George Bagwell gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 4 of the 2023 season.
Matchup of the week: Kentucky vs. Miami
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Auburn at Appalachian State
Readers, welcome back to SEC Power Rankings. While the season is still in the early stages, some things never get old, like late-November reality checks and high level MTEs running concurrently with SEC football rivalry week. It was a quiet week for some, while other teams either made some noise or faced it. When the dust settled, a new team emerged on top of the SEC Power Rankings mountain. This week, the SEC-ACC challenge begins (and ends). Look for some semblance of a litmus test for each SEC team.
All games listed are EST.
1) Mississippi State Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)
Record: 6-0
Last week: W vs. Nicholls State (74-61)
Next week: at Georgia Tech (Nov. 28 – 7 p.m.), vs. Southern (Dec. 3 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Northwestern, Washington State, Arizona State
Bad losses: N/A
A new team sits at #1 in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. Starkville, welcome to the top. It’s beautiful. It has more to do with Texas A&M’s loss to FAU and Tennessee’s (valiant) 1-2 week in Honolulu, but the Bulldogs are still deserving of this spot by their own merit. They’re one of three undefeated teams in the conference (Ole Miss and South Carolina), and unlike the Rebels or Gamecocks, they have three Power 6 victories to their credit, beating Arizona State, Northwestern, and Washington State. They weren’t at their best against Nicholls State, but they took care of business. Freshman Josh Hubbard has been the offensive spark the Bulldogs have needed (16.2 PPG off the bench), while WVU transfer Jimmy Bell is averaging 10.0 PPG and 9.5 RPG, leading the conference in rebounding.
This week, Mississippi State takes on Georgia Tech in a road matchup before coming home to host Southern. While they’ll be facing the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, Georgia Tech is coming off two losses, a close loss to UMass-Lowell and a blowout loss to Cincinnati. Southern has beaten UNLV on the road but is 0-5 with four losses of 10+ points in every other game. The Bulldogs should escape this week with their undefeated record intact.
2) Texas A&M Aggies
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)
Record: 6-1
Last week: W vs. Penn State (89-77), L vs. #19 FAU (96-89), W vs. Iowa State (73-69)
Next week: at Virginia (Nov. 29 – 7:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Ohio State, at SMU, Penn State
Bad losses: N/A
Texas A&M has been bit, stung, and overall slightly affected by the injury bug so far this year. Henry Coleman III and Tyrece Radford have both been banged up, and that’s not including Julius Marble’s absence. And yet, here they are at 6-1. After Wade Taylor IV dropped 35 in a tight loss to FAU, the Aggies took on Iowa State without Henry Coleman III and Boots Radford. They looked lost at the start, falling behind 35-14 before storming back with a career game from Solomon Washington. The sophomore scored 18 points (a career-high) and collected 6 rebounds. Despite the rest of the team shooting 3-for-20 from deep, Washington went 3-for-4 individually. He’s always been an underrated, physical hooper, and this game could serve as a mini-breakout for the sophomore out of Carver in New Orleans. The Aggies ended up winning 73-69 in what could serve as a very valuable win come March. Texas A&M went 2-1 in Kissimmee, with wins over Penn State and Iowa State and the aforementioned loss to FAU.
This week, they face a very tough test for the offense with a road matchup against Virginia as part of the SEC-ACC challenge. It’s the only game of the week for the Aggies, and they’ll likely need Coleman III and Radford to return if they want to come out with a victory, even though they did beat a very good Iowa State team without two of the three musketeers.
3) Tennessee Volunteers
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-2)
Record: 4-2
Last week: W vs. Syracuse (73-56), L vs. #2 Purdue (71-67), L vs. #1 Kansas (69-60)
Next week: at #17 North Carolina (Nov. 29 – 7:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Wisconsin, Syracuse
Bad losses: N/A
Tennessee came dangerously close to preserving their #1 rankings in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings, but ultimately fell a spot after two close losses to what AP voters considered the two best teams in the country, Purdue and Kansas. The Vols did beat Syracuse by 17, and the two losses won’t hurt them come March, but getting a statement win in Hawaii would have been nice. Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey continue to provide consistent offensive production, but they’re the only Vols averaging in double figures. While Tennessee dealt with injuries for parts of the competition in Hawaii, the offense outside of Knecht and Gainey does raise concerns. Santiago Vescovi is not producing at nearly the level he’s consistently performed at over the past few years, and Zakai Zeigler is clearly not yet 100%, as his turnover percentage has risen almost 10 percentage points while his assists percentage has dropped 10 percentage points. The Vols’ FG% is 2nd-worst in the conference so far, but it comes with the asterisk of having to play four Power 6 opponents.
