The Daily Mississippian Men’s Basketball beat writer Browning Stubbs ranks the 14 Southeastern Conference Teams so far in pre-conference play this season.
1. Kentucky (25-0, 12-0 SEC) – Despite trailing by six points in the second half at LSU, the Wildcats managed to survive to defeat the Tigers 71-69 last week. The target is on their backs, and everyone in the SEC will give Kentucky their best shot in the final three weeks of the season ahead.
2. Arkansas (20-5, 9-3 SEC) – The Hogs are back in the top two of the power poll after their convincing one point win over Ole Miss this past weekend. Sophomore forward Bobby Portis continues to lead the SEC in scoring, and he will give Kentucky all they can ask for when those two teams meet Feb. 28.
3. Ole Miss (17-7, 8-4 SEC) – If someone had asked Andy Kennedy before the season if he would take a split with Arkansas, I think he would have said yes. The Rebels dropped a heartbreaker to Arkansas Saturday, but junior Stefan Moody’s heroics during the late stages of the game in Gainesville made Rebel Nation smile this week.
4. Texas A&M (17-8, 8-4 SEC) – The Aggies didn’t start the week off well with a home loss to Georgia, but they rallied to defeat Florida by one point, which might have saved their season. Texas A&M is severely on the bubble, and they can’t afford to lose their game against South Carolina this week.
5. LSU (18-7, 7-5 SEC) – LSU deserves to be in the top five in the poll after their strong performance against Kentucky. Their dominating road victory over Tennessee on Saturday reminded us of how good this LSU team really is. The Tigers get Florida at home Saturday, which won’t be an easy game to win.
6. Georgia (16-8, 7-5 SEC) – This Georgia basketball club is hard to figure out: they convincingly go on the road and defeat Texas A&M but blow a nine-point second-half against Auburn. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and expect them to win both their games against South Carolina and Alabama this week.
7. Florida (12-13, 5-7 SEC) – It amazes me how many close games Florida continues to lose. The Gators have lost six games this season that were decided by three points or less. Florida has potential with all of their talent to go on a big roll down the stretch, but they’ve got to close out games better.
8. Tennessee (14-10, 6-6 SEC) – The Volunteers started out looking like a promising basketball team, but they’ve fallen back to earth with recent losses to Mississippi State, Georgia and LSU. This is a fun and exciting basketball team that you don’t want to miss as they visit Oxford Saturday.
9. Mississippi State (12-13, 5-7 SEC) – The Bulldogs safely escaped Missouri after their plane was forced into an emergency landing. Despite the crazy plane ride, the Bulldogs have played well, recently winning three of their last five games. A rematch against rival Ole Miss at home will be a big test for the Bulldogs.
10. Vanderbilt (14-11, 4-8 SEC) – The Commodores are on a tear lately, winning three of their last four games, but an overtime loss to Tennessee at home pretty much eliminated any chance at a NCAA Tournament berth. The Commodores are at Florida tonight and home against Missouri Saturday.
11. Alabama (15-10, 5-7 SEC) – This Alabama team is a train wreck this season and continue to find no answers. Head coach Anthony Grant’s seat has never been hotter, as he will likely be canned if the Crimson Tide can’t find a way to save their season. Two home games against Georgia and South Carolina await.
12. Auburn (12-13, 4-8 SEC)- Bruce Pearl’s club fights hard every night, and it paid off last Saturday as they won at Georgia. They will be tested this week with a trip to Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky.
13. South Carolina (12-12, 3-9 SEC) – The Gamecocks got a taste of victory last week against Missouri, but that quickly went away after they got embarrassed at Kentucky on Saturday. Head coach Frank Martin’s club will be playing spoiler the rest of the season as they’ll try to hurt Georgia and Texas A&M’s NCAA Tournament hopes this week.
14. Missouri (7-18, 1-11 SEC) – It looks like former head coach Frank Haith made the right move leaving Missouri in the off-season as I don’t think he would have any chance to win with this roster. They’ve lost 11 straight games, and it doesn’t get any easier this week as they will play at Arkansas tonight and at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
For continuous coverage of Ole Miss Men’s Basketball and the SEC, follow @browningstubbs and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
