George Bagwell gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 7 of the 2023 season.
Matchup of the week: Alabama vs. Arizona (Phoenix)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Illinois vs. Missouri (St. Louis)
All games listed are EST.
I don’t want to jump the gun, but the SEC seems to be arranging itself into tiers, and it’s getting slightly easier to rank each team, especially compared to the past few weeks. Maybe that’s simply a result of the season finishing up the non-conference portion of the schedule, but it could also very well be a mirage, with the whole “getting easier to rank” point becoming obsolete yet again this week.
The SEC might not be the best basketball conference, as that regard is likely the Big 12, but it’s one of the most fun. The SEC is always going to put together an entertaining result, even if it isn’t what some fanbases are hoping for. There will always be drama and surprises in SEC basketball, which is part of the reason I’m here: to sort that out. There is no better specialty to write about than the ranking of SEC basketball teams, and I love my devoted weekly readers.
1) Ole Miss Rebels
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 10-0
Last week: W vs. Cal (88-78)
Next week: vs. Troy (Dec. 19 – 7 p.m.), vs. Southern Miss (Dec. 23 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: NC State, Memphis, at UCF
Bad losses: N/A
Ole Miss stays atop the SEC Power Rankings as the only clubhouse leader to not lose the following week this season. Was the SEC Power Rankings Curse even real? Was it all imagination? Was it a product of poor writing on my part? Or just a product of SEC chaos. Like most questions on the SAT, let’s mark it up to all of the above and move on the next question. That question: is Ole Miss for real?
Yes and no. Cop-out? Yes. On one hand, they just beat Cal (not the real accomplishment here) to move to an undefeated 10-0 (the real accomplishment), 1 of just 4 teams in the country that can say that truthfully. 12 of 14 SEC teams have multiple losses. Ole Miss doesn’t have any. The Rebels have a formidable interior defense (6.6 BPG) to pair with a disciplined offense (just 10.6 TOPG and 14.5 fouls per game) that might be getting two-time transfer Brandon Murray back? They’ve beaten NC State and Memphis.
On the other hand, the metrics simply aren’t sold. KenPom has the Rebels at 90, their net rating is 8th of 14 teams in the SEC, behind South Carolina and Florida. They’re 235th in D-1 in rebounds per game, giving up a 35.0 ORB% to opponents (9th percentile nationally), and are one of just 3 SEC teams shooting worse than 50.0% from two-point range. The Rebels average under 15 bench points per game, and have one of the largest discrepancies between two-pointers attempted and three-pointers attempted despite having one of the lowest differences between 2PT% and 3PT%, all while having a sub-250 strength of schedule according to KenPom.
What does this all mean? Is Ole Miss fraudulent and bound to miss the tournament with a sub-.500 conference record? Or does the (possible) addition of Brandon Murray make them top-15 material? Likely neither, or somewhere in between. It’s a very similar path to Mississippi State last year, who started 11-0 until a loss to Drake, then ended up 21-13 on the year. Until this team loses, though, they’re at #1. That’s the rule, and with Troy and Southern Miss on the schedule next, it’s quite unlikely that they’ll relinquish their title at the top, unless the curse reappears.
2) Kentucky Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)
Record: 8-2
Last week: W vs. North Carolina (87-83)
Next week: at Louisville (Dec. 21 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Miami (FL), North Carolina
Bad losses: UNCW
Kentucky has entered the top two in the SEC Power Rankings, due to a solid neutral-site victory over UNC. It seems like every time those two teams meet, it’s an instant classic. Big credit to Coach Cal, who seemingly constructed this roster out of thin air amongst job security rumblings (that really never should have been uttered), but credit to these players as well. Amongst players with at least 30 3PA, Reed Sheppard leads the SEC with a 57.1 3PT%. Amongst players with at least 200 minutes played, Sheppard is tops in the SEC in Hakeem percentage with 10.0%. Kentucky has 4 players (Sheppard, D.J. Wagner, Rob Dillingham, Tre Mitchell) with at least 230 minutes played and an assist/turnover ratio of 2.4/1 or higher. Against North Carolina, Kentucky had 7 different players score 8+ points, while the bench ended up with 8 blocks to their credit. On the national scene, Kentucky delivered, and if it weren’t for the loss to UNCW, (remember that we’re dealing with a team that doesn’t have a ton of experience) the Wildcats would be #1 in these rankings and top 5 nationally.