The grind doesn’t stop this week, either, with Tennessee having to take the road to compete in Chapel Hill against the Tarheels. UNC just beat Arkansas and barely lost to Villanova. A road win this week for Tennessee would be the best win, resume-speaking, so far this season for the Vols. It’s important to monitor the health of Zeigler and the performance of Vescovi, however. For as tough as they played in Hawaii, Kansas, and Purdue exposed several flaws on this team. It’s November, though, so they’ve got time to fix them.
4) Kentucky Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 5-1
Last week: W vs. Saint Joseph’s (96-88), W vs. Marshall (118-82)
Next week: vs. #8 Miami-Fla (Nov. 28 – 7:30 p.m.) vs. UNC Wilmington (Dec. 2 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Kentucky has an elite offense, even with frontcourt injuries and freshmen occupying a large portion of the rotation. That much is evident after the Wildcats averaged 107 PPG over their two games last week against Saint Joseph’s and Marshall. Coach Cal’s group now has six players averaging double figures, and four of those are freshmen. They’re 2nd in the SEC in 3P% and t-1st in APG. Freshman Reed Sheppard continues to be an absolute dawg and leads all SEC basketball players in SPG by a good margin. They’re also disciplined, ranking last in the conference in fouls per game and turnovers per game. The questions start on defense and end on the glass. The Wildcats almost lost to Saint Joseph’s after allowing the Hawks to shoot 40.5% from deep and getting outrebounded by a margin of 42-37 by their Atlantic-10 opponent. The health of Bradshaw and Onyenso are paramount to the Wildcats’ long-term hopes this year.
In the SEC-ACC challenge, Kentucky will face Miami in what will be the 2nd-most difficult test for the Kentucky D in the non-con portion of the schedule. (Behind Kansas of course.) The Hurricanes figure to have the upper hand, especially with Norchad Omier in the frontcourt, but these ‘Cats are more than capable of winning. Later in the week, Kentucky takes on UNCW. They can’t afford to overlook the Seahawks, who will contend for the CAA title this year.
5) South Carolina Gamecocks
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-)
Record: 5-0
Last week: OFF
Next week: vs. Notre Dame (Nov. 28 – 7 p.m.), vs. George Washington (Dec. 1 – 7 p.m.)
Best wins: Virginia Tech, Grand Canyon
Worst losses: N/A
South Carolina didn’t play this week after returning home from the Arizona Tip-off. That means they don’t move in the rankings one way or another. That’s house rule #6 of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. The Gamecocks are one of less than 30 undefeated teams remaining, and they’ve done what they’ve needed to do when they’ve needed to do it. That includes two Power 6 wins over DePaul and Virginia Tech, and an additional solid win over Grand Canyon, who will likely be playing in March. Lamont Paris’s team is exponentially better than last year’s product through three weeks, and these ‘Cocks can shoot. Transfers B.J. Mack and Ta’Lon Cooper continue to shine early on.
This week, South Carolina has two games, both at home. The Gamecocks take on Notre Dame in the SEC-ACC challenge before playing George Washington a few days later. Crazily enough, the game against the Colonials might be more difficult than the Irish. After all, the Revolutionaries are ranked in the top 150 in the latest KenPom ratings, while Notre Dame is 172nd. Regardless of comparing opponents, the Gamecocks find themselves in a similar situation as the Bulldogs of Starkville: undefeated and unlikely to lose this week.
