1. Texas AM
The Aggies have lost two in a row, but this team is still the most complete in the SEC at the end of the day. Alex Caruso and Jalenn Jones are a strong back court duo, and the Aggies will get it figured out. They should do it quickly, though, because road games at Alabama and LSU loom ahead before Ole Miss and Kentucky come to town. This team is in the toughest stretch of its schedule.
2. LSU
Ben Simmons and company have finally figured it out. I still have no clue how it took them this long, but the Tigers are now 8-2 in conference play and are on top of the SEC standings. It’s February and they are playing their best basketball of the season. Make no mistake about it: No one wants to play LSU right now.
3. Kentucky
John Calipari’s bunch have stumbled a little over the last couple of weeks, dropping games to the likes of Tennessee and Auburn with an overtime loss to Kansas in between. It’s hardly time to panic, though, since Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis are still a potent back court and Alex Poythress is still a force down low. You can bet Calipari will have this bunch ready come March.
4. South Carolina
No one seemed to believe South Carolina was for real, including me. No one told them that, though— and they just notched by far their biggest win of the year at Texas A&M. The jury is still out on the Gamecocks for me, but no one tell Frank Martin I said that. He scares the hell out of me.
5. Florida
First-year head coach Michael White has already exceeded expectations in year one, and his Gators are definitely relevant. Saturday was a small hiccup in an 80-61 loss at Kentucky, but KeVaughn Allen can shoot the cover off of the basketball, and this team will have a good chance at an at-large berth in the tournament.
6. Ole Miss
The Rebels are finally back to .500 in conference play at 5-5 and are beginning to get healthy again. Sebastian Saiz could return this week and Stefan Moody seems to be past his hamstring injury. Ole Miss still has a long way to go to get back into the NCAA tournament conversation, but opportunities lie ahead with road games at Florida and Texas A&M.
7. Georgia
Mark Fox’s team continues to be up-and-down. They’re 6-4 in SEC play and 13-8 overall. Like Ole Miss, Georgia is in a bit of a hole, but this team was thought to be an NCAA tournament team when the season began. There is enough talent on the roster for them to make that happen, but it won’t be easy.
8. Arkansas
The Razorbacks have a young team and have shown glimpses of good basketball, but consistency is still the issue. This team will do enough to earn an NIT berth and look to use that experience to build towards next season.
9. Vanderbilt
I have absolutely no idea what to make of this team. The Commodores were thought to be an NCAA tournament lock in November, but have drastically underachieved since. After an 0-3 SEC start, Vandy won five of six and looked to be figuring it out. But then they dropped a road game at Ole Miss; now, you really never know what you’re going to get from this team on a nightly basis.
10. Alabama
Alabama will give you everything they have on a nightly basis, but there just isn’t enough depth and experience there to translate into wins right now. Avery Johnson’s leading this team hints at a brighter future for the Crimson Tide basketball program.
11. Tennessee
Same story here. First-year head coach Rick Barnes is making the most out of a pretty bare cupboard. This program got a big win against Kentucky this past week, and, like Alabama, better days are ahead.
12. Auburn
Bruce Pearl sells the product better than anyone in college basketball, but injuries have decimated the Tigers. To put this in perspective, Pearl was forced to start 6 foot 7 inch forward Cinmeon Bowers at point guard at Georgia on Saturday. I will let you take a guess as to how that turned out.
13. Mississippi State
Mississippi State is playing better and Malik Newman seems to be getting acclimated to the college level and blossoming a little into the player he has the potential to be. However, depth and finding consistent offense continue to be a problem for this bunch.
14. Missouri
Marty Huggins once said, “Bring your brooms, because it’s a mess.” There aren’t enough brooms in Columbia to clean up this mess. Missouri is awful.
