Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

College Football

SEC Basketball Power Rankings: A new No. 1 in final rankings as SEC Tournament play begins

Adam Spencer

By Adam Spencer

Published:

Well, folks, we’ve made it! The regular season is officially over. Now, it’s on to the postseason.

As things stand now, every SEC team still has games remaining, though now it’s lose and go home for several teams that won’t be going to the NCAA Tournament.

Auburn claimed the outright regular-season title on Saturday afternoon at Neville Arena (still getting used to the new name) and will enter Tampa as the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament.

Can anyone take down the Tigers? Here’s a look at our final SEC men’s hoops power rankings of the season!

14. Georgia (6-25 overall, 1-17 in SEC, Last week: 14)

With 25 losses on the season, Georgia now has the most losses in a single season in SEC history after blowing a big lead at Mizzou on Saturday evening. The lone win in SEC play for the Bulldogs was a stunner over Alabama in Athens. While Georgia’s football program has risen to the top of the college football world, the Bulldogs’ basketball program has quickly imploded under Tom Crean. Once the Dawgs lose in the SEC Tournament this week, Crean’s tenure as head coach will likely come to an end.

13. Ole Miss (13-18, 4-14, LW: 13)

The Rebels enter the SEC Tournament having lost 4-straight games, the second-worst streak in the SEC (behind Georgia’s 11-game skid). Losing at Kentucky on Tuesday wasn’t a bad loss by any means, but falling at home to Vanderbilt to close out the regular season on Saturday was. The Rebels head to Tampa as the 13-seed and will face a Mizzou team that beat them twice during the regular season in Wednesday’s 12-13 matchup. Can the Rebels avoid letting the Tigers finish the trifecta?

12. Mizzou (11-20, 5-13, LW: 12)

How some Mizzou fans can still possibly believe Cuonzo Martin is the right man to lead the Tigers into the future is beyond me. Martin’s inability to bring in impact players at key positions via high school recruiting or the transfer portal is inexcusable. Yes, Trevon Brazile is a promising freshman, but to not have a true point guard or anyone who consistently knock down 3-pointers is simply bizarre. The Tigers finished dead-last in the SEC in 3-point shooting, making only 27.8% of their 3s. Mississippi State, in 13th place, made 29.3% of its attempts from beyond the arc.

The Tigers were tied with Vanderbilt for the worst field goal percentage in the SEC, too, making only 42.3% of their shots. They only averaged 11.9 assists per game, the second-worst mark in the league. They only averaged 6.4 steals per game, again the second-worst mark in the SEC. Those are both stats a true point guard would have helped with. Martin is a nice guy. No one is denying that. But the Tigers deserve a coach who can win more games.

11. Mississippi State (17-14, 8-10, LW: 9)

The Bulldogs saw their NCAA Tournament hopes die this past week. After taking Auburn to overtime on Wednesday night, KD Johnson made sure Mississippi State didn’t finish off the upset. Then, in a must-win game on Saturday at Texas A&M, the Bulldogs came up just short, falling 67-64 in College Station to keep the Aggies’ March Madness hopes alive. Now, in their first game in Tampa, the Bulldogs have to play a South Carolina team that still has slim postseason aspirations. We’ll see if Mississippi State’s season continues with some fight or ends with a whimper.

10. Vanderbilt (15-15, 7-11, LW: 11)

After giving up a 9-0 run in the final minute of Tuesday’s game against Florida to blow a 5-point lead, the Commodores bounced back to finish the regular season with a nice 63-61 road win at Ole Miss. Road wins are hard to come by in SEC play this year, so that’s a positive for Jerry Stackhouse and company. Now, the Commodores get Georgia in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday night. Win that game and Vanderbilt will be assured of at least finishing .500 this season.

9. South Carolina (18-12, 9-9, LW: 8)

South Carolina really needed a win at Auburn on Saturday afternoon. That would have been the sort of resume boost that could have kept the Gamecocks’ NCAA Tournament dreams alive. Now, they’ll probably have to win 2, possibly even 3, games at the SEC Tournament to get to the right side of the bubble. Beating Mississippi State in the second round is a must. Then, the Gamecocks would face Tennessee in the quarterfinals. Considering the Vols have beaten South Carolina 66-46 and 81-57 this year, that’s not a great matchup for Frank Martin’s squad. The NIT is far more likely at this point.

