Welcome back to the SEC Power Rankings, your post Thanksgiving basketball salve from all the football that has inundated your brain since Wednesday night. Unlike the NBA which takes the holiday off, the SEC continues to plow through their nonconference season with multiple games per night and so far, the teams are not disappointing.
This week we’ve moved back to the five tiers, acknowledging that we really do not know much about any of these teams save what we can see on the surface. Kentucky continues to dominate the rankings while Florida is making a move and Tennessee and State are fighting Mizzou for the rights to the bottom of our poll. In that sense not much has changed I suppose. The middle of the SEC continues to be a coin flip until every team in the league has played someone of consequence and any skill.
Tier 1
Tier 1 has shrunk to two teams, Kentucky and Florida, who if I am writing this same sentence the days before the SEC tournament, I don’t think anyone will be surprised. Kentucky has by the far the “sexier” schedule of the two with a big win over a depleted Michigan State (who may have been gifted a win over Dunk City) this week and the number one ranking in the country, however this week gives Florida a chance to make a significant move. The Gators take on number 11 Gonzaga tonight at 9:30 PM ET, get that win and that’s a better more season defining win than anything the Cats have.
Tier 2
Tier 2 also remains a compressed group comprising only surprising South Carolina and Texas A&M. Carolina, like UF and UK above, are undefeated with a nice win over a talented Michigan squad on their resume, building for March in ways they have not been able to do in the past couple seasons. A&M meanwhile has a loss in their only big game to USC, but get another shot at a good win with a game against VaTech later today. A&M at this point seems to be getting by on last year’s results with our voters at this point than what they’ve shown this season.
Tier 3
Welcome to the middle of the pack. All five teams in this grouping have received some very high picks from our voters as well as some very low rankings. All five teams have a power five loss on their record already, with only Arkansas’ loss to Minnesota being the troubling one. The top three teams of the third tier are separated by five votes and the top to bottom a small margin of 11. Honestly the teams in this tier feel right where they are for where we are in the season at this point. No one has a signature win and any loss can be explained away over drinks, but if any of these teams are going to making a move in the conference race and an opportunity at post season play, someone is going to have to beat someone of consequence.
Tier 4
Welcome to not the bottom of the conference and that’s something to be Thankful for. As I noted in another article, Mississippi State plays no one to get excited about, literally not one team and now they’ve lost their best player for the season, so expect to see State continue to slide. Vandy on the other hand seems to be taking losses at an alarming rate to mid major squads that are of a questionable nature. Finally Bama has now lost to Dayton which doesn’t look that great and to Valpo which really doesn’t do much for the team’s confidence. But hey, at least they’re not in Tier five.
Tier 5
The bottom, where Tennessee and Mizzou look to be living for the near future. Both teams have had opportunities this season to make a move and get decent quality wins but neither have taken advantage. This season looks to be yet another in the rebuild for both programs, so fans of the Vols and Tigers, look for the good where you can find it.
Team | Points | Ranking | Ranking Last Week | Change | Highest Pick | Lowest Pick |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kentucky | 84 | 1st | 1st | None | 1st | 1st |
Florida | 76 | 2nd | 3rd | Up 1 | 2nd | 3rd |
South Carolina | 68 | 3rd | 8th | Up 5 | 3rd | 5th |
Texas A&M | 60 | 4th | 2nd | Down 2 | 4th | 7th |
Arkansas | 55 | 5th | 4th | Down 1 | 3rd | 9th |
Auburn | 53 | 6th | 10th | Up 4 | 2nd | 8th |
Ole Miss | 50 | 7th | 7th | None | 5th | 8th |
Georgia | 48 | 8th | 5th | Down 3 | 4th | 9th |
LSU | 44 | 9th | 6th | Down 3 | 2nd | 11th |
Alabama | 27 | 10th | 11th | Up 1 | 9th | 11th |
Vanderbilt | 26 | 11th | 9th | Down 2 | 10th | 14th |
Mississippi State | 21 | 12th | 12th | None | 10th | 14th |
Mizzou | 13 | 13th | 13th | None | 12th | 14th |
Tennessee | 12 | 14th | 14th | None | 12th | 14th |
Points were distributed as follows: 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