Not only do they have the highest FG% in the conference, but they also have the highest 3PT%, highest APG mark, and the lowest turnover rate despite playing at the fastest pace in the SEC. Kentucky should currently be the favorite to win the SEC, which would have seemed unwise to say in the offseason but now seems like a solid take. This week, the Wildcats face their toughest competition so far this year as they travel to Louisville. The only remedy for Kentucky may be to go to a zone defense in an effort to trick Kenny Payne, or bring the wrong type of tights, or watch film from Louisville’s exhibition loss (insert the two nickels meme here), or take notes from DePaul, or…you get the point. Kentucky may very well beat their rivals by 60 in what is likely to be Kenny Payne’s last game as head coach. And if Kentucky loses, I’m dropping them to 15th in these 14-team rankings. I don’t make the rules. (I make the rules.)
3) Tennessee Volunteers
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-1)
Record: 8-3
Last week: W vs. Georgia Southern (74-56), W vs. NC State (79-70)
Next week: vs. Tarleton State (Dec. 21 – 6:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Wisconsin, Illinois, NC State
Bad losses: N/A
Tennessee drops a spot in the SEC Power Rankings, not because of their own performance, but because of Kentucky’s neutral-site victory over North Carolina. Tennessee did look quite impressive with wins over GSU and NC State, just not as impressive as Kentucky looked. Jonas Aidoo scored 29 on the Eagles, which made up for the rest of the team shooting 38% from the field, while the story of the NC State game was a big one: Zakai Zeigler is officially back. The diminutive guard scored 20 points and recorded 8 assists and 4 steals. That’s huge for this team and their championship hopes. Zeigler did not look like himself earlier in the season, and it affected the Tennessee offense in a major way. If he can continue to put up these types of performances against Power 6 teams, the sky’s th\ limit for the Vols.
This week, Rick Barnes’s squad takes on Tarleton State. That’s not a game that’s going to move the meter much in these rankings, or any rankings for that matter, but it’ll be important for this team’s mid-season development regardless. Look for Zeigler to continue to regain his confidence on the hardwood. Additional shoutout to Josiah-Jordan James, who led Tennessee with 23 points against the Wolfpack.
4) Auburn Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 8-2
Last week: W vs. UNC-Asheville (87-62), W vs. Southern Cal (91-75)
Next week: vs. Alabama State (Dec. 22 – 8 p.m)
Quality wins: St. Bonaventure, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Southern Cal
Bad losses: N/A
After a horrific shooting performance against App State a couple weeks ago, Auburn has put together three very good games against Indiana, UNC-Asheville, and Southern Cal, all of whom made the tournament last year. 10 Tigers scored 6+ points against the Bulldogs, while Auburn managed 50 points in the paint and enjoyed a 23-8 margin in fast break points. Against Southern Cal, (who defeated Auburn last year) the Tigers won handily despite losing the rebounding battle, partially due to strong games from Aden Holloway and Jaylin Williams while the team posted 18 assists to just 8 turnovers. Auburn fans showed up often and early, as they typically do, and the basketball team did too, as they (typically) do, at least over the past few weeks.
Auburn is very confusing in some aspects. Sometimes they look like the best team in the nation, like against Indiana and mostly against Southern Cal. Then, sometimes, they look just like Auburn’s team last year, like against App State. No good team’s floor should be shooting 3-for-27 from deep, the same way no bad team’s ceiling should be scoring 100+ points against Power 6 opponents. Can Auburn put together a stretch of basketball over six games similar to what they’ve been doing for the last three? It’s possible, but it’s also possible that they go ice-cold from distance in the first round. Time will tell, and there’s plenty of time to go in the season of course, which means more to cover up weaknesses or more time to expose them. This week, Auburn faces Alabama State at home, so we’re not likely to learn anything new about the Tigers.
5) Texas A&M Aggies
Last week’s ranking: 6 (+1)
Record: 7-4
Last week: L vs. Houston (66-70)
Next week: vs. Houston Christian (Dec. 22 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Ohio State, at SMU, Iowa State
Bad losses: N/A
One of the few times a team will move up without a win in the last week is if a team does what Texas A&M just did. That is, lose to a top-5 opponent “on the road” (the game was played at a Houston-area neutral site) by just 4 points after a gutsy second-half comeback attempt fell just short. Down at one point by 21, the Aggies came all the way back to erase their second 21-point deficit of the season in just December. This time, unlike against Iowa State, Buzz Williams’s group couldn’t finish what they started. Led by Wade Taylor IV, however, the comeback itself was still just so highly impressive. Going down by 20+ to a Kelvin Sampson Houston team? That’s a death sentence (almost) every time. Kudos to Texas A&M for never giving up, and they rise in the rankings because of it.
