2023-24 SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 11

George Bagwell gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 11 of the 2023 season.

Matchup of the week: #6 Tennessee vs. Alabama  (Jan. 20 – Noon)

Sneaky good matchup of the week: South Carolina vs. Georgia (Jan. 16 – 9 p.m.) 

All games listed are EST.

I think it’s abundantly clear that anyone can beat anyone in the SEC. That’s not just a subtle way of letting y’all know I’m unable to predict these games consistently, it’s really a support of parity within the conference. Every team has played three conference games so far, and 9 of 14 teams in the conference are either 2-1 or 0-2. This past week, the home team had an 11-3 record. This conference is deep, and I’m not joking when I say that 11 of 14 teams have a non-zero chance of winning the league when playing at their best. It’s not just “Kentucky and everyone else” at this point, like it was some years back. It’s “everyone else minus Vanderbilt and Arkansas.” Sorry Vanderbilt, didn’t intend to have to lump you in with the Hogs. I’ll make up for it later. 

Wanting to build off of a point I made last week at some point in the article, all of this is subjective. Don’t get me wrong, I love advanced statistics. Analytics and formulas, all that. But I have other outlets for that. Sure, I’ll occasionally throw in a commentary about a program’s long-term future or when off-the-court issues shadow a team’s on-court performance (i.e. Alabama last season), but most of this banter (either positive or negative) is always going to be tongue-in-cheek. 

I’d get comments last year on the website Instagram posts for the SEC Power Rankings talking about “this list is trash”, or “never make a list again”, and this might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually love that. For one, it means engagement. Any engagement is good engagement. But second, I just find it fun. You’re beefing with a college student who compiles his SEC Basketball Power Rankings while watching Shameless on Netflix at 2 a.m. and basing it all off of “vibes”. I will rant about Arkansas’s struggles or LSU’s (possible) resurgence while my ramen cools down with Carl Gallagher on the television screen, and if someone disagrees with my particular takes, so be it. That’s the fun part of these rankings. Nothing really matters, and that’s all that matters. 

1) Auburn Tigers

Last week’s ranking: 3 (+2)

Record: 14-2 (3-0)

Last week: W vs. Texas A&M (66-55), W vs. LSU (93-78)

Next week: at Vanderbilt (Jan. 17 – 9 p.m.), vs. Ole Miss (Jan. 20 – 8:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Texas A&M, Indiana, Virginia Tech, St. Bonaventure

Bad losses: N/A

Auburn, welcome to the top. I thought I was going to have to think for hours about which team to put first this week, but Tennessee and Kentucky made it easy for me by failing to sweep their respective weeks in the SEC slate. The Tigers have won, what, nine games in a row? The next closest streak is their in-state rivals, as the Crimson Tide have five in a row, but it’s hard to argue against Auburn being the top team here. That’s because not only have the Tigers won all of their SEC basketball games so far, but they’ve done so by an average margin of 19.3 points. 

It’s a true team effort. Seven players are averaging 7+ PPG, with Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams, and Aden Holloway all in double-figures and Chad Baker-Mazara right behind with 9.8 PPG. Last week, Auburn did their best for (almost) the entire 80 minutes, save for a near-collapse in allowing LSU to cut the lead to single digits after trailing by 28. The home win over a good Texas A&M squad was impressive, as was the LSU win, who have looked much improved after Jalen Cook’s debut. 

What separates Auburn from every team ranked 2-8 on this list? Trick question. The 7 teams immediately below Auburn all have a Q1 win. Auburn does not. The Tigers are 14-0 in Q2-4 games, but are 0-2 in their two Q1 games, losses to Baylor and Appalachian State. Even Mizzou, LSU, and Arkansas all have at least one Q1 win. Is this bad? It’s not good, but it’s also a glimpse into the frustrations of using NET rankings. I’m sure any reasonable ball-knower would consider Texas A&M a Q1 win, even at home. 

But maybe this also tells us that Auburn’s schedule hasn’t been all that great? 11 other SEC teams have 3+ Q1 games, with 9 of those teams having at least 4. Texas A&M actually has eight such games. Where would Auburn be with Texas A&M’s schedule? Well, that’s a question that we actually don’t have to answer, because I don’t feel like guessing right now. Looking ahead, Auburn plays Road Vandy™️ followed by a home game against Ole Miss. Not exactly a murderer’s row. Based on Monday’s NET rankings, that’s a Q4 game (Vanderbilt) and a Q2 game (Ole Miss). How long until Auburn gets an opportunity to play a Q1 game? Next Wednesday, against their rivals in Tuscaloosa. Be there or be square. 

