SEC Power Rankings Week 11

The SEC, what are you doing to yourself? One week you're up, the next you're down, giving hope to all of us that yes, we have an idea of where we are, we can move these teams into the March conversation and everyone who called the SEC a football conference with a basketball problem would have to eat crow; and then you go and shoot yourself in the foot, leg and wrist.  The SEC went and SEC'd again this week my friends.

Kentucky continues to sit atop the SEC world, undefeated and in a unanimous position as #1. I'm not even sure were they to lose one of those mid week games to a conference foe on a last second hail mary of a shot would knock them off the pedestal. Mostly, because I assume at that point Arkansas would lose to a UMKC somehow that night. No, Kentucky is still great and that's not changing things.

Speaking of Arkansas, the Hogs hang onto the second spot after a split week getting beat by a couple free throws at Florida (I mean Arkansas is still better,  but this is still Mike Anderson on the road) and then a thorough beating of an undermanned South Carolina squad, who had just started to look better.  Coming in at a surprising third place we've got Ole Miss who jump up 3 spots from 6th, now winners of four in a row and looking more and more like the team that took Kentucky to overtime to start the season.

Coming in at 4th is the real surprise team in the SEC this year (when thinking in the positive, not Mizzou style of surprise) are the Aggies of Texas A&M. The Aggies moved up 1 spot this week from 5th and while they recently had their 6 game winning streak ended by the third place Rebels, our voters still respect what they're doing.

Sitting in 5th and 6th we've got this week's two teams who went and SEC'ed their week up, Georgia and LSU. Both teams had been tied for 3rd last week but find themselves dropping after bad weeks. The Dawgs took a beating at South Carolina (where the Cocks are strong) and then lost to Kentucky in a fashion that was not embarrassing in the least bit. On the other hand LSU just went and took a big swig of SECBASKETBALLFEVER and lost at Mississippi State (whose good now!) and then at home to Auburn. I have no idea what the Bayou Bengals are doing but it sure wasn't basketball. Whether this leads to a complete and total meltdown is anyone's guess but get your popcorn, 'cause this should be fun (if you're not an LSU fan).

In 7th you've got Florida, who are just playing about as inconsistently as you can, winning at home on last second shots and then flailing around on the road like an inexperienced team that doesn't know quite how to finish. To be fair losing at Vandy isn't that odd, but if you want to get into the tournament conversation (first step, be Florida) you have to win those games.

At 8th and 9th we get a nice little respite from the crazy and enjoy just a little consistency. Tennessee continues to be an enigma looking potentially like an NCAA tournament team one minute and then looking like a team with all new players the next.  They just lost to Mississippi State which could be not the worst  thing of all time, I have no idea. With Alabama at 9th, the Tide and their fans just seem to be playing out the string. Losing to Kentucky is nothing to get upset about, but only beating Mizzou by 13 at home in a game that was an affront to basketball fans everywhere is nothing to get anyone too excited about.

And now we get to the fun part! Mississippi State who we all joked about, that they wouldn't win a game in conference and would cancel basketball forever have now won two in a row over LSU and Tennessee. State is still being hurt in the rankings for what they did earlier, but damn, let's celebrate something good happening! Do you State, just go out there and do you. Taking up the 11th spot is South Carolina who outside of a Georgia win look more like State did earlier. Mostly close losses, nothing too terrible but not the team we thought we were when the conference season started.

Finally in the bottom of the conference you've got Auburn, Vanderbilt and Mizzou. Auburn and Vanderbilt just got some nice wins over LSU and Florida respectively. Mizzou meanwhile continues to look a trash barge on fire that's floating down the Cuyahoga River while it was on fire, about to collide with a nuclear plant that is also on fire. These three teams make up the bottom of the SEC, for the fans of these teams (myself included) you should all get medals for your bravery, what you've had to endure is not only cruel and unusual, it's unfair.

And now, to the numbers...

Team	Points	Ranking	Ranking Last Week	Change in Ranking	Highest Rank	Lowest Rank
Kentucky	210	1st	1st	None	1st	1st
Arkansas	189	2nd	2nd	None	2nd	3rd
Ole Miss	171	3rd	Tied for 6th	Up 3	2nd	6th
Texas A&M	159	4th	5th	Up 1	3rd	6th
Georgia	151	5th	Tied for 3rd	Down 2	3rd	6th
LSU	143	6th	Tied for 3rd	Down 3	2nd	8th
Florida	120	7th	Tied for 6th	Down 1	6th	8th
Tennessee	96	8th	8th	None	7th	11th
Alabama	86	9th	9th	None	7th	11th
Mississippi State	78	10th	13th	Up 3	8th	13th
South Carolina	58	11th	10th	Down 1	9th	13th
Auburn	44	12th	11th	Down 1	11th	13th
Vanderbilt	42	13th	12th	Down 1	10th	14th
Mizzou	15	14th	14th	None	14th	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 still think Anthony Grant gets fired after Alabama finishes with a sub-.500 SEC record. (And the Valley Shook)

Lost to Kentucky on the road and beat Mizzou at home, so we basically learned nothing about Alabama except that they are definitely somewhere between 1st and 14th. (Roll Bama Roll)

Who cares? Nick Saban just brought in the #1 recruiting class again. (Anchor of Gold)

