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Conference play in college basketball is never boring, that’s for sure!

Over the weekend, we saw Kentucky win in a raucous Coleman Coliseum environment against Alabama. We saw Auburn narrowly avoid an upset at the hands of the worst team in the SEC. And, we also saw Arkansas win yet again, setting up a huge Tuesday night matchup against the aforementioned Tigers in Fayetteville.

As we prepare for another busy week of SEC hoops action, here’s a look at our updated men’s basketball power rankings:

14. Georgia (6-17 overall, 1-9 in SEC, Last week: 14)

So close, yet so far. Georgia came within 2 points of forcing overtime against No. 1 Auburn on Saturday in Athens. But, a loss is still a loss, even if there was a bit of controversy with how the game ended. Now, Georgia prepares to play at rival Florida on Wednesday night before hosting South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Neither of those games will be easy for this embattled team.

The good news? Kario Oquendo continues to be a bright spot for Tom Crean’s squad. He had 25 points against the Tigers, which should help his confidence entering this week’s games. Yes, the Bulldogs are 1-9 in SEC play, but don’t look past this team. The Dawgs can be dangerous at times, especially in Athens.

13. Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7, LW: 11)

Ole Miss beat LSU in its midweek game, but talented freshman Daeshun Ruffin was lost to an injury. Yes, the Rebels forced overtime at Florida on Saturday, but that honestly says more about the Gators’ inconsistency than it does about Ole Miss. This squad is going to find it harder to score without Ruffin, who was starting to come into his own as a playmaker.

Spots No. 13 through No. 8 in these power rankings are pretty much up in the air, as there’s not much separation between Ole Miss and the team I have a few spots above it. We’ll see if the Rebels can pull off an upset or 2 this week, hosting Alabama on Wednesday night and heading to Mizzou on Saturday.

12. South Carolina (13-9, 4-6, LW: 9)

The Gamecocks are trending in the wrong direction these days. This past week, they lost at Mississippi State and were blown out at home by Tennessee on Saturday. Things could get worse before they get better for this squad, too. South Carolina hosts Kentucky on Tuesday night. Then, the Gamecocks head to Georgia on Saturday. As we’ve seen recently, the Bulldogs show some life in Athens, so that won’t be an easy game for Frank Martin’s crew, either.

11. Texas A&M (15-8, 4-6, LW: 10)

The free-fall continues in College Station. After starting out the season 15-2 overall and 4-0 in SEC play, the Aggies have fallen off in a big way, losing 6-straight games. Saturday’s home loss against Mizzou was the worst loss yet for Buzz Williams’ squad, which not too long ago had NCAA Tournament aspirations. The Aggies are playing their way off the bubble in a hurry.

This is a tough week for Texas A&M. The Aggies host LSU in a battle of teams that desperately need a win on Tuesday night. Then, they head to Auburn to take on the No. 1 Tigers on Saturday afternoon in a game that will have even more atmosphere as ESPN’s College GameDay crew will be in attendance.

10. Vanderbilt (12-10, 4-6, LW: 12)

Vanderbilt is a team that is pretty dangerous these days. The Commodores gave Kentucky a scare in Lexington and just took down a reeling LSU team on a night when Scotty Pippen Jr. only had 7 points. Rodney Chatman picked up the slack offensively, scoring 24 points, including 16 in the first half:

The Commodores could make some big moves in these rankings this week. On Tuesday, they host Mizzou. Then, on Saturday, they head to Rocky top to take on rival Tennessee.

9. Mizzou (9-13, 3-6, LW: 13)

Am I a little high on the Tigers? Yeah, probably. But, I honestly believe Mizzou could beat every team ranked below it on this list. So far, against the teams ranked 10-14, the Tigers have gone 2-1, beating Ole Miss in Oxford and splitting against Texas A&M. The Tigers took down the Aggies 70-66 on Saturday afternoon, getting another big performance from Kobe Brown.

While scoring 21 points, Brown also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. He’s at his best when he’s getting to the free-throw line, where he went 11-for-12 on Saturday. We’ll get to an even bigger off-the-backboard alley-oop in a bit, but suffice to say Brown might have been inspired by the exciting play by Auburn earlier in the day with this pass to Trevon Brazile:

Can Mizzou keep the positive momentum going? The Tigers play at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night before hosting Ole Miss on Saturday night. Those are 2 very winnable games for Cuonzo Martin and company.

8. LSU (16-7, 4-6, LW: 6)

No, the Tigers didn’t have Xavier Pinson on Saturday at Vanderbilt, and no, Pinson wasn’t at full strength in a midweek loss to Ole Miss. But, this is still too talented of a team to lose to the Commodores and Rebels. The Tigers are rightfully out of the top 25 and now have a lot of work to do to finish the year strong.