2) Tennessee Volunteers

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-1)

Record: 12-4 (2-1)

Last week: L at Mississippi State (77-72), W at Georgia (85-79)

Next week: vs. Florida (Jan. 16 – 7 p.m.), vs. Alabama (Jan. 20 – Noon)

Quality wins: at Wisconsin, Illinois, Ole Miss, at Georgia, NC State

Bad losses: N/A

Rocky fall from the top for Tennessee this week. In reality, it wasn’t all too bad. A loss to Mississippi State on the road? Excusable. We’ve all been there. I haven’t yet, but I will eventually. When Starkville calls, I will answer. But Tennessee had no answer for Josh Hubbard. The freshman guard led the ‘Dawgs with 25 points, and despite a combined 54 from Zakai Zeigler and Dalton Knecht, Tennessee couldn’t get the job done. No other Vol recorded double-figures, and even though Knecht and Zeigler almost single-handedly (double-handedly?) tied it up at 63-63 after trailing by 15 early, Tennessee took the loss. Across the board, the teams performed quite evenly, but Mississippi State shot just a bit more efficiently, and that made all the difference.

Near-disaster almost struck again in Athens, with Mike White pulling rabbit after rabbit out of the hat, going on an extended 47-22 run to lead 75-64 with just over 6:00 remaining. That’s when Tennessee remembered they were a top team in the conference and finished the game on a 21-4 run. An 0-2 week would’ve caused a mini-tumble in the rankings, but the fact that just three teams in the conference swept the week means that Tennessee won’t suffer much. It’s an SEC-eat-SEC world out here, and no team will (eventually) be spared. This week, Tennessee can get back to Knoxville and take a breath before taking on Florida and Alabama. In the friendly confines of TBA, the Vols likely have a much better chance of going 2-0 than they did last week. But while Florida hasn’t really proven yet that they can beat a quality team, Alabama is on a roll. Here’s to betting that roll is finally buttered in Knoxville as the Tide changes.  

3) Kentucky Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 2 (-1)

Record: 12-3 (2-1)

Last week: W vs. Missouri (90-77), L at Texas A&M (97-92)

Next week: vs. Mississippi State (Jan. 17 – 7 p.m.), vs. Georgia (Jan. 20 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: North Carolina, at Florida, Miami (Fla.)

Bad losses: UNC Wilmington

Trivia question. When was the last time Kentucky scored less than 80 points? I’ll give a slight break for those wanting to answer the question. One more minute. You’d have to go back to Dec. 2, when UNCW held the ‘Cats to 73 points, and it remains the only time this season that coach Cal’s group has been held to less than the 80 mark all season. Last week, Kentucky scored 90 and 92 in their respective games, but unfortunately (for the ‘Cats, at least) they did give up 97 in their matchup in College Station. That’s not a horrible loss by any means, it’s not going to hurt them on Selection Sunday, and it’s not like giving up 30+ to Wade Taylor IV is a true litmus test of a team’s defensive mettle. Taylor IV could drop 30 on any defense. (He did so against Houston, the country’s best.) But still, it means something in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. Two wins would’ve meant the top spot in these rankings. Instead, a 1-1 record means just a slight slide to No. 3. Again, it’s never personal. Just business. 

Kentucky stays in Kentucky this week, with home games against Mississippi State and Georgia. Despite the friendly confines of Lexington, the ‘Cats can’t afford to sleep. In reality, no SEC team can afford to sleep, besides Arkansas, who’s been doing exactly that for a week or two now. But yes, it would be wise not to look past Mississippi State or Georgia. Tolu Smith and Jimmy Bell vs. Aaron Bradshaw and Tre Mitchell? Sign me up. Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard vs. Silas Demary Jr. and Noah Thomasson? Keep me signed up, and I’ll be tuning in. 

