George Bagwell gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 6 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 5 team of the week:Â Arkansas Razorbacks
Week 5 game of the week: Texas A&M vs. SMU
Week 5 player of the week:Â Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
Week 6 matchup of the week: #12 Alabama vs. #2 Arizona – Dec. 13 at 9:30 p.m.
Week 6 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Georgia vs. Cincinnati – Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.
All games listed are EST.
1) Vanderbilt Commodores
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 9-0
Last week: W vs. SMU (88-69)
Next week: vs. Central Arkansas (Dec. 13 – 6:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at UCF, vs. VCU, vs. Saint Mary’s, vs. SMU
Bad losses:
Vanderbilt beat a pretty good SMU squad (something another SEC team couldn’t say) en route to continuing their undefeated start to the season. They’ve now got almost a handful of quality wins under their belt, and can boast that they’re the only SEC team within the top 10 of the latest KenPom ratings. In fact, every other SEC team has either multiple losses or doesn’t yet hold a quality win. Vanderbilt really is in a league of their own at the moment, and we’ll assume they’ll get by Central Arkansas this week to become the first SEC team to 10 wins.
2) Alabama Crimson Tide
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)
Record: 7-2
Last week: W vs. Clemson (90-84), W vs. UTSA (97-55)
Next week: vs. #2 Arizona (Dec. 13 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at St. John’s, vs. Illinois, vs. Clemson
Bad losses:
Alabama had a tale of two halves against Clemson, outscoring the Tigers by 15 points in the first and getting the margin to 19 before giving it all back and relinquishing the lead twice in the second half. They’ve simply got to be more consistent if they want to make any type of deep run in the tournament, but there’s so much time between December and March that there’s no reason to panic yet.
The victory over Clemson will also go into the books as a quality win. But this week, the Tide have to face arguably the nation’s best team in Arizona in what is a de facto home game in Birmingham, one hour from Tuscaloosa and 23 hours from Tucson. Please stop with the “neutral-site” home games, college basketball. I beg.
3) Arkansas Razorbacks
Last week’s ranking: 9 (+6)
Record: 7-2
Last week: W vs. #6 Louisville (89-80), W vs. Fresno State (82-58)
Next week: vs. #19 Texas Tech (Dec. 13 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Louisville
Bad losses:
Arkansas is this week’s biggest winner in the SEC, partially because of team success and partially because the rest of the conference decided to play like Larry Johnson and Charles Barkley when they got their talent sucked away in Space Jam. Genuinely, 12 SEC teams combined for a combined 16 losses in seven days. That’s horrible.
But Arkansas isn’t among those teams. They finally gave the country to give them a ranking by beating Louisville at home, quite handily. And Fresno State didn’t put up much of a fight, either. Coach Cal and the ‘Backs are back, and I apologize for not having Arkansas higher in previous weeks. I hope my Arkansas readership can forgive me. This week’s game against Texas Tech should be a good one.
4) Tennessee Volunteers
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-2)
Record: 7-3
Last week: L at Syracuse (62-60), L vs. #14 Illinois (75-62)
Next week: OFF
Quality wins: vs. Houston
Bad losses:
What happened, Tennessee? It feels like just yesterday this team was at the top of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. But they’ve now compiled three straight losses. I understand that traveling to Syracuse can be difficult. But the Orange might not make the tournament. If you’re supposedly the best team in the SEC, you can’t lose to Syracuse in the SEC-ACC Challenge. It’s embarrassing, frankly. And the lost to Illinois is a little more acceptable, but at a certain point, you’ve got to win games. It won’t happen this week, because the Vols don’t actually play a game. By the time they suit up against Louisville next Tuesday, their last win will have been prior to Thanksgiving.
5) Auburn Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-1)
Record: 7-3
Last week: W vs. NC State (83-73), L at #2 Arizona (97-68)
Next week: vs. Chattanooga (Dec. 13 – 4:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. St. John’s, vs. N.C. State
Bad losses:
Auburn is starting to take shape. By that, I mean it’s starting to be easier to get a feel for what the Tigers are as a team. They cannot beat the best of the best (blowout losses to Michigan and Arizona), but can play decent against a top-15 team and win a few games. They’re the perfect “5-seed to the Sweet Sixteen before getting destroyed by Duke” type of team, and in the first year of a new coaching era, that’s not bad. I mean, that really is worth celebrating, is it not? Regardless of fans’ opinions on that, they can probably celebrate after playing Chattanooga on Saturday. The Mocs just lost to Southeast Missouri State.