8. Texas A&M (20-11, 9-9, LW: 10)

The Aggies enter the SEC Tournament on a 4-game winning streak, tied for the longest streak in the SEC with Tennessee. This past week, the Aggies kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive, blowing out Alabama in Tuscaloosa and taking down Mississippi State in College Station. Quenton Jackson continues to develop into a star, scoring 28 points against Alabama and adding 18 more against the Bulldogs:

You need guys who can create their own offense in March. Jackson and Wade Taylor Jr. certainly fit that bill. They’re the 8-seed in the SEC Tournament. A win over Florida in the second round on Thursday could be enough to put the Aggies on the right side of the bubble.

7. Florida (19-12, 9-9, LW: 6)

The Gators suffered a home loss to Kentucky to close out the regular season, falling 71-63. That was a game the Gators really could have used to get off the bubble. Now, they probably not only need to beat Texas A&M on Thursday, but also need to take down No. 1 seed Auburn in the quarterfinals. That won’t be easy. But, Florida fans expect to make the NCAA Tournament, so Mike White is under pressure to get the job done.

6. Alabama (19-12, 9-9, LW: 5)

Alabama limps into the SEC Tournament with 2-straight losses, falling at home to Texas A&M and at LSU last week. The Tide have the quality wins to earn an NCAA Tournament berth, but they could really use a shot in the arm when it comes to seeding, as they’re trending in the wrong direction. They’ll face the winner of Georgia/Vanderbilt on Thursday. Then, if they win that game, they’ll take on No. 3-seed Kentucky. The Tide are capable of winning that game, too, but they’ll need Jaden Shackelford to shoot better than 0-for-8 from 3-point range if they’re going to pull that off.

5. LSU (21-10, 9-9, LW: 7)

LSU has everything it needs to put together deep runs in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. The Tigers have a legitimate superstar in Tari Eason. They have a knock-down 3-point shooter in Darius Days. They have a point guard who can make the right decisions in Xavier Pinson, who had 8 assists in Saturday’s OT win over Alabama. And, they have a heat-check guy in Brandon Murray.

They also play elite defense, which is going to make them a tough out this postseason. Do they have enough to upset No. 4-seed Arkansas and a couple of other top-seeded SEC teams this week? Don’t count Will Wade’s team out!

4. Arkansas (24-7, 13-5, LW: 1)

KenPom only gives the Hogs an 8.8% chance to win it all in Tampa this week. Meanwhile, Kentucky, Auburn and Tennessee all have at least a 20% chance to cut down the nets at the SEC Tournament:

I think that’s short-changing the Hogs quite a bit, especially considering they have wins over Tennessee, Auburn and Kentucky this year. Yes, they enter the tournament after a loss at Tennessee, but considering the top-4 seeds in the SEC went a combined 67-1 at home this season, I’m not exactly selling my Arkansas stock.

JD Notae is a difference maker. March is when those guys tend to shine. Don’t be surprised if the Hogs make a run.

3. Tennessee (23-7, 14-4, LW: 4)

The Vols finished off a perfect home season on Saturday by holding off a charge from Arkansas. The Vols were red-hot from 3-point range in the first half and finished the game an incredible 12-for-18 from beyond the arc. Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi each had 15 points, will all 15 of Chandler’s points coming from long distance:

If the Vols can string together 3 performances like Saturday’s in a row, they can win it all in Tampa. I’m concerned that another 48-point performance like they had at Arkansas, or a 51-point effort like they had at Texas, could derail them this postseason, though.

2. Kentucky (25-6, 14-4, LW: 3)

The Wildcats scored wins over Ole Miss and Florida last week to enter the SEC Tournament with some momentum. Oscar Tshiebwe continues to make a strong case for National Player of the Year, adding 27 points and 15 rebounds to his season totals on Saturday at Florida. He’s even getting transition dunks:

Kentucky is going to be a popular pick to cut down the nets in Tampa this week. We’ll see if the Wildcats can get the job done.

1. Auburn (27-4, 15-3, LW: 2)

Auburn righted the ship this past week, winning in overtime at Mississippi State on Wednesday thanks to some OT heroics by KD Johnson. Then, on Saturday, the Tigers beat South Carolina at Neville Arena by 11 points to clinch the outright SEC title.

Entering postseason play, Jabari Smith Jr. has scored more than 20 points in each of his last 3 games. He’s scored at least 20 points in 5 of his last 6 games. He makes shots like this look easy:

I wouldn’t want my team to face Smith in the postseason. He’s going to have the ball in his hands a lot, and to me, that spells trouble for the rest of the SEC in Tampa this week.

Adam Spencer

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.

You might also like...

2025 RANKINGS

presented by rankings