George Bagwell gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 3 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 2 team of the week: Missouri Tigers
Week 2 game of the week: Auburn vs. Houston
Week 2 player of the week: Marquel Sutton, LSU
Week 3 matchup of the week: #11 Alabama vs. #8 Illinois – Nov. 19 at 9 p.m.
Week 3 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Georgia vs. Xavier – Nov. 21 at 9 p.m.
All games listed are EST.
1) Tennessee Volunteers
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+2)
Record: 3-0
Last week: W vs. North Florida (99-66)
Next week: vs. Rice (Nov. 17 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. Tennessee State (Nov. 20 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Some people might object to the author putting Tennessee first, given that they really haven’t played any quality teams. But the difference between Tennessee and Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky is that the Vols haven’t lost a game. When a team with the quality of Tennessee is still undefeated, and a handful of other teams of similar quality have losses, the rules of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings state that the edge goes to the team without a loss. Don’t shoot the messenger; I don’t make the rules. (I make the rules.)
This week, it’s likely more smooth sailing. First, Rice, then Tennessee State. Neither are in the top 180 of the latest KenPom ratings. I guess we’ll see the Vols on top again next week.
Knoxville Vibe Meter: 9/10.
2) Alabama Crimson Tide
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 2-1
Last week: L vs. #2 Purdue (87-80)
Next week: vs. #8 Illinois (Nov. 19 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: at St. John’s
Bad losses:
Credit Nate Oats for scheduling a tough first few weeks to the season. The Selection Committee will reward the Crimson Tide for being battle-tested in March. Unfortunately, this is November, and I’m not the Selection Committee. Alabama’s loss to Purdue drops them a spot in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. The mantra around Alabama basketball is supposedly “blue-collar basketball,” but the game against Purdue was nothing like that. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Tide by a 52-28 margin. Is that bad? It ain’t good.
And keeping with the trend of both difficult opponents and games way too close to be considered neutral, the Crimson Tide is playing Illinois in Chicago on Wednesday. If they want to win, they’ll have to play tougher.
Tuscaloosa Vibe Meter: “Neutral Site Game”/10.
3) Kentucky Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-2)
Record: 3-1
Last week: L at #12 Louisville (96-88), W vs. Eastern Illinois (99-53)
Next week: vs. #17 Michigan State (Nov. 18 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. Loyola (MD) (Nov. 21 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
It wasn’t the best of weeks for Kentucky. Gone is the Kenny Payne era, where the Wildcats could be assured of a rivalry victory prior to tip-off. Louisville is Pat Kelsey’s town now, and Kentucky learned that in a difficult manner with a 96-88 loss in Louisville. Although they won against Eastern Illinois, those two teams don’t necessarily carry the same weight, and the Wildcats slip two spots in the rankings despite Denzel Aberdeen’s 26 points against the Cardinals.
This week, another test awaits. It’s the Michigan State Spartans and Tom Izzo. That should be good watching on ESPN Tuesday night before a game against Loyola (MD) later in the week.
4) Florida Gators
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 3-1
Last week: W vs. Florida State (78-76), W vs. Miami (FL) (82-68)
Next week: vs. Merrimack (Nov. 21 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Miami
Bad losses:
I was surprised by Florida’s lack of pulling away from Florida State. But the Seminoles played well, (shoutout Robert McCray V, who I believed we’ve written about previously on the site) and Florida couldn’t shut the door until the final minute. The Gators actually played a little bit better against Miami, holding the Hurricanes to just 68 points. If they want to repeat, however, the performances will have to improve. That starts against Merrimack this week.
Gainesville Vibe Meter: Basketball School/10.
5) Vanderbilt Commodores
Last week’s ranking: 6 (+1)
Record: 4-0
Last week: W vs. Eastern Kentucky (92-62), W vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (104-75)
Next week: vs. Texas Southern (Nov. 20 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: at UCF
Bad losses:
The best offense in the SEC belongs to…Vanderbilt. Let it be known that these ‘Dores are for real. How real? They’re averaging 101.5 PPG four games into the season. I don’t care if those games are against the East-Southeast Tennessee Tech Tarantulas or Duke Blue Devils; regularly hitting the century mark is an accomplishment within itself. If you round up from 9.5 (yes, that’s a cop-out, I’m aware), seven Commodores are averaging double figures. That’s really impressive, especially from Vanderbilt.
This week it’s a slow week with just one game. The ‘Dores face off against Texas Southern, and there’s a good chance they hit 100 again.
Nashville Vibe Meter: 10/10.
6) Missouri Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+4)
Record: 4-0
Last week: W vs. Minnesota (83-60)
Next week: vs. Prairie View A&M (Nov. 17 – 8 p.m.), vs. South Dakota (Nov. 20 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Minnesota likely isn’t a tournament team. But that doesn’t mean that the Tigers can’t feel good about beating a Power Five opponent by 23 points. Almost more impressive than the 83 points on offense was holding Minnesota to 60 on the other end. The Gophers only managed 22% from deep. Also, shoutout to Mark Mitchell, who had 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Good job, Mark. This week, the Tigers have a couple of tune-ups before a few more tune-up games the week after. It can feel nice to have an easy schedule sometimes. Relish it, Mizzou, before the SEC slate arrives.
