2024-25 SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 10

George Bagwell provides his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 10 of the 2024 season.

It’s winter season. Time for cheer and hot chocolate. We’re keeping it short this week and giving each SEC team a New Year’s resolution to try and keep up with. We’ll examine how they do over with their imposed goals later on in the season. Without further ado, we’ve got the SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Volume 3, Episode 10.

Matchup of the week:  Mississippi State vs. Kentucky (Jan. 11 – 8:30 p.m.)

Sneaky good matchup of the week: LSU vs. Arkansas (Jan. 14 – 9 p.m.) 

All games listed are EST. 

1. Auburn Tigers

Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)

Record: 14-1 (2-0)

Last week: W vs. Missouri (84-68), W at Texas (87-82) 

Next week: at South Carolina (Jan. 11 – 1 p.m.), vs. No. 14 Mississippi State (Jan. 14 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Iowa State, vs. Houston, vs. UNC, vs. Memphis, vs. Purdue, vs. Ohio State, vs. Missouri, at Texas

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Auburn: Save emissions by only taking bus trips to remaining road games.

I said I would stop making jokes about the Auburn plane incident. That was a lie. Also, I never said that. So, that too was a lie. I will acknowledge the fact that these Tigers are currently playing at the highest level in college basketball right now. They’ll be number one in my poll this weekend barring a loss to South Carolina. Congrats.

2. Florida Gators 

Last week’s ranking: 4 (+2)

Record: 14-1 (1-1)

Last week: L at No. 10 Kentucky (106-100), W vs. No. 1 Tennessee (73-43)

Next week: at Arkansas (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.), vs. Missouri (Jan. 14 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Florida State, vs. Arizona State, vs. North Carolina, vs. Tennessee

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Florida: Don’t rest on your laurels.

One could say that there’s no way to improve after beating the No. 1 team in the country by 30 points. I disagree. How about beating Arkansas by 50? On a real note, a team giving up 106 then immediately settling down and holding a team to 4-29 shooting from three is quite impressive. But Florida, don’t rest on the laurels. Use this momentum to start a winning streak, take down Arkansas and Missouri, and rise back into the top five. Because in a league like this, losing track of reality and trying to coast for a few games can be back-breaking.

3. Alabama Crimson Tide

Last week’s ranking: 5 (+2)

Record: 12-2 (1-0)

Last week: W vs. No. 12 Oklahoma (107-79)

Next week: at South Carolina (Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.), at No. 10 Texas A&M (Jan. 11 – 8 p.m.), at No. 23 Ole Miss (Jan. 14 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Houston, vs. Illinois, at North Carolina, vs. Creighton, vs. Oklahoma

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Alabama: Stop breaking my algorithm.

How is Alabama so inefficient but also putting up 100 points on teams like Oklahoma? The Crimson Tide are 1st in the SEC with 32.6 3PA/game. But they’re not good at shooting threes! In fact, they’re bad! Nate Oats’s team is shooting 31.6% from deep! That’s 15th of 16 SEC teams! Not good! They’re making 63.0% of their twos, so why not put more of an emphasis on twos? I don’t know. If it works, it works, I guess. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when Alabama gets bounced by a seven seed after going 5-34 from three in the NCAA second round.

4. Mississippi State Bulldogs 

Last week’s ranking: 8 (+4)

Record: 14-1 (2-0)

Last week: W vs. South Carolina (85-50), W at Vanderbilt (76-64)

Next week: vs. No. 6 Kentucky (Jan. 11 – 8:30 p.m.), at No. 2 Auburn (Jan. 14 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Pitt, at SMU, at Memphis, at Vanderbilt

Bad losses: vs. Butler

One resolution for Mississippi State: Keep having fun.

I’ve said before that Mississippi State is simply a fun basketball team to watch. They definitely are! Please tune in to this team’s games. I mean it. Home against Kentucky? Road against Auburn? These Bulldogs can win those games, and I’m serious. So this year, Mississippi State, keep having fun. It’ll pay dividends.

5. Kentucky Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-2)

Record: 12-3 (1-1)

Last week: W vs. No. 6 Florida (106-100), L at Georgia (82-69)

Next week: at No. 14 Mississippi State (Jan. 11 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (Jan. 14 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Duke, vs. Gonzaga, vs. Louisville, vs. Florida

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Kentucky: Stop playing conference road games while ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wildcats have played six road conference games while ranked No. 6 nationally. They are 2-4 in those games, with losses to Arkansas, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and now Georgia. In that same span, they’re 3-1 in conference road games while ranked in any other spot in the top 10 of the AP Poll. So perhaps six is just an unlucky number for Kentucky.

