Bleed Blue SEC Power Rankings

KentKentucky took the week off last week and so did we, but we are back with another edition of the Bleed Blue SEC Power Rankings. It has been a crazy couple of weeks with game winners, upsets, and the best basketball in the country all taking place in the Southeastern Conference. There has been a separation between the best teams and the middle of the pack, so let’s see how our team has the SEC standing as of today.

16. LSU Tigers

Unfortunately, the LSU Tigers stay at the bottom of our list. It was a brutal schedule for LSU as they had to travel to College Station and Tuscaloosa this week which led to two losses. Both games were respectable, and the Tigers held Alabama to their second lowest point total of the conference schedule (80), so 0-2 does not give the full story on how they performed. The Tigers are still outside of the top one hundred in offensive efficiency, and it is keeping them from pulling upsets in these tough games, but the defensive is solid enough to keep them from getting blown out in most cases. LSU gets two home games this week, but it includes the Auburn Tigers and an improving Texas team. If LSU wants to leave this bottom spot they need to pull an upset in Baton Rouge this week, but for now they will remain in last.

15. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks had a brutal week that would break a couple of teams down. They led the entire game before Florida stole a one-point win, then lost in overtime to Mississippi State. South Carolina has kept it close against many of the top teams in the conference, but that hasn’t translated to any wins yet. In fact, the Gamecocks enter this week as the only team in the conference that has not gained a win, and they still hold only one win against quadrant one or two teams. South Carolina is probably out of the running for an NCAA tournament bid, but their post play is good enough to give every team a scare if you are not ready to play. They go to Athens and host A&M this week as USCjr. looks to pick up their first conference win of the season.

14. Arkansas Razorbacks

If we had put out these rankings last week Arkansas might have found themselves at the bottom. A struggling program lost one of their best players in Boogie Fland to a hand injury, and things looked like they might collapse for John Calipari. What does he do with his back against the wall? Pull off a win against Georgia and fight to the end with Oklahoma. While both games were in Fayetteville, it was an impressive bounce-back considering the vibes around the program heading into the week. How long will they hold it together without Boogie Fland? Will they ever figure out a way to score more than seventy against an SEC team not at the bottom of this list? A lot of questions for the Razorbacks as they have a week off before Cal returns to Rupp Arena.

13. Texas Longhorns

Texas came into the week struggling and had been unable to find a way to win their close games. With an opportunity to host two ranked teams, the Longhorns needed to pick off at least one win to stay competitive. They won both. Texas dismantled a scorching Missouri offense before Tre Johnson led them to a 22-point comeback win against Texas A&M. The Longhorns have built a good analytical team as well as they are #22 in offensive efficiency and have jumped to #46 in defensive efficiency. Another strong week on the road against Ole Miss and LSU could find Texas making a big jump, but our team wants to see them do it away from home before putting them ahead of other teams.

12. Oklahoma Sooners (-2)

Oklahoma has come down to earth since the incredible nonconference run. They lost on the road at Georgia and a home game to Texas but responded this week with a blowout of South Carolina and a tough road win against Arkansas. They can score at a high level, but not well enough to overcome their defensive struggles. Only Kentucky has a worse defensive efficiency in the conference and their inability to stop the other team has led to their consistent fall as the season has progressed. They have to travel to College Station before hosting the red-hot Vanderbilt Commodores, and Oklahoma needs at least one win to continue hanging around in the SEC standings.

11. Georgia Bulldogs (-4)

We overreacted to their big week against Kentucky and Oklahoma, and the Bulldogs are back towards the bottom of the conference. Losses to Tennessee, Auburn, and Florida were reasonable, but a loss to Arkansas without Boogie Fland may end up one of the worst losses in the conference. Bad offense has led to the fall as the Bulldogs put up 56, 68, 65, and 59 in their last four games. They’ve played some of the better defenses in all of America, but they have to find a way to score when the defense isn’t enough to stop some of the elite offenses the SEC has. They host South Carolina then travel to Alabama, so a 1-1 record should be the minimum to stay competitive.

10. Missouri Tigers (+1)

Missouri being at ten shows the insane level of play were seeing in the conference this year. The formula is simple for Dennis Gates’ squad. On defense you either force a turnover or get the defensive rebound (leading the SEC in both during SEC play). On offense you shoot a three or get to the free throw line (also leading the SEC in both during SEC play). Perhaps most importantly, the Tigers do not lose at home. Ole Miss was the latest victim of Mizzou Arena as Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill combined for 48 points on 9-15 from three. The slip up in Austin kept the Tigers from jumping way into the top ten, but the Tigers have a recipe for success that has gotten them wins against some of the best teams in the country. They leave the safety of home with trips to Starkville and Knoxville this week, but finding a way to steal one of those should get Missouri firmly into the tournament field.

9. Vanderbilt Commodores (+3)

Last time we did these rankings I talked about things catching up to the Commodores and teams figuring out how to limit them, but they have bounced back in a big way recently. Vandy picked up top ten wins at home against Tennessee and Kentucky in the last two weeks and fought off the pesky South Carolina Gamecocks to go 3-0 at home over the last two weeks. At Alabama got away from them, but the Tide have done that to a bunch of teams throughout the season. Mark Byington has cemented himself in the middle of the SEC Coach of the Year race as they continue to win games in this brutal conference. We find out this week if the magic is only in Memorial with trips to Oklahoma and Florida coming up this week.