Columbia Vibe Meter: 8/10.
7) Georgia Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-)
Record: 4-0
Last week: W vs. Georgia Tech (92-87)
Next week: vs. Florida A&M (Nov. 17 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. Xavier (Nov. 21 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
So maybe I was wrong when I predicted a beatdown of historical proportions when Georgia and Georgia Tech faced off. It very much did not happen, and Georgia Tech actually led by eight points at one spot in the second half. Is that bad? It ain’t good. But credit is due where it’s due, and Georgia did manage to win and drop a solid 92 points in the effort. Freshman Jake Wilkins is playing some really impressive basketball at the moment.
This week, only Florida A&M and Xavier stand in the way of Georgia’s sixth win. The Rattlers figure not to cause much trouble, and, though it’s odd to say, Xavier might not either. They’re rated lower than every SEC school in the latest KenPom ratings, and are actually outside of the top 100, right behind Loyola Marymount. That doesn’t mean Georgia can rest on their laurels, however.
Athens Vibe Meter: Give Mike White Another Extension/10.
8) Auburn Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+3)
Record: 3-1
Last week: W vs. Wofford (93-62), L vs. #1 Houston (73-72)
Next week: vs. Jackson State (Nov. 19 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
I’ll admit when I’m wrong, most of the time at least. I was wrong when I thought that Auburn would completely fold against Houston, even though they were playing in Birmingham. And y’all know what happened? Auburn didn’t fold. In fact, they only lost by one point. Sure, it could be seen as lame to celebrate a loss being not as bad as previously thought. But to put it in perspective, Auburn lost by one point to a Kelvin Sampson-coached defense with Steven Pearl manning the Tigers in his fourth-ever game as a head coach. That’s a sentence that nobody could have dreamt of even a few months ago.
This week, Auburn faces Jackson State in a Tigers vs. Tigers matchup. Given that the Tigers (Jackson State variety) have given up over 100 points to both Power Five teams they’ve played this season, there shouldn’t be much issues for Auburn. But don’t forget what happened the last time this team played a SWAC opponent.
Auburn Vibe Meter: Cautiously Optimistic/10.
9) Ole Miss Rebels
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)
Record: 4-0
Last week: W vs. Memphis (83-77), W vs. Cal State Bakersfield (82-60)
Next week: vs. Austin Peay (Nov. 18 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
At the risk of sounding strict, I would have liked to see Ole Miss defeat Memphis more thoroughly and convincingly, especially at home. (Since the loss, Memphis has lost by double-digits in Memphis to UNLV.) A win against Cal State Bakersfield won’t do much to move the needle, either. But a team can only play their schedule, and it’s not to get too mad about a 4-0 record. It should move to 5-0 after a midweek matchup with Austin Peay, though let it be known that the Governors’ defense is legit. Keep an eye on that one.
Oxford Vibe Meter: 7/10.
10) Arkansas Razorbacks
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-5)
Record: 3-1
Last week: W vs. Central Arkansas (93-56), W vs. Samford (79-75)
Next week: vs. Winthrop (Nov. 18 – 8 p.m.), vs. Jackson State (Nov. 21 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Arkansas isn’t a team really worthy of a five-spot slide, but at a certain point, the author has to reward the teams that took care of business. Arkansas barely did so against Samford, allowing the Bulldogs to stage a mini-comeback of sorts and failing to pull away from a SoCon team that isn’t as good as it has been in recent years. But fret not, the Razorbacks will likely find their way into the top six pretty soon. Their star freshmen will have a say in that. This week, they’ve got games against Winthrop and Jackson State, which, barring a poor performance, will be tune-ups.
Fayetteville Vibe Meter: Don’t Panic Yet/10.
11) Mississippi State Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-3)
Record: 2-1
Last week: W vs. Southeastern Louisiana (75-68)
Next week: vs. Kansas State (Nov. 20 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
I’ve been searching for reasons as to why Mississippi State should have confidence going into their matchup against Kansas State this week. It’s been difficult. The Bulldogs did not look all too impressive against Southeastern Louisiana in their only game last week. Despite the Lions shooting an abysmal 16% from deep, it was still a two-possession game with under two minutes to go.
As much as Jeremy Elyzee and Jalen Forrest’s performances should be lauded, and I will do that right now (shoutout to the Lions and both Elyzee and Forrest), Mississippi State has not looked like a tournament team so far this year, and the offense has been disjointed. Only one team in the conference has over 16 turnovers per game, and it’s the Bulldogs. Three Mississippi State players are currently averaging multiple turnovers per game.