6) Florida Gators
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+2)
Record: 4-2
Last week: W vs. Pitt (86-71), L vs. #13 Baylor (95-91)
Next week: at Wake Forest (Nov. 29 – 7:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: Florida State, Pitt
Bad losses: N/A
Florida took an elite team (Baylor) down to the wire at a neutral site after handling Pitt with ease. Even though a 1-1 record for the week doesn’t sound like it would instill much confidence, these Gators looked good, especially with the ball in their hands. The defense, though, needs some work. Walter Clayton Jr. showed up against Pitt, scoring 28, while the Gators seemingly solved their turnover woes with 24 assists to just 8 turnovers. Against the Bears, however, the defense was swiss cheese against a very good offense. Baylor shot 56.0% from deep, which allowed them to drop 95 on Florida. While Tyrese Samuel, Zyon Pullin, and Riley Kugel all had great games, the loss feels simultaneously like a lost opportunity and a stepping stone. Florida is really good on the interior on both offense and defense, but they’ll need to extend that prowess to the perimeter soon.
This week, they’ve got just one game, a road matchup with Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are an opponent the Gators should be able to handle, but Florida best look out for Cameron Hildreth and Hunter Sallis, two very talented backcourt pieces. If Wake gets a case of hot shooting in a home environment, anything can happen. Todd Golden’s group will need to bring their B-game, at least. Solid performances will continue to move this team up the ladder in these rankings.
7) Auburn Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-)
Record: 4-1
Last week: W vs. Alabama A&M (84-54)
Next week: vs. Virginia Tech (Nov. 29 – 9:15 p.m.), at Appalachian State (Dec. 3 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: St. Bonaventure
Bad losses: N/A
Auburn did what they needed to do this week, beating Alabama A&M handily at home. They’ll jump ‘Bama in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings, but because Florida looked good against better competition, Auburn is staying in the 7 spot. The Tigers led by as much as 43 against the Bulldogs, and Chaney Johnson led the team with 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench. The cupcake was delivered without trouble, but the Tigers have some tougher competition on the horizon. The good news is that Auburn leads the SEC in APG with 20.0, even if they could probably stop fouling opponents at a similar rate.
This week, a home and road game awaits Auburn. First, a matchup with Virginia Tech, who beat Iowa State but fell flat against FAU this week. Then, Auburn makes a beautiful, scenic drive up to Boone, NC, where they’ll face a sneaky good App State squad. The Mountaineers are a top-100 KenPom team with a stout defense, and Bruce Pearl and Auburn need to be aware of that. For now, Auburn is where they probably deserve to be, right in the middle of the conference.
8) Alabama Crimson Tide
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)
Record: 5-1
Last week: L vs. Ohio State (92-81), W vs. Oregon (99-91)
Next week: vs. Clemson (Nov. 28 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Oregon
Bad losses: N/A
Alabama came into Destin undefeated with not much proven, but left with a neutral site loss to an Ohio State team that Texas A&M had already beaten and persistent questions about the Crimson Tide defense. Alabama, in two games against Power 6 opponents, averaged 89 PPG (pretty good!) but gave up 91.5 PPG (not the best!). Both opponents shot better than 50% from the field against the Tide, who had previously only played Morehead State, South Alabama, Indiana State, and Mercer. The Buckeyes shot 55.6% from deep, which made the game significantly harder to win for Alabama. The quick-paced offense is visually appealing, but if it leads to getting gashed on the defensive side of the ball by any above-average opponent, perhaps it’s not the best strategy with this roster. The good news, like always, is that Aaron Estrada and Mark Sears are elite, averaging 37 PPG combined.
A quietly tough game awaits Alabama this week, as they face off against Clemson at home. Brad Brownell’s team is undefeated and has already beaten 2 top-100 opponents (per KenPom) in UAB and Boise State. Even at home, this game seems like a tossup. A win would strengthen the resume, but a loss isn’t the end of the world. It would, however, continue to raise questions about the team’s defensive ability and scheme.
9) Georgia Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+1)
Record: 3-3
Last week: W vs. Winthrop (78-69)
Next week: at Florida State (Nov. 29 – 9:15 p.m.), vs. Mercer (Dec. 1 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Wake Forest
Bad losses: N/A
Georgia continues to get the job done against the teams they should beat, and not quite get it done in resume-building wins. The three losses against Miami, Providence, and Oregon are likely the “best” losses in the conference excluding Tennessee’s Hawaiian trip, and Georgia isn’t nearly in a bad place, program-wise. They beat Winthrop, one of the better Big South teams, this week, on the back of 24 points from Noah Thomasson. The transfer guard is averaging 14.3 PPG through six games, the highest on the Bulldog team. As an offense, however, they’ll need to shoot the ball better. They’re the only team shooting less than 40% from the field and less than 30% from the perimeter.
