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Now then, on to SEC men’s hoops action. Auburn scored a big win over the weekend. Meanwhile, some of last year’s top teams – Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas – started heating up.

That led to plenty of turmoil in the power rankings this week. Here’s how all 14 SEC squads stack up:

14. Georgia (5-14 overall, 0-6 in SEC, Last week: 14)

The Bulldogs lost 83-60 at Auburn midweek last week, then lost 83-66 at South Carolina on Saturday. This team is trending in the wrong direction. At the start of SEC play, the Bulldogs were at least competitive in games. Now, not so much.

The Dawgs host Alabama on Tuesday night before heading to Vanderbilt on Saturday evening. We’ll see if they can score an upset or if they end up 0-8 in SEC play by this time next week. My bet is on the latter.

13. Vanderbilt (10-8, 2-4, LW: 12)

The Commodores only scored 14 points in the second half of Saturday’s loss to Florida. That’s unacceptable for a team that has Scotty Pippen Jr. on it. The Gators did a great job defending Pippen, holding him to only 6 points on 1-for-10 shooting. If the Commodores can’t find some guys to step up around Pippen, things are going to continue to spiral in Nashville. This week, the Commodores head to South Carolina on Wednesday night and host Georgia on Saturday. Both of those are winnable games. They’ve got to get back on track now.

12. Ole Miss (10-9, 2-5, LW: 11)

Yes, the Rebels beat Florida in upset fashion on Monday night, but last week was brutal for Kermit Davis’s squad. After losing in blowout fashion to Mizzou on Tuesday, the Rebels lost at rival Mississippi State on Saturday.

Daeshun Ruffin had a great game against the Gators on Monday night, though, scoring 21 points and dishing out 6 assists. He was getting out in transition:

And he lobbed this impressive alley-oop off an inbounds play:

This is a make-or-break week for Ole Miss. On

11. Mizzou (8-10, 2-4, LW: 13)

Mizzou had another Jekyll-and-Hyde week, going on the road midweek and trouncing Ole Miss, then falling by 10 points at Alabama on Saturday. Amari Davis had himself a shooting night to remember against the Rebels, though:

This week figures to be a long one for the Tigers. They welcome No. 1 Auburn to Columbia on Tuesday night, then head to Ames to take on a resurgent Iowa State team in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday.

10. South Carolina (11-7, 2-4, LW: 10)

The Gamecocks blew out Georgia in Columbia on Saturday, but you’ll forgive me for not putting a ton of stock in that victory. South Carolina continues to be a tough team in SEC play, but this week will show us a ton about Frank Martin’s squad. First, the Gamecocks host Vanderbilt, a team they’ve already beaten this year, on Wednesday night. Then, they head to College Station to take on a suddenly struggling Texas A&M squad on Saturday. We’ll see if the Gamecocks can claw their way back to .500 in league play.

9. Florida (12-7, 3-4, LW: 9)

Florida entered Monday night’s game at Ole Miss riding a 3-game winning streak, with the previous 2 wins coming without star big man Colin Castleton. But, as has become the norm under coach Mike White, the Gators don’t handle positive momentum well.

The Gators went into Oxford on Monday night and couldn’t buy a bucket from deep to save their lives, losing to the Rebels, 70-54. Florida went an abysmal 4-for-29 from 3-point range in the losing effort.

That’s a horrible loss for Florida, which is currently projected to be a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. Many Gator fans are fed up with White, but it remains to be seen if the Florida administration will do anything about these struggles. The Gators travel to Tennessee on Wednesday night and host Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. We’ll see what happens moving forward.

8. Texas A&M (15-4, 4-2, LW: 4)

Yes, this is quite a drop for the Aggies, but look at the teams they’ve beaten in SEC play – Georgia, Arkansas, Mizzou and Ole Miss. Three of those teams are below them in these power rankings and the other, Arkansas, just beat them in overtime on Saturday. The Aggies are a much-improved team this year under Buzz Williams, but there’s still a long way to go. Until they start beating stronger SEC teams, I’m going to keep them down here. I can’t get their 1-for-22 from 3-point range and 5-for-13 from the free-throw line performance against Kentucky out of my head. Good teams don’t do that, especially not at home.

Texas A&M has a chance to pick up a couple of big wins this week and prove me wrong. The Aggies travel to play LSU on Wednesday night and host South Carolina on Saturday night.