This week, they hopefully won’t be trailing by 20 at any point. They play Houston again. That is, Houston Christian Huskies, a team that’s ranked 353rd in the latest KenPom ratings. The main purpose of that game should be hopefully getting every player in the Aggie lineup back to full strength, as the absence of Tyrece Radford has really impacted them over the past few games. Once this team’s starting five returns, (I’m not quite sure about the status of Julius Marble) the Aggies will be much more dangerous at their best.
6) South Carolina Gamecocks
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-1)
Record: 9-1
Last week: W vs. Charleston Southern (73-69)
Next week: vs. Winthrop (Dec. 19 – 7 p.m.), vs. Elon (Dec. 22 – 6 p.m.)
Best wins: Virginia Tech, Grand Canyon
Worst losses: N/A
It wasn’t the prettiest of weeks for South Carolina basketball, but 1-0 is 1-0, right? In what should have been a game of little competition, South Carolina struggled for almost 40 minutes against Charleston Southern, who is working with an interim head coach. The Gamecocks never led by double-digits, shot 24% from deep, and drew just 7 fouls and 6 turnovers. South Carolina has now outscored two directional Carolina mid-major schools by just 10 combined points in their last two games. While it’s not yet time to panic, (the ‘Cocks are 9-1 after all) it’s certainly an opportune time to improve. Shoutout to Lamont Paris for what he’s done with this roster, however. He’s already 75% of the way towards last season’s win total and it’s December 19. His Gamecocks (Meechie Johnson especially) have shown bright for most of this season so far.
It’s time for more Carolina mid-major action, as the Gamecocks face off against Winthrop at home before taking on Elon. That’s not really a two-team combo that’s going to move an SEC team up the SEC Power Rankings, but two wins would mean an 11-1 start for the ‘Cocks, which is impressive in every aspect. There are teams that are stagnant in this conference, along with teams that are trending down. South Carolina, on the other hand, is absolutely trending up.
7) Mississippi State Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+1)
Record: 9-2
Last week: W vs. Murray State (85-81), W vs. North Texas (72-54)
Next week: vs. Rutgers (Dec. 23 – Noon, Newark)
Quality wins: Arizona State, Northwestern, Washington State, Tulane, North Texas
Bad losses: Southern
This team is still Jekyll and Hyde, by the way. After struggling at home to Murray State in a game that easily could’ve gone the other way, what do the Bulldogs do? Oh, nothing, just beat North Texas by 18. It’s those kind of strong performances after some not-so-great games that makes this team confusing. On Tuesday, they’re average, and on Wednesday, they’re the best, it seems like. It doesn’t always fall on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, but y’all get the point. This team has a very high ceiling, (especially once Tolu Smith returns) and a very low floor. It’s no use predicting how each game is going to go for the Bulldogs, who, again, really just are a confusing team all around. They’re not the best from the perimeter (31.0 3PT%) but excellent on the glass (40.4 RPG) and have an overall stout defense with a top-10 rating in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. It’s clear that this team is better than last year’s team, but they still haven’t put it all together yet (besides the blowout of Tulane).
In what might be the least enticing neutral site battle of the month, the Bulldogs take on Rutgers this week in Newark at noon. Everything about that matchup, from the two defensive-minded schemes, to the early tip-off, to the Newark location, seems off. It has the pre-game vibes of a 55-45 thriller. But whatever the final result may be, a win for Mississippi State would mean the 4th Power 6 victory of the season for the Bulldogs, and that’s a solid sign for this team moving into the SEC portion of the schedule.
8) Georgia Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-1)
Record: 7-3
Last week: W vs. High Point (66-58)
Next week: vs. Mt. Saint Mary’s (Dec. 20 – 7 p.m.), vs. North Florida (Dec. 22 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: Wake Forest, at Florida State, Georgia Tech
Bad losses: N/A
Georgia. I think I said previously that they could stay steady in the SEC Power Rankings as long as they contributed to win. That lasted all of one week. I lied. Georgia defeated High Point, but didn’t look all-too-great doing it at around the same time Mississippi State was playing North Texas and winning by 18. A win is a win, which is why they only drop a single spot, but it would have been nice to see a little more consistency, and one would expect to beat a Big South opponent by double digits. Silas Demary Jr. played well, as did RJ Melendez off the bench, but High Point recorded 51 rebounds, winning the rebound margin 51-40 against Georgia. That’s just not the best sign for this team as it looks to reach an improved form as it rounds out non-con games. If High Point can out-rebound this team, what would happen against Florida or Texas A&M?