4) Alabama Crimson Tide

Last week’s ranking: 9 (+5)

Record: 11-5 (3-0)

Last week: W vs. South Carolina (74-47), W at Mississippi State (82-74)

Next week: vs. Missouri (Jan. 16 – 7 p.m.), at #6 Tennessee (Jan. 20 – Noon)

Quality wins: at Mississippi State, Oregon, South Carolina, Indiana State

Bad losses: N/A

Fine, I’ll move up Alabama. I’ll give them a little jump in the rankings for now. A home win over 13-1 South Carolina followed by a cheeky (delving into British vocabulary for the week) road win against a Mississippi State squad that’s quite the talent themselves means that Alabama is one of just two teams undefeated in conference games. Maybe Alabama can actually beat good teams. They couldn’t for the first part of the season, but now the Tide has beaten South Carolina and Mississippi State, so it could be time to take them seriously. The analytics say yes, and while I do love some analytics, I really hate a bad defense. 

That defense looked great against Carolina and not bad against Mississippi State, but Tennessee could pose a huge challenge. I’d be surprised if the Vols don’t score 90+ on the Tide this week and would be even more surprised if Alabama ends up winning. The Tide has shown the ability (mostly) to beat the teams they’re supposed to, and one would assume that means a win against Missouri this week. Still, I’m not sold just yet. I’m waiting for a good defense to appear consistently. That’s the key word: consistently. But also, because I like ending on a positive note, I need to say something here: Mark Sears deserves Wooden Award consideration. 

5) Ole Miss Rebels

Last week’s ranking: 8 (+3)

Record: 15-1 (2-1)

Last week: W vs. Florida (103-85), W vs. Vanderbilt (69-56)

Next week: at LSU (Jan. 17 – 7 p.m.), at #13 Auburn (Jan. 13 – 8:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Memphis, NC State, Florida, at UCF

Bad losses: N/A

Just wanted to apologize momentarily to the Rebels, who I thought were bound to fall to the Gators in Oxford. I was mistaken. I blame myself and also Florida’s habit of giving people false hope. Ole Miss looked much better against Florida than they did against Vanderbilt, who cut the lead to three with eight minutes left. Big shoutout to Jamarion Sharp, who managed to send back 9 shots against Florida. I understand the whole “he’s just tall argument”, but I want everyone whose first instinct is to tweet out “he’s just tall” to try blocking nine shots in 17 minutes. Try even getting into a defensive position for 9 shots in 17 minutes. It’s a lot harder than one would think. For now, Ole Miss is in the top 5 in the SEC Power Rankings. Looking ahead, are they going to stay there? Here’s to guessing no. 

Why? The next two games are against a Cook-led Tiger team in Baton Rouge and perhaps the SEC’s deepest roster in Auburn at Neville. LSU’s guards can match up well with Ole Miss, and Cisse and Sharp vs. Will Baker and Derek Fountain will be a popcorn-level competition. Against Auburn, I really have a hard time believing Ole Miss can win. The Tigers have lost at home twice since February 2021, and that was to Texas A&M and Alabama last year. With respect to this team, they don’t have the same qualities the Aggies and Tide used to win in Auburn. The last time Ole Miss had a notable road trip, it was just a week or so ago, and it went quite poorly. I don’t need to remind anyone of that, though. 

But the negativity can be sidelined for a few moments here as I relent and say that Ole Miss is currently t-3rd in the SEC standings and 5th in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings despite the author continuously doubting this team. I’ll probably keep doubting them if I’m keeping it one hundred. (I am perpetually hundred-keeping.) But for now, they’re fifth. So celebrate, I suppose. 

6) Texas A&M Aggies

Last week’s ranking: 11 (+5)

Record: 10-6 (1-2) 

Last week: L at #16 Auburn (66-55), W vs. #6 Kentucky (97-92)

Next week: at Arkansas (Jan. 16 – 9 p.m.), at LSU (Jan. 20 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: Kentucky, Iowa State, at Ohio State, at SMU

Bad losses: LSU

An overtime win over a top-10 opponent saves the Aggies from the depths of the SEC basketball standings and moves them up quite a bit as well. That’s a product of such a win but also a nod to how they looked for (most of) the Auburn game. Texas A&M may have already reached their low point of the season following the home loss to LSU, and with Tyrece Radford back, the team’s ceiling and floor are so much higher. Snoop Dogg levels. Can they shoot the ball? Eh, not really. The Aggies are shooting at a 40.1 FG% rate and a 27.0 3P% from deep. Both of those rates rank last in the SEC, behind all other teams. Is that bad? It’s not good. 