This week, Georgia won’t have to travel far, as they face Florida State in Tallahassee as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge. After that game, they get Mercer at home. The Bulldogs have a much better chance of going 2-0 this week than they do of going 0-2. Florida State is always going to be a physical team under Leonard Hamilton, and they’re much improved compared to last year, excluding the ugly loss to Florida. If Georgia can keep Cam Corhen and Baba Miller in check, they could keep moving up the rankings.
10) Arkansas Razorbacks
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-1)
Record: 4-3
Last week: W vs. Stanford (77-74), L vs. Memphis (84-79), L vs. #14 North Carolina (87-72)
Next week: vs. #7 Duke (Nov. 29 – 9:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: Stanford
Bad losses: N/A
Arkansas is one of the most talented teams in the conference on paper, but the game is played on the court. That court is where the Razorbacks are 4-3, one of just three SEC basketball teams with three losses on the year. They beat Stanford in OT in the Bahamas but lost to Memphis and UNC. They lost star guard Tramon Mark towards the end of the UNC game with a scary back injury, and we hope he’s able to join the team again soon. The Razorbacks have had issues forcing turnovers and to compound that, they’re committing the most fouls in the conference. This team has the talent, but they’re struggling to put it all together and are playing an undisciplined brand of basketball.
In the SEC-ACC Challenge, the Hogs host Duke, which suddenly looks like a clear favorite, given the Arkansas struggles. Again, the hope is that Tramon Mark is able to return soon, as he’s been an absolutely perfect fit for this team, but until he’s able to come back, this backcourt has to be figured out, not just from a player standpoint, but a management standpoint by Muss. The coach has to decide which guards give the Razorbacks the best chance to win games in the absence of Mark. Right now, that’s Khalif Battle and who knows who else. The rest of the backcourt just needs to stand up, whether that’s Davonte Davis figuring out how to play like he did last year, giving more minutes to freshman Layden Blocker, or going back to El Ellis. (Maybe.)
11) LSU Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)
Record: 4-2
Last week: W vs. North Florida (75-63)
Next week: at Syracuse (Nov. 28 – 7 p.m), vs. SE Louisiana (Dec. 1 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: North Texas, Wake Forest
Bad losses: Nicholls State
LSU doesn’t move this week, as a 12-point win (the Tigers led by 30 early in the second half) over North Florida doesn’t move the barometer above Arkansas or Georgia, while the loss to Nicholls State (who have since lost to Denver and SIUE) keeps them in the bottom four of the rankings. Will Baker has been a stud, and kudos are deserved to Matt McMahon for grabbing him out of the portal. The Tigers are shooting well inside and along the perimeter, while they also lead SEC basketball in SPG on defense. They could use some improvements along the glass, but this team looks a lot better than they did a few weeks ago.
The Tigers travel to New York to take on Syracuse before coming home to a matchup with Southeastern Louisiana. Stopping Judah Mintz is priority number one for any defense facing Syracuse, but the Tigers need to look out for JJ Starling as well. It should be a good matchup, and the location of the game means it’s pretty much a tossup. While the next game shouldn’t be a tossup for the Tigers, it’s worth noting LSU is 0-1 against Southland teams this year, and Southeastern Louisiana is better than Nicholls State. So Tigers, make sure to show up to this game, or it won’t be fun.
12) Ole Miss Rebels
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-)
Record: 5-0
Last week: W at Temple (77-76)
Next week: vs. NC State (Nov. 28 – 9 p.m.), vs. Memphis (Dec. 2 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Fortunately for fans of the Rebels, Mississippi continues to pull out victories from seemingly nowhere against inferior opponents. Ultimately, this week, Temple was the unfortunate victim of the fortunes of Ole Miss, as the Rebels escaped with a 1-point win against an opponent that shouldn’t be playing close against an experienced SEC squad. Certainly, lucky, (2nd-highest in the SEC in that aspect, according to KenPom) Ole Miss is 0-5 ATS so far, and they’ve beaten five non-power opponents by an average of just 5.2 PPG.
