These are the final SEC power rankings before the calendar turns to 2022! And, these are the final power rankings before SEC play starts on Wednesday night.

South Carolina has already had its final nonconference game (against South Carolina State) postponed due to COVID-19 issues. Hopefully, none of the SEC matchups have any issues, but that remains to be seen.

For now, though, we have some changes in the power rankings following the final week of nonconference action. Here’s how the 14 SEC men’s hoops squads stack up on the eve of SEC play!

14. Georgia (5-7 overall, Last week: 14)

Georgia suffered another bad loss last week, losing at home to ETSU. That’s an inexcusable loss for Tom Crean and company. Now, the Bulldogs play Gardner-Webb on Wednesday before starting SEC play on Tuesday, Jan. 4, against Texas A&M. Wednesday’s game could be the last chance the Dawgs have at a win for a while.

13. Mizzou (6-6, LW: 13)

Mizzou lost to its 2 biggest rivals – Kansas and Illinois – this year by a combined score of 190-128. The Tigers weren’t competitive in either of those games. This is a bad team, and it’s because it doesn’t shoot the 3. And, when they do let it fly from beyond the arc, the Tigers aren’t hitting at a high rate:

In this era of college basketball, if you’re not an elite 2-point scoring team (like Gonzaga), you need to be able to hit a few 3s a game to be competitive. The Tigers simply aren’t doing that enough. Couple that with bad defense, and this is looking like it will be a long SEC season in Columbia.

12. Ole Miss (8-4, LW: 9)

Ole Miss limped to the finish line of SEC play on Tuesday night, losing at home to Samford 75-73. That’s a really bad loss for Kermit Davis and company, and will be held against them come NCAA Tournament selection time. We’ll see if the Rebels can put the embarrassing defeat behind them when Florida comes to town on Wednesday night to open SEC play. Beating the Gators would be a good way to get back on track!

11. South Carolina (9-3, LW: 11)

The Gamecocks’ game against South Carolina State, originally set for Wednesday night, has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues. We’ll see if the Gamecocks are able to play their SEC opener against Auburn on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Too much time off wouldn’t be a good thing for this program that is looking to start SEC play on a winning note.

10. Vanderbilt (8-4, LW: 12)

Vanderbilt had a great showing at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawai’i over Christmas, taking down host Hawai’i and a tough BYU team before the championship game against Stanford was canceled due to COVID-19 issues. Scotty Pippen Jr. was electric against BYU, scoring a game-high 23 points:

On nights when he’s hot, Vanderbilt is going to pull off some upsets in SEC play.

9. Mississippi State (9-3, LW: 10)

The Bulldogs still have the talent to compete for an NCAA Tournament berth, even though they’ve underwhelmed me so far. Starting SEC play at home against Arkansas is an intriguing matchup, as the Hogs have also disappointed recently. The winner of that game will enter 2022 feeling good about itself. The loser will need to regroup quickly or life on the bubble will get a lot more perilous.

8. Texas A&M (10-2, LW: 8)

The Aggies won an easy tuneup game against Dallas Baptist on Monday night. Now, they’ll face a quick turnaround as they prepare to host Central Arkansas on Wednesday night. Then, they’ll finally start SEC action on Tuesday, Jan. 4, at Georgia. I’ve been impressed with this team so far. Ten wins is nothing to stick your nose up at. The Aggies are going to be a tough out in league play.

7. Florida (9-3, LW: 7)

I think Florida’s SEC opener at Ole Miss on Wednesday night will teach us a lot about the Gators. I was a believer in Mike White’s squad early in the year, but then the Gators’ familiar issues with inconsistency popped up again. It’s not easy to play in Oxford, but it’s still a game a team with NCAA Tournament hopes should win. However, it’s also just the kind of game White-coached teams have lost in recent years. In fact, the Gators lost 68-51 in their last trip to Oxford on Feb. 8, 2020.

The previous trip the Gators took to Oxford (on Jan. 13, 2018)? A 78-72 defeat. We’ll see if White can win in Oxford for just the second time as Florida’s head coach.

6. Arkansas (10-2, LW: 6)

Slow starts are going to really hurt the Hogs in SEC play, as they’ve become way too common this year. Yes, Arkansas bounced back after a bad loss to Hofstra by routing Elon 81-55 on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t as dominant of a performance as the score would lead you to believe. Elon held a 26-21 lead with 6:11 remaining in the first half before the Hogs turned on the jets.

Eric Musselman needs to get his team off to better starts or they’re going to dig themselves into holes they can’t climb out of in conference play.

5. Kentucky (9-2, LW: 5)

I don’t think anyone has as much fun playing basketball as Oscar Tshiebwe does. The joy he plays with is so obvious and so contagious. He’s the leader of this Kentucky team that has no shortage of veteran talent for once. He scored 14 points and grabbed an eye-popping 28 rebounds on Wednesday night in a 95-60 rout of Western Kentucky. He was named the National Player of the Week for his efforts:

It is going to be brutal for teams playing Kentucky this year. Rebounds are going to be hard to come by when Tshiebwe is on the court.

4. Alabama (9-3, LW: 3)

Yes, Alabama lost to Davidson last week. But, the Tide still have 2 of the most-impressive nonconference victories out of all the SEC teams, beating Gonzaga and Houston. Both those squads made the Final Four last year and were highly ranked before losing to Alabama.

But, this team is going to live and die with the 3-pointer, especially if they don’t get to the free-throw line more often. We’ll see what sort of adjustments Nate Oats has made when Alabama takes on Tennessee in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night.

3. Tennessee (9-2, LW: 4)

The Vols scored a huge win on Tuesday night, taking down a previously unbeaten Arizona team 77-73 in Knoxville. That will be massive for their confidence heading into league play, especially if John Fulkerson is back to his normal dominant self. He had 24 points and 10 rebounds in a big-time performance against the Wildcats:

Now, we’ll see if the Vols can take their show on the road, as they’ll face a dangerous Alabama team in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night.

2. LSU (12-0, LW: 2)

Now is when we’ll find out just what LSU is made of. Yes, the 12-0 record through nonconference play is impressive, but the Tigers start SEC action with a road trip to take on No. 11 Auburn. That’s the toughest assignment of any SEC squad in the conference openers this week, in my opinion.

If this answer during a press conference is any indication, though, Will Wade will have his team ready for the tough road environment:

I love that from Wade and I cannot wait for Wednesday night’s game in Auburn.

1. Auburn (11-1, LW: 1)

Auburn’s lone win last week was against a tough Murray State team, 71-58. Wendell Green Jr. continues to be one of my favorite players to watch this year. He had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Oh, and he did this:

Just a casual pull-up jumper from midcourt. No big deal. He’s going to be a big key to Auburn’s success this SEC season. He’s a great scorer off the bench and can provide energy in clutch moments. We’ll see if he continues to impress in Wednesday night’s SEC opener against LSU.