But if you just throw away the fact that this team is incapable of shooting at a high clip, they’ve got one of the better resumes in the conference, with four Quadrant 1 wins and one of the best starting groups in the SEC. They’re an elite rebounding group, both in the sense of rebounding after a tough loss and rebounding on the glass during a game, especially on offense. This week, Texas A&M takes a road trip, but that might not be a bad thing. They get to play The Worst Team in the SEC™️ and then get a rematch against LSU, where motivation will assuredly not be lacking. I don’t think it’s inconceivable to suggest this team will go 2-0 this week to bring them above .500 in conference games. Not to suggest they’re guaranteed to beat LSU, who of course has already beaten the Aggies, but the odds that Texas A&M go 2-0 are much higher than the odds of going 0-2. 

7) South Carolina Gamecocks

Last week’s ranking: 4 (-3)

Record: 14-2 (2-1)

Last week: L at Alabama (74-47), W at Missouri (71-69)

Next week: vs. Georgia (Jan. 16 – 9 p.m.), at Arkansas (Jan. 20 – 1 p.m.)

Best wins: Mississippi State, Grand Canyon, Virginia Tech

Bad losses: N/A

Don’t look now, but these Gamecocks are resilient. After their arguably worst performance of the year against Alabama, followed by arguably an even worse performance against Mizzou on the road, they managed to leave their road trip with a 1-1 record. The ‘Cocks battled, and B.J. Mack and Ta’Lon Cooper stepped up when needed. Does it make me a hypocrite if I don’t believe in 15-1 (2-1) Ole Miss but I believe in 14-2 (2-1) South Carolina? Not necessarily, because not all overachievers are a monolith, but I’ll consider it. One hallmark of a good team is playing badly and still winning a game. South Carolina has certainly proven themselves capable of doing so. 

This week, South Carolina earned the right to get to play the 2023-24 Arkansas basketball team, but they’ve got a home matchup with Georgia before that. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but this could be a golden opportunity for South Carolina to move closer to first place in the SEC standings. A 2-0 week, (certainly possible against a Georgia team with just one Q1 win and an Arkansas “team”) would move this team to a 16-2 (4-1) record. That, after last season’s fever dream, would be a miracle. I’m not about to get ahead of myself, because it’s SEC basketball and anything can happen, but these Gamecocks have an opening. They just need to take advantage of that. 

8) Mississippi State Bulldogs

Last week’s ranking: 7 (-1)

Record: 12-4 (1-2)

Last week: W vs. #5 Tennessee (77-72), L vs. Alabama (82-74)

Next week: at #8 Kentucky (Jan. 17 – 7 p.m.), vs. Vanderbilt (Jan. 20 – 3:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Tennessee, Northwestern, Washington State

Bad losses: Southern 

Big-time win alert. The Bulldogs have defeated the Volunteers, the first time that’s happened in Starkville since the 2019-20 season. Fun fact, Tolu Smith was on that team. So was current Boston College forward Quinten Post. It’s because of Josh Hubbard, mostly. The freshman guard continued a fantastic offensive season with 25 against one of the best defenses in the nation. We love to see that, truly. I love watching this dude score, but it’s insane that he’s still coming off the bench. He deserves a starting nod. I’ve not once seen a team benefit from having their clear best offensive option come off the bench. It just doesn’t work as well as it could with him in the starting lineup. I don’t get the logic. 

Looking ahead, Mississippi State has a very tough matchup followed by a Q4 game. It seems unreasonable to suggest anything other than 1-1, but it’s not out of the question that a different result could occur. After all, the Bulldogs have Josh Hubbard, and like I said last week, that can be all the difference in a game. Right now, this is a team that’s around a similar seed in current brackets, even though it’s far and away more talented than last year’s team. That’s why I don’t trust pre-February brackets. Too small of a sample size, y’all. Keep the Bulldogs on your radar once we get to March. 

