. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Getting strong enough to hurt someone's seed. (Dawg Sports)

State seems to have decided they wanted to be competitive, still realize they aren't very good though. (Rock M Nation)

First pitch is almost here. (Roll Bama Roll)

Missouri football has won two straight SEC East titles. Missouri basketball stinks on ice. Didn't think it would play out this way when we brought them into the conference. (College and Magnolia)

Tigers basketball is so bad their AD stepped down (that's not the real reason).(Rock M Nation)

Close, but no cigar. Or offense.(And the Valley Shook)

Would win the national championship if this were a free throw shooting competition. Also, possibly, beer pong. (Anchor of Gold)

Finally got off the win-loss-win-loss-win train they were riding on with back to back home wins over Florida and Mississippi State. Jarvis Summers is playing extremely good basketball right now and they're finally getting consistent production-by-committee from the bigs. With the schedule in their favor, Ole Miss COULD start stringing some wins together and find themselves in the Tournament conversation.(Red Cup Rebellion)

Two straight wins, one against Florida. This team lives and dies by the three. (A Sea of Blue)

Still trying to talk myself into them but 1-6 is 1-6. (Rocky Top Talk)

The best 1-6 team in the SEC. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Good at shooting free throws, bad at shooting from anywhere else. The Frank Martin is strong here. (Anchor of Gold)

The Vols were due for a bit of a regression, but this is a strong group that is very much still in play for the NCAA Tournament. (Roll Bama Roll)

Two home games with Auburn & Mississippi State are must-win if the Vols want to stay in the postseason conversation. (Rocky Top Talk)

The Vols have exactly one SEC win of significance but they're a game bunch who will give some of the better teams fits. (And the Valley Shook)

Texas A&M is rapidly improving. They have only one bad loss this conference season and may be the second best team in the league right now. (College and Magnolia)

Well, howdy, Ags. When did y'all come in? I didn't know y'all even participated in shooty-hoops. (Roll Bama Roll)

The talent is here, so I'll take the crow on them. Good team and dance possible. (Dawg Sports)

Send Vandy help. They've locked themselves in a previously unknown basement under that unholy raised gym floor. (College and Magnolia)

WE'RE #1!!!!! Oh... wait... you mean it's NOT baseball season yet? (Anchor of Gold)

Still better than teams above it in the standings, though it'd sure be nice for them to show it on the floor more often. (Garnet and Black Attack)

And that will do it for another week in SEC Power Rankings brought to you by whatever cures your morning after! Can the SEC keep itself together and continue to establish a solid 1 - 14, or will we go back to doing what the SEC does, beating up on each other seemingly at random and then coming back here in a week, scratching our heads wondering what just happened to us and if we spent the week sipping Mad Dog 20/20....