SEC baseball power rankings: Could conference tournament burst any team's NCAA bubble
The SEC regular season is over and the conference tournament is set to commence beginning Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama. The conference had an unusual set of standings this season, with co-champions at the top and a five-way tie in the middle.
The SEC tournament could help decide which of the unusually large number of bubble teams end up getting an NCAA tournament bid. Though teams that are 13-17 in the league with a top-30 RPI have gotten into regionals in the 14-team SEC era, giving every team in that range a bid would entail the league getting a record 14 teams in.
Here's how the league stacks up as the postseason approaches:
All rankings, records and stats are as of games May 18
1. Tennessee
Tennessee got the top seed in the SEC tournament − and by extension, the top spot in the power rankings − by virtue of a tiebreaker in the Vols' head-to-head series win over Kentucky, though the two teams are officially SEC co-champions.
Record: 46-10 (22-8 SEC)
Last week: 2
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2. Kentucky
The tiebreaker may have cost Kentucky the top spot, but the Wildcats still notched their first SEC championship since 2006. Kentucky is perfectly built for Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, but the Wildcats will first have to conquer a super regional for the first time in program history.
Record: 39-12 (22-8)
Last week: 1
3. Arkansas
The No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament due to winning the SEC West, Arkansas has arguably the best pitcher in the country in Hagen Smith but the lineup and the rotation behind Smith have been somewhat in flux. Can someone else step up for the Razorbacks?
Record: 43-12 (20-10)
Last week: 3
4. Texas A&M
The Aggies are still likely to get a national seed, but the rotation has fallen off a bit from earlier this season. Still, Texas A&M has Ryan Prager, Evan Aschenbeck and the duo of Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette, which should take it far.
Record: 44-11 (19-11)
Last week: 4
5. Mississippi State
Losing the finale to Missouri was a tough pill to swallow for the Bulldogs, who may have fallen out of the hosting race without a run in Hoover. Mississippi State has one of the league's best pitching staffs, but the offense has been just OK.
Record: 36-19 (17-13)
Last week: 5
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6. Georgia
Georgia likely cost itself a national seed by losing a home series to Florida. The Bulldogs have the opposite problem as Mississippi State: the offense, led by Golden Spikes candidate Charlie Condon, is exceptional, but the bullpen has been shaky.
Record: 39-14 (17-13)
Last week: 6
7. Alabama
What to do with the league's five 13-17 teams? As it turns out, there's a pretty clear head-to-head pecking order. Alabama is the only team in the group that didn't lose a series to another 13-17 team and also has series wins over Arkansas and Tennessee.
Record: 33-21 (13-17)
Last week: 8
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8. South Carolina
South Carolina is ice-cold right now, having lost its last six SEC games. But the Gamecocks are in pretty good shape for the NCAA tournament, with a top-20 RPI and series wins over Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida.
Record: 33-21 (13-17)
Last week: 7
9. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt also finished the season poorly, going 2-9 in its last 11 SEC games. The Commodores fall in the middle of the head-to-head order, having been swept by South Carolina but winning series over Florida and LSU.
Record: 35-20 (13-17)
Last week: 9
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10. Florida
Florida won the series at Georgia to stay over .500 and on the bubble. The Gators have some nice high-end wins, but they're bordering on simply too many losses to be taken seriously.
Record: 28-26 (13-17)
Last week: 11
11. LSU
LSU may well be the most fearsome of this group in a regional, but the Tigers have the weakest resume. Not only do they have the worst RPI (30) and second-worst Quadrant 1 record (7-13), they don't have a head-to-head series win over any of the other 13-17 teams.
Record: 36-20 (13-17)
Last week: 12
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12. Ole Miss
Ole Miss took itself out of the postseason by getting swept at LSU. The Rebels will be the only team in Hoover that has no shot at a regional without the autobid.
Record: 27-28 (11-19)
Last week: 11
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13. Missouri
Missouri finished with nine SEC wins, and eight of them were by a single run. The Tigers' woeful offense wasn't enough for a spot in Hoover.
Record: 23-32 (9-21)
Last week: 13
14. Auburn
After losing its first eight SEC series, Auburn won its last two and put up a valiant effort to ruin rival Alabama's season. Ultimately, the Tigers didn't have enough arms to get it done.
Record: 27-26 (8-22)
Last week: 14
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC baseball power rankings: How the postseason bubble shapes up
