My goodness, it has been a rough few days for SEC basketball. Kentucky lost to Utah and Ohio State in Las Vegas. Florida got schooled by Utah State. Mississippi State lost to New Mexico State in Starkville. Lamonte Turner retired from the Tennessee squad.

All in all, this conference is in a bit of a rut as conference play approaches in a few short days. Fortunately, Auburn is still carrying the load for the other lackluster teams. From there, it’s nearly impossible to determine where the other teams rank.

However, I’m here to attempt the impossible. All for you, dear readers.

On this Christmas Eve, here’s a look at how the 14 SEC squads stack up against one another:

14. Texas A&M (5-5, Last week: 14)

The Aggies hosted a 9-1 Oregon State team on Saturday and not only won, but won convincingly, taking down the Beavers 64-49. The win was even more impressive considering the Aggies trailed 30-22 at halftime. A&M then exploded to win the second half 42-19.

Texas A&M hosts Texas Southern on Monday, so we’ll see if Buzz Williams can get his team back above .500 for the first time since it was 3-1 back in November. Things are trending positively for now, so the Aggies need to seize on it.

13. Vanderbilt (7-4, LW: 13)

Vanderbilt lost to Loyola-Chicago 78-70 in Phoenix on Wednesday. Considering Loyola then went on to lose at home to Davidson on Saturday, the Commodores don’t look so good. They rebounded to win 88-73 against UNC-Wilmington on Saturday, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Aaron Nesmith continues to look like a first-round NBA draft pick, recording 34 points and 6 rebounds against UNCW, but he still needs some more help from his teammates moving forward.

12. Alabama (6-5, LW: 12)

The Crimson Tide defense is still very much a work in progress, but the offense is firing on all cylinders lately. This week, the Tide took down Samford 105-87 in Birmingham, setting a school record for points away from home. John Petty led the way with 39 points and 10 rebounds in that win:

Then, the Tide took down Belmont in Huntsville, Ala, by 20 points on Saturday, winning 92-72. It will host a feisty Richmond team on Sunday in its final tuneup before SEC play starts.

11. Mississippi State (8-3, LW: 7)

Two of Mississippi State’s 3 losses have come to teams (Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State) outside the top 75 in the KenPom.com rankings. This Bulldogs team hasn’t had a very tough nonconference schedule, and after a 58-52 loss in Jackson to New Mexico State on Sunday, it’s clear the Bulldogs are all smoke and mirrors.

Ben Howland’s team will struggle in SEC play unless things change quickly. The Bulldogs host Kent State on Monday in their last game before conference action begins.

10. LSU (7-4, LW: 6)

LSU lost 70-68 to USC in Los Angeles on Saturday. That means 3 of the Tigers’ 4 losses (USC, VCU and Utah State) have come by a combined 6 points. That makes LSU’s 11-point loss to East Tennessee State on Wednesday even more confusing.

Now, the Tigers have to host 14-0 Liberty on Sunday. That game could get ugly if the Tigers can’t figure out how to get over the hump.

9. Georgia (8-3, LW: 9)

Beating Georgia Southern by 9 points isn’t going to move many needles for the Bulldogs, but Toumani Camara had 16 points and 7 rebounds on 8-for-8 shooting. That’s something that the Bulldogs can build on. Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards scored a team-high 23 points with 4 assists.

Georgia hosts Austin Peay on Monday before a big game at Memphis on Jan. 4. It’ll be interesting to see if Edwards and company can pick up a signature win there.

8. Mizzou (7-4, LW: 10)

Javon Pickett is from Belleville, Ill., and it’s pretty clear he circles the annual Braggin’ Rights game against Illinois on the schedule every year. Last season, he scored 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds against the Illini. On Saturday, in Mizzou’s convincing 63-56 victory, Pickett had 17 points and 6 boards.

Pickett knocked down a pair of 3s in the win, shooting it with confidence from long range:

One Mizzou fan joked that Pickett becomes like Michael Jordan when the Tigers take on Illinois:

Mizzou is on a 3-game winning streak and hosts Chicago State on Monday before traveling to Lexington to kick off SEC play against Kentucky.