This week, Georgia has two should-be easy games against Mount Saint Mary’s and North Florida. Both teams are below 200 in the latest KenPom ratings, and these are both games that Georgia should win. Win these two and the last non-con game against Alabama A&M before New Year’s, and Georgia will enter SEC games with 10 wins, which is higher than a lot of the media were predicting for the Bulldogs. All in all, it’s fair to say Georgia has been a pleasant surprise.
9) Alabama Crimson Tide
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)
Record: 6-4
Last week: L at Creighton (82-85)
Next week: vs. #4 Arizona (Dec. 20 – 11 p.m., Phoenix)
Quality wins: Oregon, Indiana State
Bad losses: N/A
Yes, Mark Sears was oh-so-close to tying it up and sending it to overtime before the ball rimmed out. But as it stands, Alabama has still given up 85+ points to every Power 6 opponent they’ve faced. They’re 1-4 in those games, with the defense becoming a serious question. The Tide are committing almost 20 fouls per game, allowing opponents to shoot 45.1% from the field, and are 1 of 3 SEC teams allowing their opponents to shoot >50% from inside the arc. They’ve got a championship-level offense with a not-even NIT-level defense. There’s no way to put into words properly how disappointing this defense has been, and it’s crazy to think that this game against Creighton was actually the defense’s best performance against a Power 6 opponent so far this season. Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada have been absolutely fantastic on offense, and deserve shoutouts. It’s just that this defense is atrocious, and it very well could have something to do with Nate Oats’s extreme-tempo scheme. What’s the harm in just slowing the offense down and seeing if the team can get the same offensive efficiency while showing competency on defense?
With the Tide playing Arizona in Phoenix this week, it could be a good opportunity to switch things up, tempo-wise. After all, it’s not like Alabama is likely to beat Arizona playing in the same scheme as they have all year. Arizona, if Alabama doesn’t make adjustments, should win by 12+ points. They’ve got over a handful of scoring threats at any time, and Alabama doesn’t have a handful of reliable defensive stoppers. Kudos to Nate Oats for scheduling a relatively-difficult non-con schedule, but Alabama being 6-5 (in any sport) is cause for concern. Alabama’s best win, still, is against Indiana State.
10) Florida Gators
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+2)
Record: 7-3
Last week: W vs. East Carolina (70-65)
Next week: vs. Michigan (Dec. 19 – 7 p.m., Charlotte), vs. Grambling (Dec. 22 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Pitt
Bad losses: N/A
Florida didn’t move up two spots to number 10 because it beat East Carolina in Lakeland, they moved up because Arkansas beat Lipscomb by 3 at home, Missouri lost to Seton Hall in St. Louis, and Florida didn’t lose to East Carolina in Lakeland. Florida is the 2nd straight SEC school to struggle with the Pirates, following South Carolina’s tight win a few weeks ago. Maybe the AAC is just SEC’s kryptonite. But Florida did come away with some real concerns after that game. The Gators shot 25% from deep and just 53.6% from the line, and it wasn’t just an issue of small sample size, either, on 28 attempts. As has become commonplace, Florida did control the boards, winning the rebounding battle 52-32. Yes, that’s absolutely a good thing. There’s no denying that. It’s just a bit worrisome that an SEC team can win the rebounding margin by 20+ and still beat an average AAC squad by just 5.
This week, Florida takes on Michigan in Charlotte, at a venue (Spectrum Center) that they’ve already played at once before this year in their loss to Virginia. That should be either a valuable stepstone working towards the SEC schedule, or a potential landmine to recover from before the schedule turns to 3 ranked opponents in January. The choice is Florida’s. Given the talent on this Gator squad, and the absolute mess up at Michigan regarding the coaching staff, it’s likely that Florida enters next week with a 9-3 record after not just picking up a win in Charlotte, but also a win against Grambling at home.