What’s next on the docket? A conference road game against Mississippi State, and the Wildcats will be unlucky enough to be ranked No. 6 by the time the ball gets tipped off.

6. Texas A&M Aggies  

Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)

Record: 12-2 (1-0)

Last week: W vs. Texas (80-60)

Next week: at No. 17 Oklahoma (Jan. 8 – 9 p.m.), vs. No. 5 Alabama (Jan. 11 – 8 p.m.) at No. 6 Kentucky (Jan. 14 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Creighton, vs. Ohio State, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Purdue, vs. Texas

Bad losses: at UCF

One resolution for Texas A&M: Be better at throwing a leather sphere into a ten-foot hoop from various distances.

I have never seen a team be so productive and simultaneously so bad at shooting. How has Texas A&M racked up wins against Creighton, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Purdue, and Texas, all while shooting 30.8% from three and 43.4% overall? That’s horrible. This team is 39th in offensive rating, per KenPom, (a generous rate) but 6th in defensive rating. This is an elite defense, absolutely. If only they had a better offense.

7. Georgia Bulldogs 

Last week’s ranking: 11 (+4)

Record: 13-2 (1-1)

Last week: L at No. 24 Ole Miss (63-51), W vs. No. 6 Kentucky (82-69)

Next week: vs. No. 17 Oklahoma (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. St. John’s, vs. Kentucky

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Georgia: Sign Mike White to a lifetime contract.

If you weren’t a Mike White believer before the win over Kentucky, I don’t know what to tell you. If you’re still not a Mike White believer, I know exactly what to tell you. But I can’t say it here. Georgia is a NCAA tournament caliber basketball program.

8. Tennessee Volunteers 

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-7)

Record: 14-1 (1-1)

Last week: W vs. No. 23 Arkansas (76-52), L at No. 8 Florida (73-43)

Next week: at Texas (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Louisville, vs. Baylor, at Illinois, vs. Arkansas

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Tennessee: Don’t ever put up 43 points in a game again.

Funnily enough, the last two times the Vols put up at 3PT% of 15.0% or lower, they ended up winning the game. Against Texas in the NCAA Tournament last year, they shot 3-25 from deep. They won that game. The year before that, they shot 2-21 from three against Auburn and won that game, too. But Tuesday, Tennessee was 4-29 and they lost by 30. So perhaps it’s not a winning strategy after all.

Is there anything positive to say after a 30-point loss? I’m positive this team just dropped seven spots in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. I know that because I put them there.

9. Ole Miss Rebels 

Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)

Record: 12-2 (1-0)

Last week: W vs. Georgia (63-51)

Next week: at Arkansas (Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.), vs. LSU (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.) at No. 5 Alabama (Jan. 14 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. BYU, at Louisville, vs. Georgia

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Ole Miss: Just make the tournament already, please.

Every time it seems like this team turns a corner, they make a 180. Or they walk into a wall, or take the wrong turn, or do basically everything possible besides actually turning the corner. They haven’t made the tournament since 2018-19. In that time, every SEC program except Vanderbilt (doesn’t count, is Vanderbilt) and Georgia (doesn’t count, Mark Fox walked under a ladder in Athens in late May of 2015) have tasted the tournament. Not the Rebels.

Last year, this team started out 15-1 before streaking to the finish line with a 5-11 record in the second half of the season. The kicker? I don’t think this team is any different. They’ll have to prove themselves if they want to move up these rankings. That starts with going 2-1 next week. (It really started by beating Georgia, but that didn’t fit my selected narrative.)

10. Oklahoma Sooners 

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-4)

Record: 13-1 (0-1)

Last week: L at No. 5 Alabama (107-79)

Next week: vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (Jan. 8 – 9 p.m.), at Georgia (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Arizona, vs. Louisville, vs. Michigan

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Oklahoma: Find a quarterback in the transfer portal.

I’m being told this is the wrong sport. Back to basketball. Oklahoma does need to start picking up some additional quality wins. The good news is that they’ll have plenty of chances to do so. The bad news is that after a blowout loss to Alabama, it’s not like the schedule gets easier. The Sooners face Texas A&M and Georgia next, two solid-to-pretty-good teams. It’s not impossible to dig out of an 0-3 conference record and make the tournament. But Oklahoma should feel a little bit of pressure to win a game this week. In a conference as good as this one, it’s important to start well and finish well. (Everybody forgets the middle, don’t worry.)

11. Missouri Tigers 

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-1)

Record: 12-3 (1-1)

Last week: L at Auburn (84-68), W vs. LSU (83-67)

Next week: vs. Vanderbilt (Jan. 11 – 3:30 p.m.), at No. 8 Florida (Jan. 14 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: Kansas

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Missouri: N/A, already achieved.

