WBN SEC Basketball Power Rankings: 1/23 edition
By Paul Jordan
SEC STANDINGS:
SEC EAST
FLORIDA 4-1 (15-4)
KENTUCKY 3-2 (15-4)
GEORGIA 3-2 (14-4)
SOUTH CAROLINA 3-2 (12-6)
VANDERBILT 2-2 (14-4)
TENNESSEE 2-2 (12-7)
SEC WEST
ALABAMA 4-1 (12-7)
MISSISSIPPI STATE 2-2 (10-8)
LSU 2-2 (10-9)
ARKANSAS 2-3 (12-6)
MISSISSIPPI (1-4) (13-7)
AUBURN 0-5 (7-12)
TOURNAMENT WATCH:
NCAA BOUND (4): Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Vanderbilt
ON THE BUBBLE (2): Alabama, South Carolina
BUBBLE POPPING (1): Tennessee
NIT OR OTHER TOURNEY (3): Arkansas. Mississippi, Mississippi State
ON THE BEACH FOR SPRING BREAK (2): LSU, Auburn
WBN SEC BASKETBALL POWER RANKINGS:
1. (3) Florida (15-4) (defeated Auburn 45-40, defeated Arkansas 75-43):: Trust me, I really wanted to dump the Gators to the CUSA after their 45-40 win over Auburn, but the Reptiles redeemed themselves in beating down the Razorbacks. As much talents as the Gators have, they are still way too inconsistent. Gators will have to prove themselves on the road this week if they are to maintain that lofty ranking. THIS WEEK: 1/25 @ Georgia, 1/29 @ Mississippi State
2. (4) Vanderbilt (14-4) (defeated Ole Miss 84-74, defeated #21 St. Mary’s 89-70) Kudos to the Commodores for scheduling tough St. Mary’s in the middle of the SEC season. The Commodores rebounded nicely from that close Tennessee loss and a game in Nashville may be the toughest SEC road trip, sans Rupp Arena. The ‘Dores have to play near perfect within the division though with two losses. No need to worry about that this week as Vandy should have two easy wins. THIS WEEK: 1/27 @ Mississippi State, 1/29 vs Arkansas
3. (5) Alabama (12-7) (defeated Kentucky 68-66. defeated Auburn 68-58): A SEC West team in the top three? As Ralph Wiggums says “That’s unpossible”. But yet, here the Tide is after beating our beloved Kentucky Wildcats. Do I think Alabama is the third best team in the SEC? Noooooo, but they have stepped up to take control of the SEC West for now by 1.5 games, so that counts for something. I find it odd that they scored just 68 points against both Kentucky and Auburn … but that is why I have them listed as a bubble team. THIS WEEK: 1/29 vs LSU
4. (1) Georgia ((14-4) (lost to Tennessee 59-57, defeated Mississippi State 86-64): Tough loss for the Dawgs against Tennessee, but they rebounded and blew out the other SEC Bulldogs. The Tennessee loss was a buzzer beater and they did beat Kentucky, so that is why they are ahead of the Wildcats. This week is a critical week for Georgia though as we shall see if they are a contender or a pretender. THIS WEEK: 1/25 vs Florida, 1/29 @ Kentucky
5. (2) Kentucky (15-4) (lost to Alabama 68-66, defeated South Carolina 67-58): It’s unusual to see Kentucky 5th in this type of a list, but the top four SEC East teams are interchangeable almost. Kentucky played horrid versus Alabama for 25 minutes and maybe I am punishing them a bit. That high scoring offense was about 12 points below average for the week also though. Don’t worry. If the Cats put together a winning streak I will gladly move them up. THIS WEEK: 1/29 vs Georgia
6. (6) South Carolina (12-6) (defeated Arkansas 81-74 OT), lost to Kentucky 67-58): I’m not quite ready to drop the Gamecocks into the lower half of the SEC nether regions quite yet. Keep in mind, this team does have wins over Vandy and Florida and they proved with their comeback bid against Kentucky that they have a lot of fight. They should have an easy week this week and be able to stay in the thick of the SEC East race. UP NEXT: 1/29 vs Auburn
7. (9) Tennessee (12-7) (defeated Georgia 59-57, lost to #8 UConn 72-61): Since it was an out of conference loss, I won’t penalize the Vols for the loss to UConn since we are now in the conference season, but boy, it was fun to watch Bruce Pearl lose. You never know who is going to show up when you play the Vols, but they will keep the SEC East race interesting by playing spoiler if they are not a contender. If the Vols don’t sweep this week, we can consider them a pretender. THIS WEEK: 1/26 vs LSU, 1/29 @ Ole Miss
8. (7) Arkansas (12-6) (lost to South Carolina 81-74 OT, lost to Florida 75-43): Wow, what a rancid week for the Hogs, but unfortunately I can’t drop them too much because of the awfulness of the three teams below them. I still think that the Hogs are the best suited to challenge Alabama, but we will see if John Pelphery’s team can prove me correct. The Auburn Tigers should proved a nice start to the week: THIS WEEK: 1/25: vs Auburn, 1/29 @ Vanderbilt
9. (8) Mississippi State (10-8) (lost to Georgia 86-64): Just when we thought the Bulldogs were going to rise, mediocrity rose and drug them back again. For a while, I thought this team could compete, but through 18 games, they have done nothing to disprove that they are a mediocre team. This week can get ugly. THIS WEEK; 1/27: vs Vanderbilt, 1/29 vs Florida
10. (1
0) Ole Miss (13-7) (lost to Vanderbilt 84-74, beat LSU 78-51): Twenty games in and no quality wins yet for the Rebels, whose only chance for that may be against the SEC East now. Even at 1-4, I would not discount the Rebels making noise in the West. They have a solid core, but just need to perform and it needs to start now. THIS WEEK: 1/29: vs Tennessee
11. (11) LSU (10-9) (lost to Ole Miss 78-51): It’s a bad week for the Tigers when you get blown out by the previous win less in the SEC (and a pretty bad team) Mississippi Rebels. The Tigers may actually get a win this week though, and somehow stay in the conversation in this division. THIS WEEK: 1/26 @ Tennessee, 1/29 @ Alabama
12. (12) Auburn (7-12) (lost to Florida 45-40, lost to Alabama 68-58): Charles Barkley would say his alma mater is “Turrible” but at least they are being competitive. It’s a sign that you are turrible when Florida can shoot 28% and still win by five though. THIS WEEK: 1/25 @ Arkansas, 1/29 @ South Carolina
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans