AuburnFamilyNews.com: SEC Power Rankings and Open Discussion

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

SEC Power Rankings and Open Discussion

Grant Williams

Some pretty big games at the top of the SEC this week!

The 8th Edition of SEC Power Rankings is live! There’s some pretty significant games this week in the SEC that will go a long way in determining who wins the SEC Regular Season Championship this week. As always, I’d love to hear your input in the comments below so let’s get started!

1. Tennessee 22-1 (10-0)

Last Week: Beat Missouri 72-60, Beat Florida 73-61

This Week: Wednesday vs. South Carolina, Saturday at Kentucky

Tennessee continues to roll along in SEC play dispatching of both Missouri and Florida this week at home. The Vols finish their 3 game homestand against South Carolina before their showdown in Lexington Saturday night. Tennessee’s won 18 in a row and while I think they beat South Carolina on Wednesday, I’m gonna go ahead and say that they’ll lose their first SEC game Saturday at Kentucky. It may be the Vols only loss in the SEC the way things are going.

2. Kentucky 20-3 (9-1)

Last Week: Beat South Carolina 76-48, Beat Mississippi State 71-67

This Week: Tonight vs. LSU, Saturday vs. Tennessee

Both of this week’s marquee matchups in the SEC take place in Lexington as the Wildcats will play the other contenders for the SEC crown at home this week. Kentucky faces off against 2 of the best frontcourts in the SEC this week beginning with LSU, whose length will challenge Kentucky more than most teams are capable of this year. In addition, Ashton Hagans vs. Tremont Waters should be a fun matchup to watch. Then of course, the Tennessee game speaks for itself. PJ Washington and Reid Travis vs. Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams will be fun.

3. LSU 19-4 (9-1)

Last Week: Beat Mississippi State 92-88 (OT), Beat Auburn 83-78

This Week: Tonight at Kentucky, Saturday at Georgia

Moral of the story when it comes to LSU: Don’t Take a Big Lead on Them Early in the Game! LSU made 2 double-digit comebacks last week at Mississippi State and against Auburn. That now sets up a showdown tonight in Lexington against Kentucky in one of the biggest games in the SEC this season.

There’s a clear top 3 in the SEC right now and honestly after that, it’s a tossup from 4 to about 10.

4. South Carolina 12-11 (7-3)

Last Week: Lost to Kentucky 76-48, Beat Arkansas 77-65

This Week: Wednesday at Tennessee, Saturday vs. Texas A&M

I really thought I was going to be dropping South Carolina after getting blown out by Kentucky, but the Gamecocks bounced back and knocked off Arkansas on Saturday. Seeing what happened right below them and knowing they have head-to-head wins over the next two teams, they’re here for this week.

5. Mississippi State 16-7 (4-6)

Last Week: Lost to #21 LSU 92-88 (OT), Lost to #5 Kentucky 71-67

This Week: Tonight vs. Alabama, Saturday at Arkansas

Mississippi State squandered two golden opportunities at home this week against LSU and Kentucky. Like Auburn, they had LSU down early and couldn’t hold them off, falling in Overtime in an outstanding basketball game. Then like Auburn, they fell down by double digits in the second half against Kentucky only to storm back before falling close at the end.

6. Auburn 16-7 (5-5)

Last Week: Beat Florida 76-62, Lost to #21 LSU 83-78

This Week: Wednesday vs. Ole Miss, Saturday at Vanderbilt

Good news: Auburn broke a 20 year Regular Season losing streak to Florida

Bad news: Turnovers, poor rebounding and more questionable officiating, led to yet another frustrating loss on the road.

Let me be very frank in saying that the first two things had more to do with Auburn losing than the third thing but it’s extremely frustrating to see what is/isn’t a foul sometimes and that’s all I’m going to say about it.

Turning the page: Auburn has a 3 game stretch here where they need to take care of business. It begins tomorrow night against Ole Miss in Auburn and after what happened in Oxford, it’s time for a little retribution. Then Auburn goes and plays in another house of horrors of sorts, Memorial Gym in Nashville Saturday morning. Auburn beat Vanderbilt for the first time since 2007 last year and look for their first win at Memorial Gym since February 16, 2000. Since 1990, Auburn has only won there twice (1990 was the other time). Hey, Auburn beat Florida in the regular season for the first time in 20 years last week so it’s time to end this streak as well.

7. Ole Miss 16-7 (6-4)

Last Week: Beat Texas A&M 75-71, Beat Georgia 80-64

This Week: Wednesday at Auburn, Saturday vs. Missouri

Huge bounce back week for Ole Miss. The Rebels had lost 5 of 6 since beating Auburn and Mississippi State in the opening week of league play before knocking off Texas A&M and Georgia last week. They come to Auburn tomorrow for a rematch of Auburn’s SEC opener.

8. Alabama 15-8 (6-4)

Last Week: Beat Georgia 89-74, Beat Vanderbilt 77-67

This Week: Tonight at Mississippi State, Saturday vs. Florida

Honestly, I have no idea what to do with Alabama. They won both games last week, against 2 of the bottom teams in the SEC. We’ll see how they fare as they make the trip over to Starkville.

9. Arkansas 14-9 (5-5)

Last Week: Beat Vanderbilt 69-66, Lost to South Carolina 77-65

This Week: Tonight at Missouri, Saturday vs. Mississippi State

Tough loss for Arkansas on Saturday after building a double-digit lead early at South Carolina. Tonight’s a tossup for Arkansas but the game against Mississippi State is a chance for the Hogs to make a stand at Bud Walton Arena.

10. Florida 12-11 (4-6)

Last Week: Lost to Auburn 76-62, Lost to Tennessee 73-61

This Week: Wednesday vs. Vanderbilt, Saturday at Alabama

The struggles for Florida continue as they dropped a pair of games on the road this week. The Gators scored their average of 62 points on the road against the Tigers before scoring just 61 points against Tennessee and despite all of Florida’s talent, they keep going into scoring droughts that ultimately doom them in games.

11. Missouri 11-11 (2-8)

Last Week: Lost to Tennessee 72-60, Lost to Texas A&M 68-59

This Week: Tonight vs. Arkansas, Saturday at Ole Miss

Mizzou fought pretty valiantly against Tennessee last week before falling by 12 in Knoxville, a pretty respectable result for the Tigers. However, coming home and losing to Texas A&M wasn’t as respectable.

12. Texas A&M 9-13 (2-8)

Last Week: Lost to Ole Miss 75-71, Beat Missouri 68-59

This Week: Tonight vs. Georgia, Saturday at South Carolina

The Aggies have played better over the last few games and have a result to show it beating Missouri in Columbia Saturday. They had Ole Miss on the ropes last week as well before their 3-pointers stopped falling late in that game.

13. Georgia 10-13 (1-9)

Last Week: Lost to Alabama 89-74, Lost to Ole Miss 80-64

This Week: Tonight at Texas A&M, Saturday vs. LSU

It’s time to look ahead to next year for Georgia but Tom Crean made some very interesting postgame comments after their loss to Ole Miss on Saturday.

Let’s compare this quote to what another coach said when they took on a rebuild a few years ago.

Ironically, Georgia landed one of the most sought after recruits for next year as Anthony Edwards committed to Georgia Monday morning so I guess Crean won’t have too many excuses next year. As for the current Georgia team, we’ll see how they respond to Crean’s comments this week.

14. Vanderbilt 9-14 (0-10)

Last Week: Lost to Arkansas 69-66, Lost to Alabama 77-67

This Week: Wednesday at Florida, Saturday vs. Auburn

I ask one thing from you this week Vandy.... PLEASE don’t decide to play your best game of the year Saturday when Auburn comes to town.



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