SEC Power Rankings – 2/8

A CUT ABOVE

1. Kentucky – 22-1 (7-1)
Last Week: Ole Miss – W 85-75, @ LSU – @ 81-55
This Week: Alabama, Tennessee

After a home game against a struggling Alabama squad, UK enters a stretch of games that will put their top ranking to the test. ESPN Gameday will be in Lexington for the Tennessee game, then UK faces two its three toughest road tests of the year against Mississippi State, Vandy, and Tennessee, split up by a home rematch against South Carolina.

With the way that UK is dominating the weekly SEC honors, I have been wondering what the post-season awards in the conference are going to look like. For the first half of SEC play, UK has been head and shoulders about the rest of the conference, and that will likely be reflected. DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall are both in the conversation for freshman of the year honors and player of the year honors. Patrick Patterson was pre-season player of the year, so will likely be at least a first team honoree.

Could UK have the player of the year, the coach of the year, three players on the first team, and three players on the freshman team? I don’t think that’s the least bit unrealistic.

RIDING SHOTGUN

2. Vanderbilt – 17-5 (6-2)
Last Week: Mississippi State – W, @ Georgia – L
This Week: Tennessee, LSU

3. Tennessee – 18-4 (6-2)
Last Week: @ LSU – W, South Carolina – W
This Week: @ Vanderbilt, @ Kentucky

You might be thinking that Vandy should be ranked below Tennessee. The Vols are the second highest ranked teams in the polls and are coming off of a 2-0 week and a very impressive 26 point home win over South Carolina.

Here’s my argument for Vandy in the two spot: Vandy’s two losses in conference – @ Georgia and @ Kentucky; Tennessee’s two losses – @ Georgia and Vanderbilt. Both teams were convincingly beaten in Athens and Vandy owns the head to head matchup. Easy decision to me.

This week will go a long way to settling the debate. Tennessee travels to face the number one and number two teams in my rankings, so they will be able to make a run at not only the number two spot, but maybe even the top spot if they can pull off the upsets. Unfortunately for the Arnge, I don’t think they’ll win either.

LOOKING OK FOR MARCH…FOR NOW

4. Ole Miss – 17-6 (5-4)
Last Week: @ Kentucky – L, Alabama – W
This Week: @ Mississippi State

5. Florida – 17-6 (6-3)
Last Week: @ Alabama – W, Mississippi State – W
This Week: @ South Carolina, Xavier

Ole Miss dropped a game most teams would drop when they lost at Rupp. Then, they fell behind by 20 against Alabama and it was looking like they were about to find themselves on the wrong side of the bubble. Chris Warren, though, led them back and as a result they are still in OK shape.

Just when we were talking about Billy Donovan’s Gators missing the tournament for the third straight year, they win six out of seven games and insert themselves right back into the thick of things. There is an awful long way to go, but they have an opportunity to bolster their non-conference matchup in a game with Xavier.

ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

6. Arkansas – 12-11 (5-3)
Last Week: @ Georgia – W, Auburn – W
This Week: LSU, @ Alabama

7. Mississippi State – 16-7 (4-4)
Last Week: @ Vanderbilt – L, @ Florida – L
This Week: Ole Miss, Alabama,

8. South Carolina – 13-9 (4-4)
Last Week: Georgia – W, @ Tennessee – L
This Week: Florida, @ Georgia

I said last week that I thought Arkansas could easily finish second in the SEC West. Now, I’m not sure they can’t win the thing in what would be a complete opposite from last season when they did well out of conference and collapsed in the SEC. Courtney Fortson has made a huge difference in their back court and opponents haven’t adjusted yet.

I have Mississippi State at seven here, but I’ll be honest, I think they’re a better team than Arkansas. They are in the middle of a rough stretch, having dropped four of five, but I believe they still have a run in them that will put them back in the bubble conversation.

South Carolina had an opportunity to play their way onto the bubble themselves, but were foiled in a beatdown in Knoxville. They could still make a run, but it’s an uphill battle.

THE NOT-SO-TERRIBLE BAD TEAMS

9. Georgia – 10-11 (2-6)
Last Week: Arkansas – L, Vanderbilt – W
This Week: @ Auburn, South Carolina

10. Alabama – 13-10 (3-6)
Last Week: Florida – L, @ Ole Miss – L
This Week: @ Kentucky, Arkansas

11. Auburn – 11-12 (2-6)
Last Week: Alabama – W, Arkansas – L
This Week: Georgia, @ Mississippi State

Meet the Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide, and the Tigers, your resident pains in the butt in the SEC. They are not good teams, but they have athletes and they improve every time out. Georgia has already beaten two of the top three teams in the conference and just missed beating the best team in Rupp Arena.

Alabama hasn’t pulled off the big upset yet, but they’ve beaten Mississippi State and lost three more games by one point. Look for them to surprise some people the rest of the season.

Auburn has been beaten by double digits only twice in eight games, so DeWayne Reed is going to keep his team close in a lot of games. They just don’t have the weapons to get it done a regular basis.

THE REALLY TERRIBLE BAD TEAM

12. LSU – 9-14 (0-9)
Last Week: Tennessee – L, Texas – L
This Week: @ Arkansas, @ Vanderbilt

Seriously, did you watch Bo Spencer hoist shot after shot against Kentucky? LSU calls that an offense? With four of seven on the road to close out SEC play, 0-16 is a very real possibility.