9) Georgia Bulldogs

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-4)

Record: 12-4 (2-1)

Last week: W vs. Arkansas (76-66), L vs. #5 Tennessee (85-79)

Next week: at South Carolina (Jan. 16 – 9 p.m.), at #8 Kentucky (Jan. 20 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: Wake Forest, at Florida State

Bad losses: N/A

Georgia is trucking along, but I feel bad. If they had just held onto a late 11-point lead against Tennessee, they’d be so much higher in these rankings. Like, easy top-five type high. Martha Stewart levels. But, unfortunately, Mike White’s squad couldn’t close it out. There’s no shame in that because Tennessee is a very good team. But it would have been nice to see that win to add a second Q1 victory (in addition to Wake) to the resume, along with a 13-3 (3-0) record. This team, despite bracketologists’ warnings, is a tournament team. Keep that in mind, y’all. This isn’t the Georgia you grew up with. (That last sentence is directed entirely at anyone born between Mark Fox’s 7th year and the entire Tom Crean tenure.)

Looking ahead, Georgia has a tough week on the road, however. They have to take on South Carolina in Columbia, before heading to Rupp. Against last year’s versions of South Carolina and Kentucky, that wouldn’t be as bad. This year, however, those are two very good teams with a combined 26-5 record. The odds that Georgia becomes loss No. 6? Perhaps worse than a coin flip, but that wouldn’t be the end of the world. Two Q1 losses? Not the end of the world, I promise. After that, the ‘Dawgs get to play LSU and Florida, and there’s eventually a stretch on the schedule where Georgia plays Arkansas, Florida, and Vandy back-to-back. Survive until then, and anything’s possible. 

10) Florida Gators

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-4)

Record: 11-5 (1-2)

Last week: L at Ole Miss (103-85), W vs. Arkansas (90-68)

Next week: at #6 Tennessee (Jan. 16 – 7 p.m.), at Missouri (Jan. 20 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: Florida State, Pitt

Bad losses: N/A

Tough love here for the Gators, but can they beat a good team? Sure, we were mesmerized (somewhat) by wins over Florida State, Pitt, and Michigan in non-conference games, but it turns out that the possibility that none of those teams are good is pretty high. Willie Nelson levels. Florida has taken wins against teams they should have beaten and lost to the teams they’ve probably deserved to lose to. They haven’t won a single game as an underdog all season, despite three losses as favorites. That includes a recent road loss to Ole Miss last week. Are the Gators the more talented team? Absolutely. So what led the Rebels to drop 103 on Florida? That’s not a question for me to answer, just to pose. 

And Gainesville, all my Florida readers out there, prepare to be in my mentions. I’m saying it. Florida never should’ve gotten rid of Mike White. And before one of y’all hits me with the “well, actually, Mike White was hired away by Georgia,” don’t. Look at Athens. Now look at Gainesville. For a coach known more as an “X’s and O’s” type of guy to lose some of these games that Florida has lost, I’m sure it’s frustrating. I wouldn’t know, I’m not part of the Florida fanbase. But I am part of the Mike White fanbase, and right now, all the gripes that Florida had about Mike White are currently happening with Todd Golden, minus the top-tier recruiting. Not to suggest Florida can’t make the tournament by any means, but Florida was consistently making the tournament under White, without a single losing conference season. Looking at Florida’s schedule, with their next seven games coming against Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Missouri on the road and Mississippi State, Georgia, and Auburn at home, it’s quite possible that the Gators go 2-5 or worse in that stretch, moving their conference record to 3-7 through 10 games. 

It’s now or never for Todd Golden’s year two. Not to be confused with “it’s now or never for Todd Golden,” as we’re just talking short-term here. But if we were talking long-term, I will go on record to say Florida made the wrong decision by getting rid of White and bringing in Golden. According to Florida’s addiction to hiring coaches with a color as a last name, it’s certain that Justin Gray will be the next Florida basketball coach. I don’t make the rules. 

Side note, but this team cannot shoot free throws. Every other team in the SEC is shooting at least 70.0 FT%. Florida, who shoots the 2nd-most from the line in the conference, has just a 65.9 FT%. That’s not good, y’all.