7. LSU (15-4, 3-4, LW: 3)

Do I think the Tigers will be down here at No. 7 for long? No, I do not. But, this team is not the same with the injuries it is dealing with right now. Xavier Pinson, the team’s primary point guard, remains out with a knee injury. Darius Days played on Saturday at Tennessee in the Tigers’ 64-50 loss, but he was still clearly banged up, scoring only 5 points and shooting only 2-for-10 from the floor.

If those guys can play on Wednesday night at home against Texas A&M, I expect the Tigers to win. If Pinson is still out, I don’t think the Tigers can take down the Aggies. LSU plays at TCU on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which is another important game.

6. Mississippi State (13-5, 4-2, LW: 5)

If the Bulldogs want to be an NCAA Tournament team, they have to beat other bubble teams. They blew a big opportunity to do just that last week at Florida. Leading most of the game, the Bulldogs faltered late, allowing the Gators to come storming back, even though they were playing without star big man Colin Castleton.

The Bulldogs bounced back with a big rivalry game win over Ole Miss in Starkville on Saturday night, but this coming week looks like a potentially brutal one for Ben Howland’s squad. Mississippi State heads to No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday night, then heads to Lubbock to play No. 13 Texas Tech in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday night.

5. Alabama (13-6, 4-3, LW: 7)

The Crimson Tide are showing signs of snapping out of their weeks-long slump. After a gritty win over LSU midweek, the Tide continued rolling with a 10-point home victory over Mizzou on Saturday. They didn’t torch the nets from 3-point range, making only 9 of 27, but it was a better effort than in games past.

When Jaden Shackelford is making shots like this, you know he’s feeling it:

It was nice to see JD Davison looking good on the offensive end, too. He and Shackelford combined for 38 points against the Tigers:

Alabama has a tuneup game against Georgia on Tuesday night. Then, we’ll find out if the Tide can beat a third Final Four team from last year when they host reigning-champion Baylor in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday night.

4. Tennessee (13-5, 4-3, LW: 6)

The Vols bounced back from a blowout loss at Kentucky a couple of weekends ago with a big week, beating Vanderbilt on the road and taking down LSU in Knoxville. Kennedy Chandler is starting to round into the player we all thought he could be, and that’s a scary thought moving forward.

Here are 4 plays from this past week that illustrate what I mean:

That’s a player who is gaining confidence in bunches. If he can keep improving, the Vols are going to be tough to beat moving forward.

3. Arkansas (14-5, 4-3, LW: 8)

Arkansas is red-hot right now, winning 4-straight SEC games after starting the conference season 0-3. The Hogs needed overtime to take down Texas A&M in Fayetteville on Saturday night, but a win is a win in SEC action.

JD Notae was his usual talented self, leading the team with 17 points. But, the story was Jaylin Williams. The big man had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists and 3 blocks. What a performance there.

And, Stanley Umude put a punctuation mark on the game in overtime, throwing down this big-time slam:

That’s a nice assist from Devo Davis, too. The Hogs head to Ole Miss on Wednesday night before hosting West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday.

2. Kentucky (15-4, 5-2, LW: 2)

Kentucky has had some bad injury luck in big games this year. TyTy Washington dealt with cramps against LSU and Sahvir Wheeler was injured when he was blindsided by a hard screen.

Those two key players were also limited at Auburn on Saturday. Washington went out in the first half after suffering an ankle injury:

Meanwhile, Wheeler missed a few minutes after taking another blindside screen:

You still have to find ways to win games at this level if you want to be elite, but man, it’s tough to see those two guys banged up on the biggest stage twice now this year. Hopefully, Washington will be able to return soon.

Oh, also, I’d be remiss not to include this Jacob Toppin dunk in this section:

His brother Obi, now with the New York Knicks, would certainly be proud of that.

1. Auburn (18-1, 7-0, LW: 1)

If you think Jabari Smith Jr. is only an offensive weapon and can’t play defense with his thin frame, think again. In addition to scoring 14 points, Smith also had 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in the win over Kentucky on Saturday.

Just look at this defensive effort against Keion Brooks Jr.:

He was physical, standing his ground against Brooks’ attempts to back him down. He showed great footwork to stay in position. Then, at just the right time, he used his long frame to emphatically block the shot.

He’s the complete package, and whichever NBA team has the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft would be wise to scoop up the elite Auburn freshman with that selection.