It'd take a monumental collapse to keep them from dancing. (Dawg Sports)

No one wants to go to Fayetteville. (Garnet and Black Attack)

They have a nice stretch coming up with only one really good team. If they hold serve, they'll be looking strong. (A Sea of Blue)

KT Harrell, Cinmeon Bowers, and Bruce Pearl make this a scary bottom-feeder of a team. (Roll Bama Roll)

Auburn's win over LSU in the Deaf Dome may be the single most #SECBasketballFever result so far. It's rampant and there is no cure. (College and Magnolia)

Win over LSU is more of an indictment of LSU and their ability to prepare, IMO. They've now lost to the two worst teams in the SEC. Auburn is still not a good basketball team. They fight though. (Rock M Nation)

Name recognition will help their bubble. Actually winning some games would help more.(Dawg Sports)

It's so stupid they're rated this low. This team should be so, so much better than it is. (Garnet and Black Attack)

Florida is bad. It's been a long time since a Billy Donovan team looked this clueless. Even having said that, they can beat anybody with their talent.(A Sea of Blue)

Most teams would look bad minus their best player, so I'm willing to give them a mulligan for last week. (Anchor of Gold)

A week ago, they were the second best team in conference, but two straight losses showed paper thin depth and issues in need of fixing. They should still dance, but I'm thinking they'll need 6 more wins to guarantee an invitation. (Dawg Sports)

The Bulldogs have been absolutely plagued by injuries, and I probably still have more confidence in a healthy UGA squad than almost anybody else in the non-UK division of the SEC. (And the Valley Shook)

Does it get boring being a Kentucky basketball fan? (Red Cup Rebellion)

Sometimes they look great, sometimes not so great, but they don't lose to anybody. (A Sea of Blue)

Is having a No. 1 vote even necessary anymore? (And the Valley Shook)

Looks like LSU fans picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. (Rock M Nation)

You just don't know what to make of this team, considering that their last three games have been completely baffling. We'll know a lot more by this time next week, with Alabama and Kentucky coming to Baton Rouge. (And the Valley Shook)

A team with this much talent has no business losing to a team like Missouri, Mississippi State or Auburn. Johnny Jones deserves some kind of award for losing to all three of them. (Roll Bama Roll)

Congratulations, you're ahead of Missouri! (Garnet and Black Attack)

Miss State is 9th. I'd have them higher if I could but you can't completely erase the first 16 games of the year. State has won 4 of their last 6 and is playing like the 7-8th best team in the league. (College and Magnolia)

Determined to wreck the SEC's RPI, the Bulldogs actually had the best week of anybody, beating LSU and Tennessee in back to back games. What did I just type? (Roll Bama Roll)

The good news is, their season starts getting easier now. The bad news? 1-8. (A Sea of Blue)

Yeah, I can't do it any longer. The Tigers are in a serious rut and they're offensively challenged. Mizzou is the worst team in the SEC right now. (Rock M Nation)

It's February, and fans are looking forward to spring football. I think we can officially call them an SEC school now. (Anchor of Gold)

Looking good of late, but with 3 of the next 4 on the road, it's time to see if Cinderella is ready to lose a slipper.(Dawg Sports)

Winners of 4 straight and 5 of their last 6, Ole Miss is simply playing tournament basketball right now. Considering where this team was in November this might be Kennedy's best coaching job in his tenure. (Red Cup Rebellion)

Hi, team that lost to Charleston Southern on opening night? How the heck are we supposed to make sense of you? (Garnet and Black Attack)

I'd tell you my observations from watching them, but I gouged my eyes out after five minutes. (Anchor of Gold)

I get that Tennessee and Mississippi State are ahead of them in the standings. If you want either of those teams in a neutral site game tomorrow, I'd take that bet. (Garnet and Black Attack)

As ugly as it gets offensively, matched only by the brutal way they handle close games. (And the Valley Shook)

Vols have settled back into mediocrity a bit with 3 losses in their last 4, and two upcoming road games at Georgia and Vandy should prove very tough for them to pull out. I thought any tournament talk was WAY premature with this team. (Rock M Nation)

They were looking so good, then they lose to Mississippi St. at home. Game over. (A Sea of Blue)

The luckiest 5-4 team in America. (Garnet and Black Attack)

They are really coming on strong, but appear to need about 6 more wins to strengthen their bubble. (Dawg Sports)

A loss in Oxford ended a six-game winning streak and exposed some offensive issues that need cleaning up before UGA, Florida and LSU come to town. (And the Valley Shook)

They were on a great run, but Ole Miss stomped the brakes. (A Sea of Blue)

Vandy had the bad luck of snapping their skid the same week South Carolina beats Georgia and Auburn beats LSU. You can't get out of the basement if you can't find the Dores. (College and Magnolia)

Committed 18 turnovers and still beat Florida. Have some more Sloppy Joes! (Anchor of Gold)

Important win for a struggling young team to upend the Gators at home, they could string together a couple more wins with SC and UT coming into that travesty of a gym.(Rock M Nation)

That will do it for this week! How'd that work out for you? I'm betting if trends hold next week everyone will get back to whatever the conference considers normal and we'll all be just as confused as we were before.
However, until that time, enjoy the games and try not to get any on you.