Starkville Vibe Meter: Start to Worry/10.
12) LSU Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 14
Record: 3-0
Last week: W vs. FIU (98-81)
Next week: vs. Alcorn State (Nov. 18 – 8 p.m.), vs. Omaha (Nov. 21 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Quick pop quiz for my readers that haven’t tuned out yet: which SEC basketball teams have scored 90+ points in all games they’ve played so far? I’ll let y’all think about it for a second and give the answer at the end of this segment, but LSU has been playing really good offense so far this season. Five Tigers scored in double figures against FIU, and the team was 28-44 inside the arc. That’s really good. And on the defensive side, Robert Miller III had four blocks against the Panthers.
This week, it’s more tune-ups, but there’s a fun surprise hidden in there. Forward Marquel Sutton, who’s been playing really well on both sides of the ball, gets to play against his former team, the Omaha Mavericks. The Mavericks travel to Baton Rouge on Friday. Also, the answer to the question? LSU, Vanderbilt, and Georgia. There’s assuredly been weeks where those three teams have comprised the Bottom Three of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings in years past, so it’s great to see some improvements.
Baton Rouge Vibe Meter: Homecoming/10
13) Texas Longhorns
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 3-1
Last week: W vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (93-58), W vs. Kansas City (71-55)
Next week: vs. Rider (Nov. 18 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
After Texas’s loss to Duke, games against FDU and Kansas City weren’t going to move the needle back in favor of the Longhorns in terms of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. And, anyway, Texas was only up eight points against the Roos with 10 to go, so it’s not like they looked super impressive in the wins. The good news? Lassina Traore recorded a double-double off the bench.
Does the needle move this week? In all likelihood, no. The Longhorns host Rider in their lone game of the week, who have not looked competitive in losses to Virginia and Rutgers so far. It’s good for a tune-up, but not so much for moving up the rankings.
Austin Vibe Meter: 5/10.
14) South Carolina Gamecocks
Last week’s ranking: 16 (+2)
Record: 3-0
Last week: W vs. Presbyterian (81-61)
Next week: vs. Radford (Nov. 18 – 7 p.m.), vs. Butler (Nov. 21 – 2 p.m.), vs. Northwestern (Nov. 23 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Good vibes are continuing to flow through Columbia, at least for the basketball program. Jordan Butler set a career-high with 11 points in a win over Presbyterian, and freshman Grant Polk was a perfect 4-4 from deep. The team has one more tune-up game against Radford, however, before the road gets real.
South Carolina travels to the West Virginia-Virginia border this week for their first taste of Power Five action in the 2025-26 season. Over three days, they’ll face off against Butler and Northwestern, both of which are rated in the top 70 of the latest KenPom ratings. The two games will be a good litmus test for how the rest of the non-conference schedule may look like. One fact to know: the Gamecocks are one of just two SEC teams (Vanderbilt) averaging at least 12 three-pointers made per game.
Columbia Vibe Meter: Buckle Up/10.
15) Oklahoma Sooners
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-3)
Record: 2-2
Last week: W vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (95-69), L vs. Nebraska (105-99)
Next week: vs. Oral Roberts (Nov. 20 – 8 p.m.), vs. Alcorn State (Nov. 23 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
With six minutes to go in the first half against Nebraska, the Sooners were shaping up to have a pretty decent week. They were up by 16 against Nebraska, and the threes were flowing. Unfortunately for the Oklahoma faithful, Nebrasketball outscored the Sooners 77-55 the rest of the way behind a barrage of perimeter shots.
Despite Oklahoma hitting 14 threes on 37 attempts, Nebraska did them one better by hitting a blistering 15 of 27 deep balls against an Oklahoma defense that couldn’t stop the Huskers. Coming up, the Sooners should have an easier time holding their opponents below 100 points as they host Oral Roberts and Alcorn State.
Norman Vibe Meter: It’s Football Season/10.
16) Texas A&M Aggies
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-1)
Record: 2-2
Last week: L vs. UCF (86-74)
Next week: vs. Montana (Nov. 18 – 8 p.m.), vs. Manhattan (Nov. 21 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
The UCF Knights are not going to be on top of the Big 12 this year. But you might be mistaken after watching them come back to dismantle the Aggies in the second half last week in College Station. Outside of Josh Holloway, who shot 5-6 from the field, Texas A&M only managed a 31.4 FG%.
The defense might have been worse: UCF managed 23 assists and hit 14 threes. If not for Texas A&M’s 30 free-throw attempts, the final margin might have been a lot higher. From the 12:41 mark of the second half, the Aggies were outscored 48-22. That’s not going to cut it once the SEC schedule starts, though, to be fair, it’s not cutting it right now either. This week, the road gets easier, supposedly. Don’t sleep on Montana, though, who may be the best team in the Big Sky. The Grizzlies already went on the road to take down UNLV.
College Station Vibe Meter: Buc-ee’s/10.
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