11) Arkansas Razorbacks
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-1)
Record: 7-4
Last week: W vs. Lipscomb (69-66)
Next week: vs. Abilene Christian (Dec. 21 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Stanford, Duke
Bad losses: N/A
What has gone wrong at Arkansas this year? Seriously, why is a roster of this talent 7-4 at this point in the year with a close win over A-Sun foe Lipscomb, a loss against UNCG, and close wins over Old Dominion and Stanford? I get the whole “Muss Bus turns on in March” trend, which, undoubtedly, will happen, but you’d like to see just a bit more resume-building from this team. A March bid isn’t just guaranteed, and eventually this team will have to step up. They’ve got loads of talent in the backcourt, and it’s worth tinkering with the lineup to try and find the best possible rotation. Keyon Menifield is back, which really helps that situation. But Tramon Mark, Layden Blocker, and Khalif Battle have been the most effective guards in the backcourt as of right now, and they’re deserving of the most minutes.
Arkansas really doesn’t have the opportunity to move up in these rankings this week, which is what happens after beating Lipscomb at home by 3 then facing Abilene Christian at home the next week. Hopefully, getting Keyon Menifield back up to speed in the offense will help this team’s current situation, and with UNCW and Auburn coming up after Abilene Christian, Arkansas is going to have to right the ship quickly. A performance like last week’s Lipscomb game against those two teams would not bode well for this team’s fortune.
12) Missouri Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)
Record: 7-4
Last week: L vs. Seton Hall (87-93)
Next week: vs. #13 Illinois (Dec. 22 – 9 p.m., St. Louis)
Quality wins: at Pitt
Bad losses: Jackson State
I want to start off by saying I will always trust Dennis Gates, and that anything that follows that reflects poorly on the Missouri basketball program is simply reactionary. But this game last week, the “neutral-site” game against Seton Hall in St. Louis, was a game that the Tigers should have won easily. The Pirates came into the game as the worst shooting team in the Big East, but it seemed like they couldn’t miss against Missouri. Mizzou scored 87, yes, but they didn’t find an offensive rhythm until the 34th minute. They actually scored 29 points in the last 5:28 of game time, which is really impressive if it weren’t for the fact that they didn’t win the game. Every Seton Hall starter ended up in double figures, while just 3 Tigers did. Tamar Bates looked really impressive, going 4-4 from deep, but it just wasn’t enough. The loss of Caleb Grill has really hurt this offense.
The road doesn’t get easier this week. In fact, it gets harder, even though it stays in St. Louis. Illinois comes to the Gateway City to take on Mizzou, and with the streakiness of Missouri’s game this year, it almost seems like the Tigers are in a good position for a win. Of course, we said that last week, but still. That possible win would be big for this team and likely move them up in the rankings. They have the road win against Pitt, but this team is still searching for that second big win of the season. If Sean East II and Tamar Bates combine for 38 like they did last week, it’s certainly possible that Dennis Gates’s group pulls off the upset.
13) LSU Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 6-5
Last week: W vs. Alabama State (74-56), L vs. #19 Texas (85-96)
Next week: vs. Lamar (Dec. 21 – 9 p.m)
Quality wins: North Texas, Wake Forest
Bad losses: Nicholls State
This week, LSU faces a Southland foe. Does that sentence remind anyone of anything else that’s happened this year? Maybe a certain game against a certain team that ended a certain way? (Insert the two nickels (two Nicholls?) meme here.) LSU has, in some regards, come a long way since they lost to Nicholls, but they clearly aren’t perfect, even with the possibility of Jalen Cook (re)joining the fold long-term. Take last week for example. They pulled away late to beat Alabama State after trailing at points. Sure, there were areas to nitpick but an 18-point win is an 18-point win. Then comes Texas, a loss that wasn’t really as close as the final score suggested. Jordan Wright deserves a shoutout for dropping 31 points in the second half, though. What a performance from him. A win though, a ranked win would have been an absolute momentum boost for this team. Now, they’re still 6-5 and looking for a third quality win this year. Every other team in the conference besides Vanderbilt has multiple Power 6 victories. LSU has just the one against Wake.
This week, the Tigers only play Lamar, so it’s unlikely that they’ll find a way up the rankings unless Missouri gets blown out by Illinois in St. Louis. Looking further ahead, LSU could be impacted heavily by Jalen Cook’s return. While there is admittedly a long way to go, having a stabilizing force at the point guard position is bound to help any team move forward. It’s only December, so it’s not like LSU’s season is finished or anything like that. There’s plenty of time left to turn things around in the Bayou.