11) LSU Tigers

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-1)

Record: 10-6 (2-1)

Last week: W vs. Vanderbilt (77-69), L at #13 Auburn (93-78)

Next week: vs. #22 Ole Miss (Jan. 17 – 7 p.m.), vs. Texas A&M (Jan. 20 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: Wake Forest

Bad losses: Nicholls State

Have y’all ever seen Wayne’s World? If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky. If you have, it’s the film equivalent of LSU’s loss to Nicholls State earlier this year. But at this point in the year, LSU is hooping more like Clueless right now, (in a good way, y’all know that) and they’re a few good games away from reaching Shawshank Redemption level on the 90’s Film-Basketball Vibes Rankings. The mid-year addition of Jalen Cook has meant a totally different squad, and that’s not a veiled shot against the rest of the backcourt by any means, it’s just that Cook being available has also brought up the talent levels of his teammates as well. Take, for example, Trae Hannibal’s performance against Auburn. The former Murray State and South Carolina guard scored 18 points off the bench. Congratulations, Mr. Hannibal.

There might be a bit of a tough sled this week, but the Bayou Bengals play at home so the friendly confines of Baton Rouge may be a deciding factor. LSU plays Ole Miss and Texas A&M, and odds are that they’ll win at least one of those games. The combination of Wright, Cook, and Baker is simply too good not to work. Side note, but I think it’s funny that LSU has a “Wright” and a “Reed” on the roster this year, along with a “Cook” and a “Baker”. I like to think Matt McMahon did this on purpose to fuel SEC Basketball Power Rankings puns. Thank you, sir. 

12) Missouri Tigers

Last week’s ranking: 13 (+1)

Record: 8-8 (0-3)

Last week: L at #6 Kentucky (90-77), L vs. South Carolina (71-69)

Next week: at Alabama (Jan. 16 – 7 p.m.), vs. Florida (Jan. 20 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Pitt

Bad losses: Jackson State 

Missouri moves up one spot in the rankings to No. 12, despite two losses to move the Tigers to 8-8 overall and 0-3 in SEC basketball games. Why? Well, they’ve been competitive. They had a chance to beat Georgia, and they had a maddening amount of chances to beat South Carolina before falling in overtime. At this point, I think it’s safe to say Mizzou isn’t making the NCAA tournament. I don’t just throw that accusation around, either. To date, I don’t think I’ve said that about any other SEC team this season besides Vanderbilt. That’s because, almost assuredly, that if Mizzou was going to turn this around, they would’ve beaten South Carolina last week. That was their chance to bounce back and start anew, with some momentum on their side. 

And they couldn’t. Now, they’re sitting at .500 overall in mid-January, which is not the best place to be. Even when this team is playing their best, which isn’t bad at all, the ceiling just seems limited this year. The transfer class, other than Tamar Bates, who has been excelling recently, is either hurt or playing poorly. That’s left a handful of players to try and carry the team, and despite their best efforts, Mizzou hasn’t delivered yet. Will it get better this week? Probably not in Alabama, but I’m not lying when I say that Missouri has a very good chance to beat Florida at home this week, especially if Caleb Grill gets back to provide another perimeter threat. 

13) Arkansas Razorbacks

Last week’s ranking: 12 (-1)

Record: 9-7 (0-3)

Last week: L at Georgia (76-66), L at Florida (90-68)

Next week: vs. Texas A&M (Jan. 16 – 9 p.m.), vs. South Carolina (Jan. 20 – 1 p.m.)

Quality wins: Duke 

Bad losses: UNCG

Unlike last week, I have words for Arkansas. But a lot of those words are going into my “What Went Wrong With Arkansas?” article currently in my drafts. I don’t have an exact answer as to why the Muss Bus is currently in the hands of AAA, but there have been poor coaching decisions all year long, as well as a clear lack of drive from certain players. That extended into last week, with losses to Georgia and Florida on the road in which the Razorbacks led for exactly 1:37 of the 80 minutes of game time. That’s just tough, there’s no real way to spin it. Arkansas is not a good basketball team. The win over Duke says a lot more about Duke than it does about Arkansas, and (most) of these Hogs are currently playing like they don’t care if they win. To me, though, that’s on the coaches. You don’t become a college basketball player without a will to win. When a player or groups of players don’t give their all, it’s not that they’ve never had that motor. It’s that they’ve had it, but someone has taken it away. The coaching staff is to blame here. 

