SEC Power Rankings after Week 3 of the college basketball season
The first month of the college basketball season is almost over, as all SEC teams have concluded preseason tournament play.
Not much has changed since last week in terms of the power dynamic of the conference, although last week’s No. 1 ranked team, Tennessee, did struggle at the Maui Invitational.
With three weeks of basketball behind us, it’s time for the second edition of this year’s SEC power rankings.
Vanderbilt
Last week: 0-2
Season Record: 3-3
Vanderbilt had a tough week in Las Vegas, losing to NC State and Arizona State in consecutive days to end the “Vegas Showdown” 0-2.
Guard Tryin Lawrence did make his season debut for the Commodores in the tournament and played well, averaging 18 points.
When him and senior guard Ezra Manjon finally get on the floor together this team has the chance to score with anybody, but they simply aren’t very talented beyond those two.
Georgia
Last Week: 1-0
Season Record: 3-3
Although they had an undefeated week, Georgia‘s fall down the rankings is more of a product of what the Bulldog’s didn’t do.
Georgia picked up a nice home win over mid-major Winthrop, but that was it. They’ll have a chance to move back up the list if they can knock off Florida State in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday.
LSU
Last Week: 1-0
Season Record: 4-2
Much like Georgia, LSU didn’t do much this week to merit a move up in the rankings.
The Tigers did take care of business against a historically solid mid-major in North Florida though.
Forward Will Baker and guard Jordan Wright combined for 33 in the win, showing again the Tigers will go as far as that duo can take them.
Ole Miss
Last Week: 1-0
Season Record: 5-0
Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels finally picked up a decent win this week, hanging on in a thriller to take down the Temple Owls in Philadelphia.
Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan led the way with 26 points in the win.
If the Rebels can win their ACC/SEC Challenge game against NC State, it may be time to move them up the rankings.
Missouri
Last Week: 2-0
Season Record: 5-2
Missouri bounced back nicely this week after a terrible home loss to Jackson State to end last week.
The Tigers picked up wins over SC Upstate and Loyola Maryland to improve to 5-2 on the young season and have a chance to pick up their second Power 5 win if they can get by PITT in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Seniors Sean East II, Nick Honor, and Noah Carter continue to lead the way for Mizzou.
Arkansas
Last Week: 1-2
Season Record: 4-3
Head coach Eric Musselman has created a standard of excellence for his Razorbacks basketball program in recent years.
So far, this Razorbacks team has not played to that standard.
Arkansas fell to 4-3 on the season after going winless in the “Battle 4 Atlantis” tournament last week.
This team is still extremely talented and should be fine in the long run, but it’s very feasible Arkansas could drop to .500 after a matchup with Duke up next.
South Carolina
Last Week: 0-0
Season Record: 5-0
South Carolina hasn’t played a basketball game since November 19.
We’ll see if the extended break is detrimental to a team that began the season shooting nearly 50% from the field and 40% from 3-point range.
Florida
Last Week: 1-1
Season Record: 4-2
Besides Auburn, Florida may be the deepest team in the SEC. The Gators look like one of the best teams in the SEC to start the season.
They dismantled Pitt in the NIT Invitational before losing a heartbreaker to Baylor 96-91 in the championship.
The Gators should be good enough to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn
Last Week: 1-0
Season Record: 4-1
Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers took care of business in their lone game last weekend, blowing out the Alabama A&M Aggies in Neville Arena.
The Tigers did lose the second half for the second-straight game however. While both games were won in blowout fashion, Auburn would like to do a better job putting teams away.
Texas A&M
Last Week: 2-1
Season Record: 6-1
The Texas A&M Aggies are going to be one of the nation’s best teams all season long.
Wade Taylor IV and Henry Coleman III led a well-balanced, great defensive, team to a third place finish at the ESPN Events Invitation last weekend.
The Aggies did show signs of struggle against the Florida Atlantic Owls, giving up over 90 points for the first time this season, but that game was a testament to FAU’s offensive prowess more than anything.
Tennessee
Last Week: 0-2
Season Record: 4-2
The Tennessee Volunteers had a rough go of it at the Maui Invitational.
After losing to a hard-nosed, grind-it-out type game to Purdue, Rick Barnes’ team struggled to score in a 69-60 loss to Kansas.
Purdue and Kansas are arguably the two best teams in the country so the single digit losses aren’t cause for concern, but the “Vols” would have loved to leave Hawaii with at least one win.
Kentucky
Last Week: 2-0
Season Record: 5-1
The Kentucky Wildcats showed they can be prone to inconsistent play last week when they almost lost to a mediocre St. Joes team.
Kentucky pulled out a win in overtime, then returned to form by putting up 118 points against Marshall.
The young Wildcats should push for a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament as the season progresses.
Alabama
Last Week: 1-1
Season Record: 5-1
Alabama had their first slip up of the season last week, losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Emerald Coast Classic.
The Crimson Tide bounced back by scoring 99 points against Oregon, showing they are still one of, if not the best offensive teams in the nation.
Mississippi State
Last Week: 1-0
Season Record: 6-0
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are still atop the SEC as we head into December.
They had a slow week, defeating Nicholls State at home by 13, and have a relatively easy schedule as they try to stay undefeated.
