SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Alabama’s hopes ripped away in Knoxville
Alabama basketball still had a slim chance of splitting the SEC Regular Season crown with Auburn, but the Tide needed to win out and needed Auburn to lose to either Kentucky or Texas A&M on the road.
The Tigers took care of business on the road at Kentucky to earn at least a share of the regular season crown. Alabama handed the outright crown to Auburn with its buzzer-beating loss to the Vols in Knoxville.
But where does the Crimson Tide stand in the SEC Power Rankings this week?
SEC Power Rankings
16. South Carolina Gamecocks: 12-17 (2-14)
Two Saturdays in a row South Carolina has scored league wins, much to the detriment of the teams on the other end of the court. They beat Texas by 15 last weekend and then turned around and knocked off Arkansas by 19 this week. They may have burst the bubble of both of those teams.
The Gamecocks finish the regular season with a home game against Georgia on Tuesday and a road game at Tennessee next Saturday.
15. LSU Tigers: 14-15 (3-13)
LSU was competitive in a home loss to Tennesse in the mid-week matchup and then fell by 12 at Mississippi State on Saturday. South Carolina is now nipping at its heels to get out of the cellar of the league, but both the Tigers and Gamecocks have no path to the NCAA Tournament that doesn’t include winning the SEC Tournament.
LSU finishes up at Kentucky on Tuesday and at home against Texas A&M on Saturday.
14. Oklahoma Sooners: 17-12 (4-12)
Oklahoma came into the week on shaky bubble ground and lost two games by a combined four points. They needed to win at least one of them, but lost by a single point to Kentucky at home and by three by Ole Miss on the road. To add insult to injury, it was former Sooner Otega Oweh who ripped Oklahoma’s hearts out in the midweek game.
Oklahoma hosts Missouri on Wednesday and finishes on the road at Texas on Saturday. They might need to win both, as well as a game or two in the SEC Tournament to have a realistic shot at a tournament berth.
13. Texas Longhorns: 16-13 (5-11)
Texas was on shaky NCAA Tournament ground coming into the week and now they’re riding a three-game losing streak that might have caused their bubble to burst. They lost by 15 points on the road last Saturday to South Carolina, fell in overtime on the road at Arkansas in the midweek game, and were largely uncompetitive in a 16-point home loss to Georgia on Saturday.
This late season slide might cost the Longhorns an NCAA Tournament berth and ultimately Rodney Terry his job. Texas goes to Mississippi State in the midweek and finishes the regular season at home against rival Oklahoma.
12. Arkansas Razorbacks: 17-12 (6-10)
Arkansas went ice cold at an inopportune time on Saturday and lost a game at South Carolina it really couldn’t afford to lose late in the season. The Hogs had made up some ground with back-to-back wins over Missouri and Texas. That goodwill was thrown out the window with the loss to the lowly Gamecocks.
Arkansas travels to Vanderbilt on Tuesday and then hosts Mississippi State on Saturday to finish the regular season. The Hogs will need to win at least one of, if not both of those games to get into the touranment.
11. Georgia Bulldogs: 18-11 (6-10)
Georgia may have solidified its position in the NCAA Tournament with a big week. The Bulldogs pulled a huge upset win at home over Florida on Tuesday and followed that up with an 83-67 win on the road over Texas on Saturday.
With a road game at South Carolina and a home game with Vanderbilt left, the Bulldogs could finish the regular season on a high note and improve its seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
10. Ole Miss Rebels: 20-9 (9-7)
The Rebels snapped a three-game losing streak by holding off Oklahoma at home on Saturday. Ole Miss is a lock for the NCAA Tournament but they’ve been plagued by some inconsistent play that will probably make their stay short.
They have a difficult final two games to finish the regular season. The host Tennessee on Wednesday and finish up at Florida next Saturday.
9. Kentucky Wildcats: 19-10 (8-8)
Injuries have piled up for the Wildcats and they’ll now be without Jaxson Robinson for the remainder of the season due to a broken bone in his wrist. They were still able to beat Oklahoma on the road on Wednesday, but they were never really competitive at home against Auburn on Saturday.
Now, they’ll host LSU in the mid-week game before traveling to Columbia to face Missouri on Saturday.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs: 20-9 (8-8)
Mississippi State took a beating by Alabama on Tuesday, allowing 111 points in a 38-point loss to the Crimson Tide. They did what they had to on Saturday in beating LSU at home 81-69.
The Bulldogs have a good chance of winning their final two regular season games. They host Texas on Tuesday and then go on the road to play Arkansas on Saturday.
7. Vanderbilt Commodores: 20-9 (8-8)
Vanderbilt is getting hot at the right time. The ‘Dores have a three-game winning streak, all over ranked opponents. They’ve scored wins over Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and now Missouri in a row to get to .500 in the SEC and solidify its standing the NCAA Touranment. Mark Byington has done a heck of a job in Nashville in his first season on the job.
Vanderbilt hosts Arkansas on Tuesday and travels to Georgia to finish the regular season on Saturday. I’m not sure anyone wants to play them right now.
6. Texas A&M Aggies: 20-9 (9-7)
Texas A&M’s standing at No. 6 in the power rankings is tenuous at best as the Aggies have now lost four consecutive games. They’ve all been two good teams, obviously, but dropping to both Tennessee and Vanderbilt at home in consecutive games was damaging. The Aggies fell by 19 on Saturday at Florida.
They’ll hope to get off the snide on Tuesday with No. 1 Auburn in College Station before playing LSU on the road on Saturday in the regular season finale.
5. Missouri Tigers: 21-8 (10-6)
Missouri’s overtime loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday blew a golden opportunity for the Tigers, especially with Alabama’s loss to Tennessee. Missouri will now need to win out in the regular season to have an outside shot at getting a top four seed and a double bye in the SEC Tournament.
They’ll battle a desperate Oklahoma team on the road on Wednesday before hosting Kentucky on Saturday to finish the regular season.
4. Tennessee Volunteers: 24-5 (11-5)
The Vols just find ways to win games. They’ve now won four in a row and seven of their last eight and are trending toward a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament on the heels of their thrilling win over Alabama that included a buzzer beating three by Jahmai Mashack.
Tennessee will need to keep winning to ensure it, with a game at Ole Miss in the mid-week and a home date with South Carolina left on the schedule.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide: 23-6 (12-4)
Nobody has had a tougher stretch than Alabama to finish the regular season and they suffered a devastating loss to Tennessee on Saturday. The Tide played well enough to win for over 39 minutes, but a disastorous end of the half and final 30 seconds of regulation proved costly in the road defeat.
Alabama needs to win one of its final two regular season games to ensure a double bye in the SEC Tournament. Unfortunately, the schedule gets no easier with Florida coming to Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday and then a trek to Auburn on Saturday.
2. Florida Gators: 25-4 (12-4)
Florida staged a furious comeback against Georgia on Tuesday, but they came up short in a loss that cost them a chance at a share of the SEC Regular Season title. They bounced back by beating Texas A&M at home on Saturday and are still right in the thick of the race for a No. 1 seed.
They’ll travel to Alabama on Wednesday in a game that will important for those hopes. They finish the regular season at home against Ole Miss after that.
1. Auburn Tigers: 27-2 (15-1)
Auburn has locked up the SEC Regular Season crown. They could likely lose the remaining two games on their schedule and their first game in the SEC Tournament and still be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers have been dominant in a difficult league, and they look like the easy favorite to win the national title.
They play at Texas A&M on Tuesday before finishing the regular season at home against Alabama.