6) Florida Gators
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-1)
Record: 5-3
Last week: L at #4 Duke (67-66)
Next week: vs. #5 UConn (Dec. 9 – 9 p.m.), vs. George Washington (Dec. 13 – 2:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Miami FL
Bad losses:
Florida is confusing. Yes, they didn’t win last week, but they lost by one point on the road to Duke. That’s about as acceptable of a result as a non-win can be. And for that, they only slide back one spot. But the reason they don’t stick as the five, besides Arkansas’s quality win, is that the Gators are 5-3 with just a single quality win and a pretty weak loss to TCU.
They commit way too many turnovers, (over 14 per game) commit way too many fouls, (over 19 per game) don’t move the ball enough, (less than 15 assists per game) and can’t shoot. (Florida is the only SEC team with an eFG% of less than 50.0%.) So forgive me for not being the most bullish about the reigning champs’ future fates.
7) Georgia Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+4)
Record: 8-1
Last week: W at Florida State (107-73)
Next week: vs. Cincinnati (Dec. 13 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Georgia is back in the top half of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings, and it’s slightly because of other SEC teams failing to win, but also because of a 34-point victory over Florida State in Tallahassee. Georgia’s offense is legit, having now reached the 100-point mark in four games, including their last two. KenPom loves Georgia, too, putting them into the top 25 following their win. In fact, the Bulldogs are one of six SEC teams in the top 44 of adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, per KenPom. (That group doesn’t include Alabama or Auburn.) This week, Georgia should beat Cincinnati.
8) LSU Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)
Record: 8-1
Last week: W at Boston College (78-69), L vs. #19 Texas Tech (82-58)
Next week: vs. SMU (Dec. 13 – 8:30 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
LSU really came back to Earth this past week, but it was partially out of their control. Jalen Reed, who had been averaging 9.5 PPG and 5.7 RPG, tore his Achilles and will miss the rest of the season. That’s crushing for a player that fought so hard to get back on the court after a knee injury last season.
The Tigers beat Boston College in overtime, but really shouldn’t have been in overtime with Boston College to begin with. The Eagles are not a good team. And the loss to Texas Tech really showed some holes that need to be patched before SEC games start. However, if the Tigers can right the ship against SMU on Saturday, they’ve got a real chance to be 12-1 by the time 2026 rolls around, with a really good offense to boot.
9) Kentucky Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-2)
Record: 5-4
Last week: L vs. #16 North Carolina (67-64), L vs. #11 Gonzaga (94-59)
Next week: vs. NC Central (Dec. 9 – 7 p.m.), vs. #22 Indiana (Dec. 13 – 7:30 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Can you hear that? It’s the sound of cash being slid under the door of Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart. Fans have lined up for miles in Lexington to try and raise the money for Mark Pope’s buyout after doing the same to Mark Stoops earlier this month. The line has reached so long that it’s now past the Mary Todd Lincoln House and onto I-75. Lexington officials have managed to quell the unrest, but only momentarily.
See how outrageous that sounds? But at the risk of giving a fanbase with unrealistic expectations a chance to proclaim victory of thought, Kentucky fans have every single right to be mad with this team. They’re 5-4! In December! That’s not the Kentucky basketball we’ve come to know. In fact, even in the last few years of John Calipari, the team wasn’t getting blown out by 35 by Gonzaga at a “neutral-site” just three hours away. Matter of fact, where is John Calipari? Oh yeah, at number three on this list. Kentucky has to fix something, but time will tell if they can: this roster construction is no Picasso.
