Bleed Blue SEC Power Rankings

Welcome to the first edition of the Bleed Blue SEC Power Rankings! Now that SEC teams have started playing each other, we felt it was a good time to start a weekly power ranking. It is our job to overreact to the first weekend of SEC games, so let’s see where things stack up according to our team.

16. South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina finds itself at the bottom spot of our first power rankings. Collin Murray-Boyles headlines the Gamecocks, a 6’7 big man shooting almost 62% from the field. Norfolk State transfer Jamarii Thomas and Alabama transfer Nick Pringle are the only other Gamecocks in double figure scoring for an offense that ranks just 103rd in KenPom. In their SEC opener, Mississippi State jumped out to a 43-18 first half lead before ultimately winning by 35. The defense isn’t good enough to make up for their inability to score the ball, and that is what puts South Carolina at the bottom of the debut rankings.

15. LSU Tigers

LSU was the only home team that lost in the opening weekend of SEC play as Vanderbilt beat them 80-72 in Baton Rouge. With Jalen Reed out for the season with a torn ACL, the bulk of the offensive output comes from Cam Carter, a Kansas State transfer averaging 17.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. UT-Martin transfer Jordan Sears adds 14.8 points on high volume, and Corey Chest gives 8.1 rebounds a game, but LSU struggles to put together a full forty minutes of consistent basketball. Ranked #220 in 3PT percentage, LSU has to find a way to replace the production of Jalen Reed and find Cam Carter some help on the perimeter.

14. Texas Longhorns

In the preseason you wouldn’t have expected Texas to be in the bottom three in the conference, but here they are. Texas took a twenty-point beating to Texas A&M on Saturday, and the Longhorns are struggling to find consistent production from their talented players. Freshman Tre Johnson is a superstar averaging 19 points on 41.8% from three, but he was held to 2-13 shooting in the season opener. Texas is 1-3 in Quad 1 or 2 games this season, with the only win coming at an uninspiring NC State. Rodney Terry has a lot to figure out on how to get his talent to merge and he better hurry with Auburn, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Florida coming up as their next four games.

13. Arkansas Razorbacks

Yes, you can laugh at that number. John Calipari stuck his feet in the ground and decided to try to continue doing things his way, and they aren’t working. After quietly building momentum at the end of the non-conference, it all fell flat on its face in Knoxville. Arkansas lost 76-52 to open SEC play in a game that was never competitive. Adou Thiero has become a star for them, averaging 16.9 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. Boogie Fland ended up being as good as advertised, adding 15.6 points and 5.9 assists per game (2nd in the SEC), but consistency and health have eluded this team all season. Johnell Davis was a massive addition from the transfer portal, but a lingering wrist injury has left him ineffective for a large portion of the season. The other freshmen need to come along if the Razorbacks want any chance of competing in this gauntlet of a conference.

12. Missouri Tigers

The Missouri Tigers are sneaking their way into being a competitive basketball team despite a disaster last season. Quad 1 games started poorly with an opening night loss to a decent Memphis team, but a home win over Kansas, a three-point loss to Illinois, and a sixteen-point loss at Auburn is a solid way to bounce back. The Tigers are #17 in percentage of points coming from the free throw line and are #4 in steals per possession. While Duke transfer Mark Mitchell, Tamar Bates, and Caleb Grill are talented players, the Tigers have found an identity of forcing turnovers and getting to the free throw line that is helping them stay competitive in games against better opponents.

11. Georgia Bulldogs

I’m going to keep it honest; Georgia plays some basketball that is hard to watch. Kentucky’s next opponent shot 2-18 from deep and just 29.31% overall in a 63-51 loss in Oxford this weekend. In good news, freshman big man Asa Newell is really good. He is averaging 15.4 points and 6.9 rebounds on 58.8% from the field (third best in the SEC). Mount St. Mary’s transfer De’Shayne Montgomery has been good since returning from suspension, but he struggled in his first game against real competition. The Bulldogs have a top thirty defense currently, and it has given them an edge in most of their games, but the offense is going to need to find a rhythm to avoid slipping farther into these power rankings.

10. Vanderbilt Commodores

Don’t look now, but Mark Byington is flipping another program into a winning culture. The lone blemish is a loss to Drake, but Drake took down a number of relevant programs in the nonconference. Vandy got the only road win of the first weekend, beating LSU by eight. Jason Edwards is tied for fourth in the conference with 18.3 points per game to lead a team that is top ten in offensive efficiency. Devin McGlockton is tied for fifth in the conference in rebounds a contest, and the Commodores are third in America in steals per possession. AJ Hoggard and MJ Collins are experienced guards that disrupt opposing offenses despite the overall defense being poor. They’re old and they run a creative offense and that is good enough to make the top ten in one of the toughest conferences ever.

9. Oklahoma Sooners

Where do you place Oklahoma after this weekend? Entering conference play as one of three unbeaten teams in the country, people were still skeptical of the Sooners who were picked to finished 15th in the preseason poll. Alabama added a mountain of doubt after beating Oklahoma 107-79 in Tuscaloosa. The Sooners are still 5-1 in Quad 1 and 2 games due in large part to breakout freshman Jeremiah Fears and senior Jalon Moore. These players are tied for #7 in the conference at 17.9 points a game, and Moore is north of 40% from three for the second straight season and is also top five in the conference in field goal percentage. The Sooners are #212 in rebound rate though as 6’6 Moore also leads them in this category and is the only player on the team with over four rebounds a game. There is a better team in Norman than we thought, but the skepticism will remain until they do it against SEC competition.

8. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss can play any style of game you would like. A top 35 KenPom offense and top 30 KenPom defense gives Chris Beard a well-rounded group that can compete with anyone. They can put up 95 in a win over BYU or hold UGA to 51 and win ugly. Sean Pedulla leads the Rebels, the 6’1 Virginia Tech transfer averaging 14.1 points and is tied for third in the conference with 2.4 steals per game. Jaylen Murray is top ten in the SEC in assists and helps hold things down in the undersized back court. Malik Dia is their leading rebounder and solid starting big, and Jaemyn Brakefield has moved to a bench role this year for Beard. They are good enough to be frisky, and we’ll see if they can break through into this top group of the conference.

7. Mississippi State Bulldogs

The biggest gap in the rankings came between the Mississippi schools as our team thought the top seven was a clear tier ahead of the rest. The Bulldogs demolished South Carolina by 35 in Stark Vegas, and Chris Jans has built another nasty team. While they aren’t elite defensively this season, they still come in at #30 in KenPom. The difference this year is Josh Hubbard is leading the twelfth best team in offensive efficiency. The Bulldogs are fifth in the country in steals per possession and good rebounding and block numbers. Hubbard is averaging 17.7 points and 3.1 assists on 43.4% from the field and 39% from three. KeShawn Murphy and Cameron Matthews both surpass 7 rebounds a game, and this is another big, old, tough team for “The Dentist.”

6. Florida Gators

Florida was actually tied for number five, but with a loss I slotted them in the lower spot. The Gators took their first loss of the season inside Rupp Arena 106-100 despite superstar performances from Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin. The defense dropped to #35 in following the trip to Lexington, but it was much higher during the undefeated start. Still top five in offense, Todd Golden has built a squad of scorers and elite rebounders around First Team All-SEC candidate Walter Clayton. The Gators lead the SEC and are tied for first in the country rebounding 58% of the missed shots they see. Alex Condon and Reuben Chinyelu are good rim protectors that rebound and know their role on the offensive end. The Gators are a great team that were on the unfortunate end of the only top 7 matchup of the weekend.

5. Texas A&M Aggies

The beneficiary of the tiebreaker, Texas A&M debuts in the top five of our initial rankings. Buzz Williams has done it again by building a team with excellent defense and an insane amount of grit. Playing A&M is going to be a fight, and maybe an actual fist fight, as you get the sixth best KenPom defense in America. Quenton Jackson averages 14 points to lead the Aggies, but the offense is only #40. Offensive rebounding boosts this number tremendously as the Aggies boast the #1 offensive rebounding rate by a sizeable 2.3%. At #81 in offensive efficiency, Williams has found a way to maximize their chances of scoring by getting as many possessions as possible. Henry Coleman, Tyrece Radford, and Wade Taylor are all still in College Station, and the Aggies are 6-2 in Quad 1 and 2 games with wins over Purdue, Ohio State, and a twenty-point blowout to welcome Texas to the SEC.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

The preseason pick to win the SEC has taken their lumps in a brutal nonconference schedule, but they had no problem starting SEC play with a 107-79 smacking of Oklahoma. 2024 First Team All-SEC point guard Mark Sears is averaging 18.3 points and 4.4 assists next to Grant Nelson’s 13.1 points and 8.8 rebounds. The second-year transfer duo is leading a new supporting class, but losing Latrell Wrightsell Jr. for the season was a tough blow early in December. Alabama has the #4 KenPom offense despite being #250 in the country in three-point percentage at 31.6%. The Tide makes up for this with quantity, second in the country in three-point attempts per game, and the best two point percentage in the country. It doesn’t look the same, but Nate Oats still has the highest scoring offense, and a contender, down in Tuscaloosa.

3. Kentucky Wildcats

Mark Pope has the Cats in contention for the SEC in his first season as the coach of the Wildcats following an exceptional start to the season. As the only team with three top-ten wins on the season, the Cats have proven themselves against some of the best competition in the country. Otega Oweh leads them in scoring with 15.9 points on the sixth best field goal percentage in the conference. Lamont Butler is one of the best defensive guards in the country, and they have an arsenal of shooters led by Koby Brea’s 52.3%, the best in the conference. While they are #5 in KenPom offense, the Cats have slid to #91 in KenPom defense. Finding consistency in the front court is going to be key to continuing success through conference play, but the Cats picked up the biggest conference win of the weekend.

2. Tennessee Volunteers

The AP #1 team and only remaining unbeaten team comes in at the second spot of our initial rankings. With only four games against Quad 1 and 2 teams, Tennessee hasn’t built the same resume as the top team on our list. The defense in Knoxville is exceptional as they are #1 in KenPom defense after the first conference weekend. Chaz Lanier started slower than expected but is now the only player in the conference averaging over 20 points per game. Zakai Ziegler leads the conference with eight assists per game and is the catalyst for their defensive efficiency. Charlotte transfer Igor Milicic is third in the conference with 8.9 rebounds per game in addition to his 10.9 points. Rick Barnes did not have to sweat in their beatdown of Arkansas, but a midweek trip to Gainesville will be a huge step up in competition.

1. Auburn Tigers

The unanimous #1 team in the SEC (according to us), Auburn has been excellent this season. Former Morehead State transfer Johni Broome is the best player in the country averaging 18.6 points (3rd in SEC), 11.1 rebounds (1st), 3.3 assists, and 2.7 blocks (1st) a game in his third season on The Plains. Former JUCO transfer Chad Baker-Mazzara (38.9% from three), freshman Tahaad Pettiford (42%), Chaney Johnson (26.1%), and former FIU transfer Denver Jones (46.2%) are all in double figures while starter Miles Kelly (40.3%) is at 9.4 points per contest. Auburn is the #1 offense and #14 defense currently in KenPom and is first in nearly every predictive metric. The Tigers sole loss came at Duke, but the Tigers are the best team in the country at 7-1 in Quad 1 and 2 games with wins over Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, Memphis, Ohio State, and Purdue all away from home.