Big shoutout to Missouri for already reaching their resolution, winning a conference game this year. (They did not achieve their resolution last year, unfortunately.) Time to laurel-rest and bask in the snow until Saturday.

12. Arkansas Razorbacks 

Last week’s ranking: 15 (+3)

Record: 11-3 (0-1)

Last week: L vs. Tennessee (76-52)

Next week: vs. No. 23 Ole Miss (Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.), vs. No. 8 Florida (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.), at LSU (Jan. 14 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: Michigan

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Arkansas: Get to the gym.

In terms of offensive rebounding, the Hogs are last in the SEC with 8.8 per game. That mark puts them at 317th nationally, not the best place to be. It’s not the end of the world, and 12 teams had a worse average last year and still made the tournament. And yes, Arkansas’s FG% ranking 2nd in the SEC probably has something to do with that. So maybe this is completely misguided. But I had to pick a resolution, so here we are. I’ll even give a backup resolution if this one is statistically misleading. New resolution: make Big Z shoot more threes. He’s really good at them.

13. Texas Longhorns 

Last week’s ranking: 12 (-1)

Record: 11-3 (0-2)

Last week: L at No. 13 Texas A&M (80-60), L vs. No. 2 Auburn (87-82)

Next week: vs. No. 1 Tennessee (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Texas: Remember the Alamo.

When the army of Antonio López de Santa Anna conquered the Alamo, did Davy Crockett surrender? Ok, maybe he did. Primary sources agreed to disagree. But for the purposes of this exercise, we will assume the rodent-capped Crockett did not surrender and fought to the bitter end. Texas, much like Crockett, has dealt with home loss to a very good team (Auburn) and now must decide whether to hang up the cleats or keep fighting. After falling behind by 21 and battling back to a one-possession game, all indications point towards the Longhorns continuing to fight.

Next week, they have to play host to a very angry Tennessee squad that just lost their first game, a blowout loss to Florida. In fact, seven of this team’s first eight SEC games are against teams currently ranked. The good news is that there’s plenty of opportunities for a statement win, one the Longhorns have not managed quite yet.

14. Vanderbilt Commodores 

Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)

Record: 13-2 (1-1)

Last week: W at LSU (80-72), L vs. No. 14 Mississippi State (76-64)

Next week: at Missouri (Jan. 11 – 3:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Nevada, at LSU

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for Vanderbilt: Establish an international maritime presence.

To succeed in the SEC, the Commodores need to return to their roots and create a naval dominance not seen since Alonso de Guzmán’s Spanish Armada of 1588. RJ Melendez can’t score 19 in Memorial Gymnasium if a top-of-the-line galleon cannon has rendered the basket useless. Food for thought.

15. LSU Tigers 

Last week’s ranking: 13 (-2)

Record: 11-4 (0-2)

Last week: L vs. Vanderbilt (80-72), L at Missouri (83-67)

Next week: at No. 23 Ole Miss (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.), vs. Arkansas (Jan. 14 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Florida State

Bad losses: N/A

One resolution for LSU: Share the ball less (with the other team).

The Tigers are near the top of the SEC standings (great!) in terms of committing turnovers (not great!). In the Tigers’ four losses this year, they committed 15 (Pitt), 17 (SMU), 15 (Vanderbilt), and 14 (Missouri) turnovers over the course of their games. That’s not how to win games.

Who’s the primary culprit? Everyone except Robert Miller III, apparently. Of the ten players with 100+ minutes played this season, only Miller (8.1%) has a turnover rate less than 12.5%. All nine other Tigers can be found in the 12.6-21.1% range. Even South Carolina has three players below a 12.0% turnover rate. This year, let’s try and keep the ball in the hands of the Tigers. (Unless the Bayou Bengals are playing Missouri again or Auburn.)

16. South Carolina Gamecocks 

Last week’s ranking: 16 (-)

Record: 10-4 (0-1)

Last week: L at Mississippi State (85-50)

Next week: vs. No. 5 Alabama (Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.), vs. No. 2 Auburn (Jan. 11 – 1 p.m.)

Quality wins: vs. Clemson

Bad losses: vs. North Florida

One resolution for South Carolina: Stay above .500 for the season.

The Gamecocks are just not the same offense (or defense) that they were last year. Remember when this team beat the Bulldogs twice in SEC games last season? They just lost to Mississippi State by 35 points. Part of this team’s issues has to do with frontcourt depth. After Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle, there’s just not SEC talent. The loss of Josh Gray to Missouri in the offseason really hurt this team.

If South Carolina wins just six conference games this season, they’ll still be above .500 in arguably the best conference in modern NCAA history. That should be enough to get them to the NIT this year, where they could perhaps springboard into a better 2025-26 season. It’s getting late early.