"We're going to the playoffs!"- Dean Winters look alike in a houndstooth sweater. (Dawg Sports)
Alabama looks surprisingly and depressingly bad. (Roll Bama Roll)
It’s ok Bama, you could shoot 100% of the field and Avery Johnson could deliver a baby during a TV timeout and no one would care, because IRON BOWL!!!! (Rock M Nation)
Got their asses kicked on the road? You don't say! (Anchor of Gold)
Minnesota your court is a debacle, not Vandy level awful, but close. (Rock M Nation)
They are a team that plays basketball. (Anchor of Gold)
Things could be happening on the plains, I hear whispers...(Rock M Nation)
Daniel Purifoy is one of the best non-Kentucky freshmen in the conference. (Dawg Sports)
This looks like an NIT team at worst and might be even better than that. (Anchor of Gold)
They'll probably lose badly tonight and make us all look dumb. (Anchor of Gold)
Are they good? Maybe, but they ain't played nobody, Pawl. (Dawg Sports)
Are they ready to compete with Kentucky? Whoop up on JW3 and Gonzaga, and we’ll talk. (Rock M Nation)
Watching Maten play with the other dudes reminds me of Ben Simmons and LSU last year, just without Johnny Jones face. (Rock M Nation)
Yante Maten showed why he'll get some NBA first round pick love next spring against Kansas. And the rest of the team showed why even that may not be enough to get Georgia dancing. (Dawg Sports)
Could have beaten Kansas if anyone other than Yante Maten showed up for the game. (Anchor of Gold)
It's still early but one thing is for certain: Kentucky is good. (Red Cup Rebellion)
They are the #1 team in the country, and no one else in the conference is ranked. That's easy math. (Dawg Sports)
Attempts to find weaknesses always feel like nitpicking. (Anchor of Gold)
Maybe Johnny Jones is just slow playing this... (Rock M Nation)
Johnny Jones vs. Gregg Marshall might be the biggest possible coaching mismatch in the country and the final score reflected it. (Anchor of Gold)
I believe in this talent. And I've always liked Randy Livingston, so maybe he can counter whatever Johnny Jones isn't bringing to the bench. (Dawg Sports)
Quinndary Weatherspoon is very good at this game. The rest of the Bulldogs...(Dawg Sports)
With Quinndary Weatherspoon out, this is going to be one long-ass season. (Anchor of Gold)
It appears that the season is now over after losing Weatherspoon. (Rock M Nation)
Hey! At least you beat Tulane! (Anchor of Gold)
Beat Tulane after being down by 10 at the half, that would not have happened last year. (Rock M Nation)
Missouri- Slightly better than last year maybe, but not that much better. But hey, it's just one more probation year anyway so it doesn't really count. (Dawg Sports)
Losing to Creighton is not anything to be ashamed of, next time they miss it could be in 2017. (Rock M Nation)
Like Zaxby's on a long road trip, you don't really like it. But you don't really dislike it either, and it is there, so why not if I can just "go to the bathroom" and enjoy five minutes of peace away from these jackahhhhhi you. (Dawg Sports)
Has this weird habit of doing exactly as much as they need to win, regardless of the level of competition. (Anchor of Gold)
They've beaten two quality noncon opponents which is two more than they did last year. (Anchor of Gold)
This team could be very dangerous come conference play. Plus between Kentucky at the top right now, and Tennessee at the bottom, the rest of the conference makes me feel like a monkey slinging their poop at the wall wondering what's gonna stick. (Dawg Sports)
Frank Martin has things moving towards March already. (Rock M Nation)
Worse than cranberry sauce. (Dawg Sports)
Went to Maui and didn't embarrass themselves, which I guess counts for something. (Anchor of Gold)
Made a run at Oregon, though that’s look less and less great as every game goes by. (Rock M Nation)
I mean... I guess they're good. (Anchor of Gold)
Tonight’s tilt with Tech could be telling, totally. (Rock M Nation)
They'd probably be higher if they didn't collapse against Southern Cal. But then again, they have Billy Kennedy still and that might not help their chances of avoiding future collapses late in games. (Dawg Sports)
We're too low on the list, and in the alphabet, I'm out of jokes. Oh, and something something damn baseline benches something something. (Dawg Sports)
Bucknell? Really, Bucknell?! (Anchor of Gold)
Belmont, Bucknell and Norfolk State, it’s like they scheduled only first round upset teams from NCAA tournaments past. (Rock M Nation)
And that will do it for this week, let’s see if UF can make a move towards a number one ranking tonight.