14) Vanderbilt Commodores
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)
Record: 4-6
Last week: L vs. Texas Tech (54-76)
Next week: vs. Texas Tech (Dec. 16 – 7:30 p.m., Fort Worth)
Quality wins: UNCG
Bad losses: Presbyterian
It’s lonely at the bottom. It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for Vanderbilt, if there is truly even an end to the tunnel and it’s not just a never-ending post-insanity crawl towards anything resembling even a fragment of the possibility of a deviation from the past six years. I don’t have anything positive to say. Every week, I search for miles and miles for a sliver of positivity from any angle for every team in this storied conference. I don’t have any tonight.
Vanderbilt hasn’t beaten a Power 6 opponent since March 18 against Michigan in the NIT. It’s December 19. They will enter 2024 without a Power 6 win unless they beat Memphis on the road this week. Vanderbilt has had 16 players record minutes this year over 10 games. Only 4 of those players have participated in all 10 games. One player (Lee Dort) has been arrested this year. The ‘Dores are sandwiched at 229th in the KenPom rankings between North Dakota State and Old Dominion, while sitting behind DePaul (bad) and Pepperdine (was blown out by Kenny Payne.) Vanderbilt had an individual average 3.2 BPG last year, and are now averaging just 2.1 BPG as a team this season. Vanderbilt opponents (with the easiest strength of schedule in the entire conference) are shooting 40.8% from deep, somehow higher than Vanderbilt’s total FG% of 40.2%. The Commodores’ block percentage of 5.5% is 300% lower than Arkansas’s SEC-leading 17.5% rate. Jerry Stackhouse is being rumored as a potential NBA head coach while in the middle of the college basketball season. This is after the last coach they had is in the midst of a 15-2 run with one of the best mid-major teams in the country right now. There is no likely path for Vanderbilt to return to .500 this season, and they might be the first team to remain in the cellar for the entirety of a 5-month season in the history of the SEC Power Rankings.
On the bright side, Texas Tech committed 12 turnovers, while Vanderbilt had just 9. That’s about all I’ve got. Ezra Manjon is averaging 14.9 PPG, which is nice. That hasn’t been leading to team success, however. This week, Vanderbilt has two games. One, a home game against Western Carolina, and the other is the aforementioned road game against Memphis. Is it cynical to suggest an 0-2 week, or am I simply being a realist? The saddest part is that the answer to that question doesn’t even matter. There’s no cynicism in this current state of the program, just like there’s no realism, either. There’s just nothing. It’s like that episode of Spongebob when Squidward is transported to a dimension with nothing but empty space and no concept of permanence, density, or otherness. It’s just Squidward, his clarinet, and his own lack of sanity. I don’t really have the words to describe the state of Vanderbilt basketball. What am I supposed to say? “We’ll get ‘em next time out?” “These new football stadium improvements will help balance out the NIL imbalance between Vanderbilt and every other Power 6 team”? “Vanderbilt has a tangible, possible path to contention in the near future of the SEC”? “If Vanderbilt manages to succeed, they’ll obviously have zero issues retaining the coach responsible for it”? Is this the beginning of the end for Vanderbilt athletic contention? Seriously, y’all. It’s sad.
Think about it. If any of the other 13 (15?) SEC schools decide to fire a basketball coach and start new, it’s met with “the next guy will get the job done.” If Vanderbilt fired their coaches, they’re just starting over with an even more difficult task than the previous coach had when he was appointed. It’s like Vanderbilt had trouble running a 5K, so they hired a new guy to run that race, but then he had to run a 10K. Then it turned out that guy couldn’t run a 10K. So Vandy fires that guy and brings in a new runner. This guy now has to run a half-marathon. He can’t get it done, unfortunately. So now this new guy, who we don’t even know the identity of, has to finish a full marathon. All while the rest of the SEC is still running the 100M. That’s simplifying the situation, but the reality is that Vanderbilt is the Sisyphus of college basketball. There is no permanent positive change, just perpetual ebbs of success before the impending landslide that never fails to reappear. There’s no one to be mad at, no one to be blaming directly. It’s just sad. It’s depressing. It’s no one’s fault, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. All I know is that it’s the thing. It feels odd to have a nuanced discussion of the future of Vanderbilt athletics in the SEC Power Rankings article, but it’s certainly worth discussing the rapid intersection of player rights, unregulated booster cash flows, and professionalism in a sport that started as simply an activity to supplement a valuable college education. To leave on a good note, while the landscape of college athletics is rapidly changing, the value of a Vanderbilt degree doesn’t change. No matter what happens, Vandy alumni will always be able to say they went to the best academic college in the SEC. That’s coming from a student at a rival SEC institution.