SEC women's basketball power rankings: Auburn, Missouri, Florida move up, Georgia falls

They say conferences are only as good as its teams in the bottom halfl.

Well, most of the Southeastern Conference's second tier teams grabbed some solid wins over the last couple of weeks with Auburn beating Washington State at home, Florida knocking off Michigan in Charlotte by 17 points. Missouri picked itself up off the mat and edged a good Illinois team, 69-66, on the road.

The blemish is Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and her Georgia Bulldogs continuing to stumble, dropping an instate rival game to a mediocre Georgia Tech team before a crushing, one-point loss to Ball State. Those losses dropped UGA farther in our SEC power rankings as it appears to be the most disappointing team in the league comparable to preseason expectations through nonconference play.

Here's how our SEC power rankings:

1. South Carolina (11-0)

Last week: No. 1

Up next: Dec. 30 at East Carolina; Jan. 4 at Florida; Jan. 7 Mississippi State

The South Carolina death machine stops for no one, not even beloved and former longtime assistant coaches to Dawn Staley as Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green's first-year head coach, found out.

2. LSU (12-1)

Last week: No. 2

Up next: Dec. 30 Jacksonville; Jan. 4 Missouri; Jan. 7 at Ole Miss

Tigers star Angel Reese looks completely back to NCAA championship game Most Outstanding Player form and Kim Mulkey's is really shaping out the way we all thought.

3. Mississippi State (12-2)

Last week: No. 5

Up next: Jan. 4 Vanderbilt; Jan. 7 at South Carolina

We'll certainly know exactly where Sam Purcell's Mississippi State squad is when it rolls into the House That Dawn Built on Jan. 7, but it picked up more solid road wins at Memphis and Colorado State last week.

4. Texas A&M (11-1)

Last week: No. 3

Up next: Dec. 31 Texas A&M-Commerce; Jan. 4 at Georgia; Jan. 7 Auburn

If we have to watch the Aggies beat another SWAC team by 50 one more time ...

5. Alabama (12-2)

Last week: No. 4

Up next: Dec. 31 Mississippi Valley State; Jan. 4 Ole Miss; Jan. 7 at Missouri

Alabama is rolling and has won 24 straight home nonconference games. Jessica Timmons and JeAnna Cunningham are coming along for the Tide.

6. Arkansas (10-3)

Last week: No. 6

Up next: Dec. 31 incarnate Word; Jan. 4 at Kentucky; Jan. 7 Georgia

Had it not been for Samara Spencer dishing to an open Maryam Dauda, who made a buzzer-beating layup to beat Illinois, 60-59, in West Palm Beach, the Razorbacks would've dropped farther south in these rankings than it traveled for those games.

7. Tennessee (6-5)

Last week: No. 7

Up next: Dec. 31 at Liberty; Jan. 4 at Auburn; Jan. 7 Kentucky

Kellie Harper can't catch a break. She gets Rickea Jackson back and loses guard Destinee Wells for the season. Gonna be a rocky SEC schedule on Rocky Top it seems.

8. Vanderbilt (11-1)

Last week: No. 8

Up next: Dec. 31 Radford; Jan. 4 at Mississippi State; Jan. 7 Florida

Shea Ralph has the Commodores off to their best start in 12 years. Vandy played North Carolina State scrappy, can it stay scrappy once SEC play arrives?

9. Ole Miss (9-3)

Last week: No. 9

Up next: Dec. 30 Alcorn State; Jan. 4 at Alabama; Jan. 7 LSU

Ole Miss has one more game to find an offensive spark, it ranks 13th in the SEC in scoring, before league play gets here.

10. Auburn (10-2)

Last week: No. 11

Up next: Dec. 31 North Alabama; Jan. 4 Tennessee; Jan. 7 at Texas A&M

Auburn carried the banner for the SEC last week in beating an NCAA Tournament team in Washington State at home. Can the Tigers sustain their success?

11. Florida (8-3)

Last week: No. 12

Up next: Dec. 30 Winthrop; Jan. 4 South Carolina; Jan. 7 at Vanderbilt

Just when you thought the Gators were toast, they come out no nowhere and dismantle a quality Michigan team by nearly 20 points on a neutral floor. The same team that's lost to Marshall and Tulsa ...

12. Missouri (9-4)

Last week: No. 13

Up next: Jan. 4 at LSU; Jan. 7 Alabama

Missouri did get a win at Illinois but its move up one spot has more to do with the horrible week that the team now behind them put together.

13. Georgia (8-4)

Last week: No. 10

Up next: Dec. 30 Wofford; Jan. 4 Texas A&M; Jan. 7 at Arkansas

Teams will plummet at least four spots in the rankings 10 out of 10 times when they lose to Georgia Tech and Ball State in a week. Awful stretch for the Dawgs.

14. Kentucky (6-7)

Last week: No. 14

Up next: Dec. 31 Samford; Jan. 4 Arkansas; Jan. 7 at Tennessee

The Wildcats have won back-to-back games for the first time since games one and two, but a seven-point victory over Lipscomb doesn't really strike confidence in what they're about to embark on.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: SEC women's basketball power rankings: Big wins cause shuffling