10) Oklahoma Sooners
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+4)
Record: 6-3
Last week: W at Wake Forest (86-68), L vs. Arizona State (86-70)
Next week: vs. Oklahoma State (Dec. 13 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Wake Forest
Bad losses:
Oklahoma confuses me. A double-digit road win over a tournament-level team in Wake Forest? Perfect. Immediately followed by an embarrassing loss to Arizona State, who likely will not be sniffing the dance? I don’t know what to think. But by virtue of almost every other SEC team deciding to lose last week, we’re moving Oklahoma into the top 10 again, almost entirely because of the Wake Forest win. Let it be known, however, that Oklahoma is officially skating on thin ice. (Is there even any ice in Oklahoma?)
11) Texas Longhorns
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-1)
Record: 6-3
Last week: L vs. Virginia (88-69)
Next week: vs. Southern (Dec. 8 – 8 p.m.), at #5 UConn (Dec. 12 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. NC State
Bad losses:
Texas played a top-25 team at home in the ACC-SEC Challenge. It did not go well. Virginia led by as much as 28 and hit half of their shots from deep. Texas…did not. On the bright side, the Longhorns have a great chance to move up in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings by beating UConn on the road on Friday? Can they do it? I’ll toss them in the top six if they do, how about that?
12) Missouri Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-4)
Record: 8-2
Last week: L at Notre Dame (76-71), L vs. #21 Kansas (80-60)
Next week: vs. Alabama State (Dec. 11 – 8 p.m.), vs. Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 14 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
I miss the good times (last week) when Missouri was the best team in their bubble of the Midwest (undefeated). No longer. Not only did the Tigers lose the Border War, but they also faltered to Notre Dame on the road. That’s (border)line a bad loss to a team that already recorded three losses on the year. Keep in mind, the Tigers don’t yet have a quality win on their resume yet. Not only that, but they won’t get a chance to do so until they play Illinois in a couple of weeks.
13) Texas A&M Aggies
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-1)
Record: 7-3
Last week: W at Pitt (81-73), L vs. SMU (93-80)
Next week: vs. Jacksonville (Dec. 14 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Texas A&M was oh-so-close to moving big in these rankings. A road victory over Pitt wouldn’t do much, but triumphing over SMU? That’s impressive. The only issue? The Aggies were up 77-73, with the ball, with 40 seconds to go, and lost. By 13! Granted, those 13 points of margin came in overtime, but still. In the final 5:40 of the game, the Aggies were outscored 20-3. Time to look at the College Football Playoff, I guess.
14) Ole Miss Rebels
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-1)
Record: 5-4
Last week: L vs. Miami-FL (75-66), L at #23 St. John’s (63-58)
Next week: vs. Southern Miss (Dec. 13 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses: vs. Utah
What’s going on in Oxford? The Rebels have now lost four straight and don’t have a quality win on the season. They’re the only team in the SEC averaging less than 78 PPG, can’t shoot from inside the arc, and need to actually win a game. They haven’t beaten a Power Five opponent since March, and their last victory at all was by seven against Austin Peay on November 18! There is no standing argument for this team being ranked even in the top 12 of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings, and I will not hear one regardless.
15) South Carolina Gamecocks
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-)
Record: 6-3
Last week: L vs. Virginia Tech (86-83), W vs. Stetson (82-51)
Next week: vs. The Citadel (Dec. 13 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
So close, yet again. The Gamecocks are two shots away from being 8-1 with two Power Five victories under their belt. But as life goes, they’re 6-3 and 15th of 16 schools in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. Their latest heartbreak is an overtime loss at home against Virginia Tech in which the Gamecocks had a chance to win while holding for their last shot in regulation. The issue with that is that South Carolina held so long that they didn’t even get a shot off. They proceeded to lose the game in overtime. Heartbreaking, but also a good metaphor for how the season has gone so far.
16) Mississippi State Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-)
Record: 4-5
Last week: W at Georgia Tech (85-73), L vs. San Francisco (65-62)
Next week: vs. Utah (Dec. 13 – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses: vs. New Mexico, vs. San Francisco, vs. Kansas State
Here we go again. It’s hard to write this particular segment of the article without feeling repetitive. Mississippi State has another bad loss, filler text, filler text. That’s how Mississippi State basketball has the author feeling right now. To put it in perspective, it’s December of 2025 following three straight NCAA Tournament appearances for Mississippi State, they’re 4-5 coming off a loss to a WCC opponent in Tupelo, and they haven’t won consecutive games since mid-February. Something has to change.