This week, LSU travels to Texas A&M on Tuesday night and hosts Mississippi State on Saturday. Both the Aggies and Bulldogs will be desperate for wins to play themselves onto the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

7. Mississippi State (14-8, 5-4, LW: 8)

The Bulldogs ran into the Arkansas buzzsaw on Saturday night in Fayetteville. There’s no shame in that. But, Ben Howland’s crew still has some work to do to play itself into the NCAA Tournament field. Fortunately, Mississippi State has a pair of golden opportunities to bolster its resume this week. The Bulldogs host a ranked Tennessee team on Wednesday night and travel to LSU on Saturday night. We’ll find out what this team is made of this week.

6. Alabama (14-9, 4-6, LW: 4)

The Alabama roller coaster season continues. The Tide in their last 3 games have beaten reigning champion Baylor, gotten blown out at No. 1 Auburn and shot 3-for-30 from 3-point range in a home loss to No. 5 Kentucky.

Wednesday night’s trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss should (and I stress should, as the Tide have lost at Mizzou and at Georgia this year) get Alabama back on track. Then, another tough test looms large, as Arkansas heads to Coleman Coliseum on Saturday morning.

5. Florida (15-8, 5-5, LW: 7)

The Gators are a different team when Colin Castleton is on the floor, and the big man made his return from injury against Ole Miss on Saturday. No, the Gators shouldn’t need overtime to beat the Rebels 62-57, but a win is still a win. Castleton scored 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. A couple of his baskets came in overtime when the Gators needed them the most:

The Gators should have an easy tuneup win at home against Georgia on Wednesday night, but they can’t get caught looking past the Bulldogs. On Saturday, they head to Lexington to face Kentucky, so taking care of business on Wednesday night in Gainesville is crucial.

4. Tennessee (16-6, 7-3, LW: 5)

After scoring only 51 points in a road loss at Texas last weekend, the Vols’ offense has kicked it up a notch. Tennessee scored 90 in a 10-point win over Texas A&M midweek and added 81 more in a blowout of South Carolina on Saturday. We all know how important Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi are to Tennessee’s success, but Josiah-Jordan James might be the biggest key. In the 2 wins, here were JJJ’s stat lines:

  • vs. Texas A&M: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals, 1 block
  • at South Carolina: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks

When he’s playing with confidence, it’s a good thing for the Vols. Same with Zakai Zeigler, who had 18 points against the Gamecocks. He went on a hot streak in the second half, scoring 8 points in quick succession:

He’s coming into his own. If Tennessee’s offense continues to play like this, the Vols will be nearly impossible to beat.

3. Arkansas (18-5, 7-3, LW: 3)

It wasn’t pretty, but the Hogs extended their winning streak to 8 games on Saturday night with a hard-fought 63-55 win over Mississippi State. It was a rough night shooting for JD Notae, but he still led the Hogs with 14 points despite his 4-for-16 night from the floor (0-for-6 from 3-point range). He still hit some incredible shots, too:

https://twitter.com/RazorbackMBB/status/1490143824458354688

It can’t be understated how huge this week is for the Hogs. On Tuesday night, No. 1 Auburn comes to Fayetteville. Then, on Saturday, Arkansas heads to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. Both of those games should be intense!

2. Kentucky (19-4, 8-2, LW: 2)

Kentucky is getting pretty used to playing in tough road environments. The past 2 Saturdays, the Wildcats have scored wins at Phog Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas and at Alabama. TyTy Washington continues to develop into a superstar, leading the Wildcats with 15 points in the 66-55 win in Tuscaloosa.

He was great with his mid-range jump shot, knocking down 3 key buckets from inside the arc:

But, the Kentucky defense was the star on Saturday night, holding Alabama to 3-for-30 from 3-point range. That’s an incredible feat, and that’s why the Wildcats are legitimate national title contenders. This week, Kentucky heads to South Carolina on Tuesday night before hosting Florida on Saturday. We’ll see if John Calipari’s squad continues to look dominant.

1. Auburn (22-1, 10-0, LW: 1)

I mean, you know I’m starting this section with the play of the year, right? Wendell Green Jr. off the backboard to Devan Cambridge!

I have watched that play probably 100 times and it still doesn’t get old. Great court awareness by Green and insane athleticism from Cambridge, who is perhaps the best dunker in the SEC.

Now then… onto the game itself. Yes, Auburn struggled, winning 74-72. Yes, this game-winning play by Green was a bit controversial:

Yes, Auburn has only won its last 2 road games at Mizzou and at Georgia by a combined 3 points. But, the important thing – the Tigers have, you know, actually won those games. That’s what great teams do – find ways to win even on off nights.

Now, though, they’ll have to bring a much better effort. On Tuesday night, the Tigers put their 19-game winning streak on the line at Arkansas. The Hogs bring their own 8-game winning streak to the table. That will be a great atmosphere in Fayetteville!