King of the court so far for the Rebels has been Allen Flanigan, as without him this team would be 14th, right behind Vanderbilt. Before the SEC-ACC challenge, the Auburn transfer is averaging 20.2 PPG over five games and scored 26 against Temple. Even with this type of SEC-caliber player, the Rebels will need more than just Flanigan this year, however. At this point in the season, only four players are averaging more than 5 PPG, which sounds impossible but is completely true. Remember, they also have the easiest strength of schedule in the SEC and one of the easiest in the entire country so far. Dare I say, the Rebels could go from undefeated to the SEC Basketball Power Rankings cellar in one week?
In all likelihood, the Rebels’ unblemished record will get blemished this week. It’s also possible, or even likely, that it gets twice-blemished. Ole Miss has to play NC State in the SEC-ACC challenge, then gets a home matchup with a physical Memphis squad. NC State is a high-quality offensive opponent, and the Wolfpack defense isn’t bad either, even if it just gave up 78 points to Vandy. Memphis is always a physical team, at least, under Penny Hardaway, and this year is no different. They’ve already beaten Missouri and Arkansas, which means they can likely beat Ole Miss. Overall, both teams are 70+ spots higher in the KenPom ratings than Mississippi, and the Rebels have a high chance of going 0-2 at home this week.
13) Missouri Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 5-2
Last week: W vs. SC State (82-59), W vs. Loyola (MD) (78-70)
Next week: at Pitt (Nov. 28 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Wichita State (Dec. 3 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Jackson State
Missouri, for roughly 33 of 80 minutes last week, looked great. Those other 47 minutes were a bit rough watching, however. The Tigers trailed at half, 35-37, to SC State, but ended up winning by 23. Against the Greyhounds of Loyola (MD), the Tigers started on a 31-9 run but only ended up winning by 8. The team needs to be more consistent, especially on offense. They’ve shown flashes of being excellent on that end of the floor, but the shots and points tend to disappear at times. When the team is forcing steals and scoring in transition, the buckets come. When they aren’t forcing turnovers, however, scoring droughts occasionally ensue. Sean East II, Nick Honor, and Noah Carter continue to play well, as does freshman Anthony Robinson II.
A tough ACC matchup awaits with a trip to Pittsburgh followed by a home matchup against the Shockers of Wichita. With all due respect to SC State and Loyola (MD), this is a much different week than last week, and the Tigers can either prove the doubters wrong or remain in the SEC cellar. Missouri, despite some scares and a bad loss, is still 5-2 on the season and could improve to 7-2 with a couple of strong performances this week.
14) Vanderbilt Commodores
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)
Record: 3-3
Last week: L vs. NC State (84-78), L vs. Arizona State (82-67)
Next week: vs. Boston College (Nov. 29 – 9:15 p.m.), vs. Alabama A&M (Dec. 2 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: UNC Greensboro
Bad losses: Presbyterian
Vanderbilt remains in the cellar, where perhaps they may remain for the foreseeable future. The ‘Dores, unfortunately, have had trouble getting all players healthy at the same time. Tyrin Lawrence, Ven-Allen Lubin, Ezra Manjon, Colin Smith, Carter Lang, and Malik Presley have all missed a game so far, and it’s still November. Although Jerry Stackhouse’s group fought valiantly against NC State and Arizona State, they couldn’t get the job done, losing both games in Nevada this week against two Power 6 opponents. Getting the core of Lubin, Manjon, Smith, Lawrence, and Evan Taylor all healthy at the same time will be a more telling vision of how the season will go for Vanderbilt.
This week may be Vandy’s best chance to get above .500 for a while. They’ll face a similar opponent in Boston College before another home matchup with Alabama A&M. This schedule is about the best Vanderbilt could have hoped for after a tough weekend in Vegas. Been there, done that. (I haven’t.) A 2-0 week could build some positive vibes going into the next week and maybe bring the ‘Dores out of the cellar.