8. Mississippi State Bulldogs

With everyone around them shifting, the Bulldogs kept their spot from two weeks ago at #8. While the results have not been awful, Mississippi State has left much to be desired with their recent play. They look respectable losses at Auburn and Tennessee but needed overtime to beat Ole Miss at home and South Carolina on the road. Josh Hubbard is still cold from the field and the State offense has started struggling with him. Mississippi State is trending downwards, but they get two chances at home to pick up resume building wins with Alabama and Missouri coming in. They are 2-3 in quad one SEC games (Ole Miss and Vandy), and they need to continue acquiring quality wins before March gets too close.

7. Texas A&M Aggies (-1)

It’s been an up and down couple of weeks for the Aggies as they picked up a win at Ole Miss before collapsing in Austin. The A&M offense has been cause for concern (108th in offensive efficiency), and this didn’t change over the past week. Their offensive efficiency over the past three games would place them at #310 in full season averages. In their collapse against Texas, the A&M offense went from 1.303 points per possession in the first half to 0.839 points per possession in the second half. Combining a struggling offense with an uncharacteristic 1.5 points per possession allowed to Texas in the second half led to one of the biggest comebacks we have seen in the league this year. The Aggies host Oklahoma and go to South Carolina this week, a week top-tier teams should go 2-0 in.

6. Kentucky Wildcats (-2)

This is a Kentucky site, but we have to call it like it is. Kentucky has hit a lull in their season due in large part to their defensive struggles. In their two-game losing streak the Cats have allowed 1.308 points per possession to Alabama and 1.121 points per possession to Vanderbilt. While these are good offenses, the Cats haven’t been able to keep people in front of them for a large portion of the season. The Wildcats are dead last in the conference in defensive efficiency, and it is starting to catch up to them as more film becomes available on the Pope offense. The Cats need more from their interior as teams are picking them apart from inside the paint while not respecting them on the offensive end. A couple of rivals come up for the Cats as they travel to Knoxville before welcoming Calipari back to Lexington this weekend.

5. Ole Miss Rebels (+4)

Ole Miss is taking a “game of runs” to a whole new level. The rebels started conference play 5-0 and tied for first in the conference but have since lost their last three games. The first game was an overtime loss in Starkville, followed by a one-point loss at home to Texas A&M after leading the entire game, and finishing the week with a tough loss in Missouri. Ole Miss has been in control of two of the three losses but has had some unfortunate things happen to get them to this spot. They have a classic Chris Beard squad with a #14 ranking in defensive efficiency but a struggling offense that has kept them from having the same record as some of the other top teams in the conference. The benefit of the doubt will only last so long if they cannot play well at home against Texas and Auburn this week, so the Rebels need to bounce back quickly to avoid dropping out of the top tier.

4. Tennessee Volunteers (+1)

The Volunteers have a special, special defense. They are #1 in KenPom defense, #2 in defensive efficiency, and #1 in opponent effective field goal percentage. The entire backcourt is truly elite at pressuring the ball and keeping offenses from being able to run any type of successful offense. They lost at Vanderbilt by one and at Auburn by two, while also gaining double-digit wins at home against Mississippi State and Georgia. The offense is brutal, and a #303 pace doesn’t help, but they can grind teams down and keep themselves in any game. They host elite offenses in Kentucky and Florida this week, so the defense needs to be top notch if they want to keep up.

3. Florida Gators

Since the conference opening loss in Rupp Arena, the Gators are 5-1 with the only loss coming by one to Missouri. They beat the breaks off Texas and Georgia in Gainesville and snuck out a win at South Carolina at the last second making the Gators one of the hotter teams in the conference heading towards February. They are #7 in offensive and defensive efficiency and have become one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. They are one of five teams with a top fifteen offense and defense in KenPom, joining Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Iowa State. The Gators get a full week off before heading to Knoxville for a rematch of the beatdown they gave the Volunteers earlier in the season. Another win over Tennessee could give them the inside track to having a top four seed come SEC Tournament time.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama is really good again, are you shocked? They are at a low (for them) #19 in offensive efficiency, but their understanding of analytics and game planning has made them effective nonetheless. They took a strange home loss to Ole Miss but have since blitzed Kentucky with 102 points and Vanderbilt with 103 points before winning ugly against LSU. The Tide offense is still a problem while the defense is finding its rhythm. The biggest storyline out of Tuscaloosa is the benching of Mark Sears at the end of the game against LSU. There is likely nothing to worry about long term, but it is something to keep an eye on as they head into this week. The Crimson Tide get Mississippi State on the road before Georgia comes to town.

1. Auburn Tigers

Do I even need to type this paragraph? Making the case for Auburn at #1 is easy. You could start with having the best KenPom rating, AP Poll ranking, Coach’s Poll ranking, and record in the conference. You could go to them holding the highest offensive efficiency since the late nineties. They also lead the country with eleven wins against quadrant one teams. The only blemish comes in Cameron Indoor, the only team higher than them in KenPom across the entire country. Despite losing the National Player of the Year in Johni Broome for a couple of games, the Tigers came back to win at South Carolina, clobbered Mississippi State, and snuck out a win at Georgia. Broome returns with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a win against Tennessee. The best team in the conference goes to LSU and Ole Miss this week while looking to remain unbeaten and at the top of these power rankings.

Photo Credits to UK Athletics