SEC men’s basketball officially tips off on Monday, November 3, as part of a huge night of college hoops.
We have reigning-champion Florida taking on Arizona in a battle of the No. 3 and No. 13 squads in the nation, respectively. That’s the marquee game, to be sure, but ranked Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn squads all start their seasons on Monday night, too.
With tipoff only a few short hours away, let’s take a look at the preseason SEC basketball power rankings, starting at the bottom with team No. 16 and working our way up to No. 1:
16. South Carolina
If you’re keeping track of Meechie Johnson and whether he’s at South Carolina or Ohio State for any given here, he’s at South Carolina this season. Johnson, Myles Stute and transfer Mike Sharavjamts form an interesting back court, but there’s not a very high ceiling for this year’s Gamecocks.
15. LSU
I have Matt McMahon firmly on the hot seat heading into this season. It’s time to start delivering more wins for LSU. However, I don’t think this is the team to get that job done. There are a lot of new faces on this year’s LSU squad and not much time to jell before SEC play starts. It could be a long year in Baton Rouge.
14. Oklahoma
Nijel Pack was a nice addition for Oklahoma now that Jeremiah Fears is off to the NBA, but I just don’t think this team has the depth necessary to make another run to the NCAA Tournament.
13. Georgia
Blue Cain will need to take a big step forward for this team to have any chance at making the NCAA Tournament again. Asa Newell, Silas Demary Jr. and Tyrin Lawrence are all gone from last year’s squad and Smurf Millender and Jeremiah Wilkinson, who should be key figures in the back court, are undersized. Don’t expect a ton of defense from Mike White’s Georgia team.
12. Texas A&M
We’re going to see some Bucky Ball at Texas A&M this year, which should be a refreshing change from last year’s Buzz Williams offense. I like the additions of Pop Isaacs and Rylan Griffen through the portal, but I think it’ll take a year or 2 for Bucky McMillan to fully get his system up and running in College Station.
11. Mississippi State
As long as this team has Josh Hubbard, I’ll give Mississippi State a chance to beat anyone on any given night. The problem is that losing key guys like KeShawn Murphy, Cam Matthews and Riley Kugel will be tough to overcome. This has the makings of a team that will be sweating out Selection Sunday.
10. Vanderbilt
I’m sneakily impressed by the depth Vanderbilt has. I’m a big Devin McGlockton fan. Duke Miles coming over from Oklahoma and Frankie Collins heading to Nashville from TCU should provide a valuable back-court tandem to pair with sharpshooters Tyler Nickel and Tyler Harris. I’ll be surprised if this Commodores squad doesn’t make the NCAA Tournament again under coach Mark Byington.
9. Ole Miss
Malik Dia is a legitimate star in this league, but I’m not sure I’d hop on the AJ Storr train if I was Ole Miss. He has the talent, but just hasn’t really put it together on a consistent basis. Losing guys like Sean Pedulla and Matthew Murrell will hurt. I see this solidly as a middle-of-the-road team in the SEC this year.
8. Texas
The Sean Miller era at Texas begins with plenty of intrigue. Dailyn Swain is the biggest name Miller brought with him to Austin. This team has some talent with Jordan Pope and the veteran Tramon Mark returning in the back court. But can the Longhorns replace a guy as dynamic as Tre Johnson? We’ll find out soon enough.
7. Auburn
Yes, the Auburn Tigers have a measure of consistency with Steven Pearl taking over after his dad, Bruce, retired a few weeks ago. Tahaad Pettiford is also back on The Plains and he has NBA lottery pick potential. Losing Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell in the front court obviously hurts (you don’t need me to tell you that), but getting Keyshawn Hall from UCF and KeShawn Murphy from Mississippi State should help the Tigers remain competitive in a deep SEC.
6. Mizzou
The key to this Mizzou team is big man Shawn Phillips, who transfers in from Arizona State. All he has to do is not be an absolute zero offensively in the post like past Mizzou big men and it’ll be a major upgrade. Returning Anthony Robinson II, Trent Pierce and, of course, Mark Mitchell gives this team a strong starting point. Robinson could be poised for a big step forward. Getting Sebastian Mack out of the portal to provide a veteran presence at guard was key, too.
RELATED: Stay tuned to SDS for all the latest regarding the upcoming BetMGM Missouri bonus when sports betting goes live in the Show-Me State on Dec. 1.
5. Arkansas
This Arkansas squad has more returning talent than we’re used to seeing from a John Calipari team, with DJ Wagner, Karter Knox and Trevon Brazile providing a solid foundation. They’ll insure that the floor is an NCAA Tournament berth for the Hogs, but the ceiling will be determined by 5-star freshmen in Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas. If Acuff can step into the starting lineup and Thomas can be a valuable 6th man from Day 1, this Arkansas team could be top 3 in the SEC standings before all is said and done.
4. Alabama
Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. might be the best back court in the SEC. We know the style Alabama wants to play under Nate Oats, which won’t be easy without Mark Sears running the show. Philon needs to take a big step forward this year if Alabama is going to be in the mix for an SEC title, but he’s certainly capable of it. That’s why he’s a potential 2026 NBA Draft lottery pick.
3. Kentucky
I’m a big Otega Oweh guy. I think he’ll be in the mix for SEC Player of the Year when all is said and done. Getting Denzel Aberdeen from Florida and Jaland Lowe from Pitt out of the portal was huge for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats. If Lowe can become more consistently great and if Brandon Garrison can hold down the fort in the post until Jayden Quaintance returns from injury, Kentucky should be a 3-seed or better in March Madness.
2. Tennessee
Get ready to be big fans of Nate Ament. The Tennessee Volunteers will go as far as the 5-star freshman can take them, which could be pretty far. I’m also a big fan of bringing in Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Maryland. Losing a guy like Zakai Zeigler is never easy, but Rick Barnes got about the best fit possible out of the transfer portal. This is a team with enough talent to be competing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
RELATED: Check out the best Tennessee sports betting apps to get in on the action all season long while watching the Volunteers!
1. Florida
The Florida Gators are coming off a national championship and still have some key players from that squad, particularly in the front court. The post depth for Todd Golden and company is incredible, with Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu all expected to start. Then the Gators have Micah Handlogten coming off the bench.
The back court is the question mark, but there is undeniably a glut of talent. Boogie Fland comes over from Arkansas to try to help Florida win another title. Xaivian Lee is one of the most-intriguing transfers among all SEC newcomers, heading to Gainesville from the Ivy League realm. The Gators have depth, elite talent and a championship pedigree.
Even without Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard, who are all plying their trades in the NBA this year, the Gators are the team to beat.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