That’s just odd coming from a team with a coach with the personality of Eric Musselman. You’re telling me the same coach who took off his shirt after winning a round of 32 game now has a team that looks like they don’t want to be playing basketball, all while the players are the ones getting thrown under the Muss Bus. And it’s not just motivation concerns plaguing this team. Why are we (using “we” as a concerned outsider rather than a member of the fanbase) continuing to start games with Khalif Battle or Layden Blocker on the bench? Sure, he’s (57.1 FG%) the only player shooting over 44.4 FG% in conference games, but let’s keep this freshman on the bench because the starters are clearly doing so much better! Let’s continue to give Davonte Davis the start despite a -0.3 PER in conference games and an 8.1 PER for the season!

Let’s do a fun little exercise. I’ll go first. In my right hand are three Arkansas guards. Combined, they have a 53.7 PER, a TS% between 56.6%-62.4%, offensive ratings between 111.1-123.9, defensive ratings between 104.7-110.2, and win shares/40 of .117-.172. These three guards have, combined, just 14 starts. Arkansas has played 16 games. 

In my left hand are three more Arkansas guards. Combined, these three have a 30.2 PER, true shooting percentages between 45.7%-48.0%, offensive ratings between 94.5-106.8, defensive ratings of 110.6-111.5, and win shares/40 of just .036-.081. These three guards have, combined, 30 starts. 

Who are the first three guards? Tramon Mark, Khalif Battle, and Layden Blocker. The latter three? Jeremiah Davenport, Davonte Davis, and El Ellis. The lowest mark from all categories for the top three was still higher than the highest mark from the bottom three guards. And yet, the Muss Bus continues to rely on Davis and Davenport more than Battle and Blocker. Why? I don’t know, y’all, I’m the one asking. To Muss’s credit, he did take Ellis out of the starting lineup recently. But against his credit, he’s still not giving Blocker and Battle chances to start the game, when they’re clearly two of his three best-performing guards. 

Side note, Keyon Menifield Jr. is also in the guard rotation. He’s in between the first group and second group in terms of usage and production, which is why I didn’t include him in the little exercise. And because three guards in one hand and four guards in the other just doesn’t make sense. 

This might seem a bit harsh on the players, but they’re not to blame. Fair or not, you don’t (or shouldn’t, at least) blame a player for being over-utilized while performing poorly. The blame falls on Muss for failing to adapt, failing to give appropriate chances to those who are deserving, and failing to take any sort of accountability whatsoever. Maybe this team will be good next year, I can’t tell the future. But this isn’t an issue of poor talent. It’s not on the players. It’s not on the assistant coaches or the fans. This is a Muss problem. The Muss Bus has put a nail in his own tire and is trying to figure out who did it to him. 

At this point, I may boycott my eyes from watching Arkansas basketball, but I laugh as I type that. It would be like boycotting going to Pistons games. It would be boycotting stepping on gum. Boycotting the Filet O’ Fish from McDonald’s. I wouldn’t tune into Arkansas basketball if I didn’t have to. They play Texas A&M and South Carolina this week. 

14) Vanderbilt Commodores

Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)

Record: 5-11 (0-3)

Last week: L at LSU (77-69), L at Ole Miss (69-56)

Next week: vs. #13 Auburn (Jan. 17 – 9 p.m.), at Mississippi State (Jan. 20 – 3:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: Presbyterian, Boston College

Call me crazy, but Vanderbilt actually doesn’t look like the worst SEC basketball team right now. That title should belong to the Arkansas Razorbacks, the only SEC team to lose every conference game by 10+ points as of Jan. 15. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, has kept it close for almost the entirety of their 120 minutes of SEC basketball. They’ve lost by 3, 8, and 13. Arkansas, on the other hand, has lost by a combined 64 points in three games. If it weren’t for the losses to Presbyterian and Boston College, this team would be 13th. I get it. That’s a big “if” for a little reward. But still. Ezra Manjon, Tyrin Lawrence, and Jason Rivera-Torres are all averaging 14+ PPG in conference games, which is great. Eventually, Vanderbilt will win a game. 

Personal note to Mr. Stackhouse, but please start Rivera-Torres against Auburn and Mississippi State this week. Imagine you do that, and then, I don’t know, the ‘Dores get their first ranked win since last year’s SEC Tournament against Kentucky? You can send the flowers and thank you note to cbbreview.com. What is there to lose? The kid is playing out of his mind lately. Side note, Vanderbilt will assuredly move out of the cellar with a win this week. (Not to get ahead of myself or anything like that, of course.)