1. Texas A&M – The Aggies have finally put it together this season and find themselves at 17-2 and 7-0 in the conference. They are ranked No.5 in the country. The Aggies play Arkansas on Wednesday before hosting top 25 Iowa State in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
2. Kentucky – Kentucky still seems to be searching to find its identity this season after last year’s historic run. That being said, the Cats are still 15-4, and Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis comprise a pretty solid backcourt. UK is unstoppable when senior forward Alex Poythress scores in double figures, and his leadership will be key for this team’s success down the stretch.
3. USC – South Carolina looks poised to make its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2004. The Gamecocks, 18-2 (5-2), beat Mississippi State last night and will take on Alabama Saturday.
4. Florida – First-year head coach Michael White has a young team whose confidence seems to be getting greater and greater as they move deeper into the season. The Gators won four in a row before a one-point loss on the road to Vanderbilt Tuesday night, and it won’t get any easier as they face ninth-ranked West Virginia this weekend. Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen is hitting his stride, and this team will be tough for any opponent down the stretch.
5. LSU – LSU avoided their Johnny Jones coming out last night, but barely. Jones, the Tigers’ coach, has underachieved massively with all-star freshman Ben Simmons. The Tigers find themselves in the NCAA tournament bubble. The Bayou Bengals will travel to top-ranked Oklahoma Saturday.
6. Vanderbilt – It’s been an up-and-down year for a team that was ranked in the top 20 to begin the season. Vanderbilt started 0-3 in conference, but won four of five games since and they seem to be figuring it out. Forward Luke Kornet is a special talent with his versatility and 7-foot 1-inch frame, and Wade Baldwin is a pretty good guy to have anchoring the backcourt. Vandy dug itself a hole, but is making an attempt to climb out of it.
7. Georgia – Georgia is 11-7 overall and 4-4 in the conference. Georgia fell to LSU last night in Baton Rouge but will try to get back on track this weekend as they travel to Baylor for the SEC-Big 12 challenge.
8. Arkansas – This is an intriguing team. They can be electric at times on the offensive end, averaging 82 points per game. The problem is they aren’t interested in playing defense— they give up almost 77 points per game. Transfer Dusty Hannahs averages 16.6 a game, and can beat a team if he gets hot, but the Razorbacks haven’t had any consistency this year.
9. Ole Miss – Ole Miss finds themselves in a recent slide. The Rebels have lost four consecutive games and will try to get back on track Wednesday as they take on Auburn. The Rebels will have Stefan Moody back at point guard after he missed the last game against Mississippi State in Starkville.
10. Tennessee – Tennessee made a splash this offseason when they hired Rick Barnes, but he didn’t exactly inherit the best situation from former head coach Donnie Tyndall. With a 10-10 record, Tennessee is a work in progress this year, but it wouldn’t shock me if they finished at .500 in conference play.
11. Auburn – Auburn has been on a roller coaster this year. One week they’re beating Kentucky at home and the next week they’re losing by approximately a billion points at Florida. The Tigers will play at Ole Miss Wednesday night before heading to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on Oklahoma State in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
12. Alabama – Avery Johnson was a slam-dunk hire for this program in the offseason, and he’s got this group playing hard in year one. They’ve struggled in conference play at just 2-5, but Retin Obasohan might be the most underrated guard in the SEC. The Tide is likely NIT bound, but Johnson is capable of building a solid program in Tuscaloosa.
13. Mississippi State – Mississippi State continues to struggle with a 1-6 conference record and an 8-11 overall record. Mississippi State lost to South Carolina on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs will look to get back on track this weekend as they take on Missouri.
14. Missouri – This program is a mess. They just announced a postseason for 2016 amid violations committed under former coach Frank Haith (who seems to cheat wherever he goes). This team is 8-11 and really has nothing to play for, but props to second-year coach Kim Anderson for getting the team to fight night in and night out. Better days are ahead for what was once a top 20 program.