7. South Carolina (8-4, LW: 11)

This year’s Gamecocks team is simply baffling to me. Apparently, though, Frank Martin’s squad can beat anyone with a full week to prepare. After losing to Houston by 20 points on Sunday, Dec. 8, the Gamecocks have bounced back to beat 2 ACC teams the past 2 Sundays.

First, they beat Clemson last weekend. Then, over this weekend, they went up to Charlottesville and dominated No. 9 Virginia, 70-59. That’s the most points the Cavaliers have given up all season.

Jair Bolden led the way for the Gamecocks, breaking out for an impressive 22 points. The transfer from George Washington continues to improve, and that’s good news for South Carolina moving forward.

6. Florida (7-4, LW: 4)

This team just can’t get it together consistently. On Saturday against Utah State, Kerry Blackshear Jr. had a big day, scoring 22 points to go with 14 rebounds. However, no one else played particularly well, and the Gators lost 65-62 in Sunrise, Fla.

Blackshear didn’t even have a great shooting effort, going only 3-for-14 from the floor. He did knock down 15 of his 17 free-throw attempts, though. Florida hosts Long Beach State on Saturday before SEC play starts. We’ll see if some of the younger players can start playing consistently before then.

5. Ole Miss (8-3, LW: 8)

Junior Khadim Sy stepped up in a big way for the Rebels against Southeast Louisiana on Saturday, scoring 20 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. The Rebels need more production from the post, and if Sy can play like this, good things will happen for Ole Miss.

Breein Tyree continues to play well, too, scoring 14 points and dishing out 5 assists in the Rebels’ 83-76 win. Ole Miss hosts Tennessee Tech on Sunday, looking to extend its winning streak to 4 games.

4. Tennessee (8-3, LW: 5)

Yes, Tennessee beat Jacksonville State on Saturday, but the big story was that it was Turner’s last game as a Vol. The senior guard will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery after trying to play through the pain for most of the year.

He has scored more than 1,000 points in his Tennessee career and has had some incredible success, especially the past 2 seasons. Rick Barnes thanked Turner for all he has done in a Vols uniform:

The Vols’ first game without Turner will come at home against Wisconsin on Saturday. A lot of pressure will be on Jordan Bowden to handle the scoring load moving forward.

3. Kentucky (8-3, LW: 2)

The Wildcats had a rough week in Las Vegas, losing to Utah on Wednesday night and Ohio State on Saturday night. This team is competitive, but the younger players simply haven’t learned how to close out a win yet.

Big man Nate Sestina, a transfer from Bucknell, kept the Wildcats in the game against Ohio State, knocking down 5 3s while scoring a game-high 17 points:

https://twitter.com/Scott_Charlton2/status/1208539124975775744

If he can continue to shoot well, Kentucky will continue to hang around. However, the Wildcats need some other players to step up. They’ve lost 2 games in a row and now host No. 3 Louisville in a big-time rivalry game on Saturday.

2. Arkansas (10-1, LW: 3)

The Razorbacks needed a bit of a comeback to beat Valparaiso on Saturday, 72-68. But, the backcourt duo of Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe continues to dominate. Jones had 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Joe contributed 21 points and 7 boards.

Jones continued his clutch play, nailing this long 3 to break a late tie and finish off an Arkansas comeback:

The Razorbacks rank No. 37 in KenPom.com’s rankings but have only the No. 101-rated offense (to go with the No. 10 defense). They’ll need to improve that offensive production heading into this weekend, as they head to Bloomington to take on an 11-1 Indiana squad. That would be a signature road win for coach Eric Musselman in his first season with the Hogs.

1. Auburn (11-0, LW: 1)

The Tigers remained the last unbeaten major conference team last week, beating both N.C. State and Lehigh in Auburn. J’Von McCormick led the way against Lehigh, scoring 18 points. But, it was this assist off the backboard to Devan Cambridge that got the crowd fired up:

Auburn will likely enter SEC play unbeaten, as 5-7 Lipscomb comes to town on Sunday for the Tigers’ final nonconference game of 2019. It should be fun to see how much longer Bruce Pearl’s squad can stay undefeated.