Sports

SEC Power Rankings after Week 2 of the college basketball season. – Auburn Wire

Published

10 months ago

November 22, 2023

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The first two weeks of the college basketball season are officially behind us.
Teams at the top of the preseason rankings like Alabama and Tennessee have gotten out to good starts, while other programs like Mississippi State and South Carolina have been surprisingly great to open the year.
The SEC once again looks like a deep, competitive, conference. Only one team has a record below .500, while most are at least two games above the mark.
With two weeks of basketball behind us and all teams in the conference having played at least three games, it’s time for the first edition of this year’s SEC power rankings.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 1-1
Regular Season: 3-2
Missouri just lost a buy game to Jackson State after a great comeback road win over Big 10 opponent Minnesota.
The Tigers have a solid scoring trio in seniors Sean East II, Nick Honor, and Noah Carter, but this team has already shown it is riddled with inconsistencies on both ends that will make it hard for Missouri to go on any kind of win streak this year.
Syndication: The Tennessean
Last Week: 2-0
Season Record: 3-1
Despite what the record says, Vanderbilt did not have a great first week of the season.
After losing their first game of the season, the Commodores barely got past mid-major SC Upstate at home.
Vanderbilt then picked up a decent win over UNC Greensboro before almost losing as large favorites again to Central Arkansas.
Senior guard Ezra Manjon is going to have to average around 25 points per game if the Commodores hope to make any kind of noise in the SEC this season.
USATS
Last Week: 2-0
Season Record: 4-0
Ole Miss hired head coach Chris Beard to revamp a struggling program. So far, he has been able to do just that.
Beard went undefeated in his first week with Ole Miss, but it was not very impressive.
The Rebels had an average margin of victory of 6 points against Alabama State, Eastern Washington, Sam Houston State, and Detroit Mercy.
The latter of those four, Detroit Mercy, has lost it’s other three games by an average of 28 points.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Last Week: 0-2
Season Record: 2-3
Georgia’s basketball program has struggled in recent years, but the Bulldogs had a decent first week of the season despite the 2-3 record.
The Bulldogs lost close games to a very solid Oregon team and 11th-ranked Miami.
Georgia’s attack is led by the backcourt of seniors Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Noah Thomasson. The guards are the only Bulldogs averaging double figures on the young season, and figure to be the focal point of head coach Mike White’s offense as the year goes on.
David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 2-1
Season Record: 3-2
Head coach Matt McMahon’s LSU Tigers had a downright bizarre start to the regular season.
They opened up with a resounding win over Mississippi Valley State then followed that up by losing as 19.5-point favorites to Nicholls.
The Tigers then headed to the Charleston Classic where they led a solid Dayton team 60-45 with 9 minutes remaining in the game. They lost 70-67.
LSU finished the tournament with two wins in the consolation bracket, finishing their week on a high note.
This team may finish in the bottom half of the SEC, but the duo of forward Will Baker and guard Jordan Wright is good enough to rip off a few unexpected wins.
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 1-1
Regular Season: 3-1
Eric Musselman’s Arkansas Razorbacks are once again extremely talented and should finish near the top of the SEC.
Temple transfer Khalif battle, Houston transfer Tramon Mark, Louisville transfer El Ellis may be the second-best backcourt in the SEC, but early chemistry issues led the team to lose to UNC Greensboro in their most recent game.
UNCG is a decent program, but the home loss knocks the Razorbacks down the rankings for now.
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Last week: 2-0
Season Record: 3-1
Florida has a solid basketball team. The Gators received votes in the Coaches Poll this week after dismantling in state opponents Florida A&M and Florida State by a combined 42 points.
Six Gators average double figures, making Florida one of the deeper teams in the conference.
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 3-0
Regular Season: 5-0
South Carolina may be 5-0 to start the year, but it’s hard to buy stock in a Gamecocks team that barely beat Virginia Tech (ACC preseason 8) and DePaul (Big East preseason 11) at home.
The Gamecocks are shooting nearly 50% from the field and 40% from 3-point range to start the season. If they can somehow sustain that, maybe they make some noise in a tough SEC.
Their 68% mark from the free-throw line is a good indicator the shooting numbers are doomed to regress.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 2-0
Regular Season: 3-1
The Auburn Tigers would be closer to the top of the rankings if not for the blown lead on opening night against Baylor.
After the disappointing loss, Bruce Pearl’s squad cruised to a Legends Classic Championship behind the fantastic play of freshman Aden Holloway and junior Johni Broome.
Auburn may be the deepest team in the SEC, which could pay dividends as the season rolls on.
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 3-0
Season Record: 4-0
The Texas A&M Aggies are 4-0 to start the season. The hot start has Buzz Williams’ team ranked No. 13 in the Coaches Poll, which is the second-highest ranking among SEC teams.
Junior guard Wade Taylor IV and senior forward Henry Coleman III lead a well-balanced offensive attack for the Aggies, but the real strength of this team is its defense.
The Aggies are giving up just 61 points per game this season against solid competition, showing this team is for real.

Mark Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 3-0
Regular Season: 5-0
The Mississippi State Bulldogs have been one of the great stories to start the college basketball season.
An incredible defense has paired with a timely offensive attack to give the Bulldogs three neutral site victories on the early season, including “Barstool Invitational” and Hall of Fame Tip-Off” championships.
We’ll see if the 25th-ranked Bulldogs can keep up the hot streak as we get deeper into the season.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Last Week: 1-1
Season Record: 3-1
The Kentucky Wildcats may be the best team in the SEC.
The Cats have yet to score under 80 points this season and nearly beat No. 1 ranked Kansas in the Champions Classic a week ago.
Guards Antonio Reeves and Rob Dillingham create arguably the best backcourt duo in the nation, while forward Tre Mitchell and guard Justin Edwards have been solid inside.
The issue with Kentucky is always going to be its age and inexperience, so we’ll see if this version can avoid an early March exit.
Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 2-0
Season Record 4-0
The Alabama Crimson Tide should once again be at least a second-weekend NCAA Tournament team.
Head coach Nate Oats still has an electric offense that can outscore any team it plays. The Tide are averaging over 100 points per game this year behind a 49% mark from the 3-point line.
Steven Erler-USA TODAY Sports
Last Week: 2-0
Season Record: 4-0
Tennessee has a chance to prove itself this week in the Maui Invitational. The Volunteers are ranked No. 8 in the Coaches Poll after being named the preseason favorite in the SEC.
The Vols just beat Syracuse in the first round of the Maui Invitational, and will have to play Gonzaga or Purdue at some point this week. That game should tell us just how good Rick Barnes’ team is.
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