WBN SEC Basketball Power Rankings: 02-24-2013 Edition
By Wayne
February 23, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators center Patric Young (4) slam dunks against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half at the Stephen C. O
1. #4 Florida Gators (22-4, 12-2) Last Week- L 63-60 at Mizzou, W 71-54 vs. Arkansas: Florida proves that parody is strong in college basketball this year and they still have some work to before they’re a polished product. The absence of Will Yeguette certainly didn’t help them against Mizzou but Patric Young was present yet unaccounted for. Granted, I didn’t expect Florida to lose another game but their balanced attack was tantamount to pitching a pebble off the coast of California and looking for the ripple in Hawaii. At some point, Florida will either need more production from one or two players or a more potent balance from several. This Week: February 26 at Tennessee, March 2 vs. Alabama
2. Kentucky Wildcats (19-8, 10-4) Last Week- W 74-70 vs. Vandy, W 90-83 vs. Mizzou: Home cooking makes EVERYTHING better and is exactly where these Cats needed to start their march toward March. After their ass whooping by TN, multiple players have stepped up strong at different times. The emergence of Willie Cauley-Stein as an enforcer has been huge and Harrow is playing like a man possessed as is Poythress. Goodwin came on strong in the second half of the Mizzou as did Julius Mays. This team is finally looking like what we maybe thought it would. This Week: February 27 vs. Mississippi State University, March 2 at Arkansas
3. #21 Missouri Tigers (19-8, 8-6) Last Week: W 63-60 vs. Florida, L 90-83 at Kentucky: Control is the key to the Tigers and if Pressey can play under it, they have a great chance to make some noise in the tourney and he’s coming off strong games in the win and loss. The emergence of Bowers and Oriakhi in the post has stretched some defenses and bruised some bodies. An Achilles heel for them is their spotty fouling. It gets them in trouble and cost them their shot for a win at Rupp.This Week: February 28 at South Carolina, March 2 vs. LSU
4. Tennessee Volunteers (16-10, 8-6) Last Week: W 82-72 vs. LSU, W 93-85 at Texas A&M: Trae Golden, Jarnell Stokes welcomes you to the team. Winners of 5 straight SEC games, Martin has his boys rolling. Though the stats are a bit skewed for the A&M game, Stokes, Golden, and McCrae combined for 75 pointsand 27 rebounds. It’s going to be tough to stop that train but Florida can do it…maybe. This Week: February 26 vs. Florida, March 2 at Georgia
5. #16 Ole Miss Rebels (20-7, 9-5) Last Week: L 63-62 at South Carolina, W 88-55 vs. Auburn: So that really wasn’t a dream? Ole Miss DID lose to South Carolina. Now it all makes sense. Blowing out Auburn does not make up for the loss to SC even if it was on the road. Henderson he is a shooter who occasionally scores but he has to be consistent for the Rebels to even make the NCAA tourney. This Week: February 27 vs. Texas A&M, March 2 at Mississippi State
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (18-9, 10-4) Last Week: W 64-56 vs. Mississippi State, L 97-94 at LSU: If they hadn’t lost to LSU they would be Top 5 here but they didn’t. Look, their guard play is easily their greatest strength, and the guards Trevor have great potential but Lacey disappears for long stretches and Alabama can’t overcome that. They don’t have a front court and that will cost them in the future, but perhaps not as bad as this LSU loss did their NCAA chances. They blew a big one there. This Week: February 26 vs. Auburn, March 2 at Florida
7. Arkansas Razorbacks (17-10, 8-6) Last Week: W 62-60 vs. Georgia, L 71-54 at Florida:They went to Florida in the midst of a 3 game winning streak but BJ Powell didn’t make the trip…or at least he took the night off it seems. The Sophomore was 0-8 yet played the most minutes on the team. And listen, I’m not dogging his poor shooting but that he only took 8 shots. His value to Mike Anderson cannot be overstated. For Arkansas to do anything anywhere he has to show up every game. The HC has his work cut out for him. This Week: February 27 at LSU, March 2 at Kentucky