George Bagwell gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 12 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 11 team of the week: Florida Gators
Week 11 game of the week: Florida vs. Vanderbilt
Week 11 player of the week: Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Week 12 matchup of the week: #20 Arkansas vs. #15 Vanderbilt – Jan. 20 at 9 p.m.
Week 12 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Missouri vs. Oklahoma – Jan. 24 at 2 p.m.
All games listed are EST.
1) Florida Gators
Last week’s ranking: 2 (+1)
Record: 13-5 (4-1)
Last week: W at Oklahoma (96-79), W at #10 Vanderbilt (98-94)
Next week: vs. LSU (Jan. 20 – 7 p.m.), vs. Auburn (Jan. 24 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Miami FL, vs. Georgia, vs. Tennessee, at Vanderbilt
Bad losses:
Florida is rolling, as the Gators are now winners of eight of their last nine contests. That includes a huge road win over the previous #1 (in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings) Vanderbilt. Maybe the key is letting Xaivian Lee wear #99 the rest of the season? It sure worked against the Commodores. This week, they’ve got two of the easier games on the SEC slate: home games against LSU and Auburn.
2) Vanderbilt Commodores
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-1)
Record: 16-2 (3-2)
Last week: L at Texas (80-64), L vs. #19 Florida (98-94)
Next week: at #20 Arkansas (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.), at Mississippi State (Jan. 24 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: at UCF, vs. VCU, vs. Saint Mary’s, vs. SMU, vs. Alabama, vs. LSU
Bad losses:
Vanderbilt finally took a loss last week, removing themselves from the ranks of the unbeaten. In fact, they lost twice, once extremely convincingly against Texas (the ‘Dores were down 20 towards the end of the game) and once more in a very tight contest against a good Florida team. Both losses are excusable to a degree, especially considering the Longhorns recently bested Alabama as well, but the double-defeat means Vanderbilt loses their vaunted #1 spot in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings, one they had held for a while.
3) Alabama Crimson Tide
Last week’s ranking: 6 (+3)
Record: 13-5 (3-2)
Last week: W at Mississippi State (97-82), W at Oklahoma (83-81)
Next week: vs. Tennessee (Jan. 24 – 8:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at St. John’s, vs. Illinois, vs. Clemson, vs. Kentucky
Bad losses:
Alabama won two road games last week, and although they were against two of the bottom teams in the conference, two SEC road victories back-to-back are impressive regardless. That moves them up into the top three of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings. As an additional reward, the Crimson Tide gets a mini-bye of sorts, drawing just one game this week. That game happens to be against a Tennessee squad that simply has looked average over the past few weeks. With that game being at home, Alabama should enter the next version of these rankings on a three-game winning streak.
4) Georgia Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 15-3 (3-2)
Last week: L vs. Ole Miss (97-95), W vs. #17 Arkansas (90-76)
Next week: at Missouri (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.), at Texas (Jan. 24 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Auburn, vs. Arkansas
Bad losses:
Georgia had a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde week, faltering against a not-so-good Ole Miss squad before looking really impressive en route to putting up 90 on Arkansas. That’s enough to keep them in the #4 spot, and they’re now the second SEC team to 15 wins on the year after Vanderbilt. This week, two sneaky-tough road games await. Can Georgia keep their positioning in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings?
5) Arkansas Razorbacks
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-2)
Record: 13-5 (3-2)
Last week: W vs. South Carolina (108-74), L at #21 Georgia (90-76)
Next week: vs. #15 Vanderbilt (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.), vs. LSU (Jan. 24 – 8:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Louisville, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Tennessee
Bad losses:
Arkansas, like Georgia, was a bit temperamental in terms of performance. The Hogs put up 108 on South Carolina, who typically have a pretty good defense. In response, Arkansas proceeded to wilt away in the late second half against Georgia, keeping them from a top four position in these rankings. This week, Arkansas stays home but faces a couple of tough tasks.
6) Kentucky Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+4)
Record: 12-6 (3-2)
Last week: W at LSU (75-74), W at #24 Tennessee (80-78)
Next week: vs. Texas (Jan. 21 – 7 p.m.), vs. Ole Miss (Jan. 24 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Indiana, vs. St. John’s, at LSU, at Tennessee
Bad losses:
Is Kentucky back? We don’t want to sound that alarm just yet, but a pair of comebacks are adding to that notion. The Wildcats were down 18 against LSU before a miracle shot at the buzzer found its way in, and were down 17 against Tennessee before gaining a late lead on a steal and score with under a minute to go against the Vols. If they can bag any of that magic this week, we might be talking about a team that’s 5-2 in SEC games by the end of January. Given all that Kentucky has gone through this year, (almost entirely self-inflicted) that’s not the end of the world.
7) Texas A&M Aggies
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-)
Record: 14-4 (4-1)
Last week: L at #24 Tennessee (87-82), W at Texas (74-70)
Next week: vs. Mississippi State (Jan. 21 – 9 p.m.), vs. South Carolina (Jan. 24 – 3:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. LSU, at Auburn, at Texas
Bad losses:
Texas A&M isn’t the first team many would have thought would be tied for the lead in the SEC entering the third week of January. But stranger things have happened, and look where we are. Texas A&M and Florida are, for what it’s worth, the only two programs in the conference without multiple conference losses. Talk about parity. And with home games against the two lowest-rated teams in the SEC, per KenPom, there’s a solid chance this team is 16-4 (6-1) by the time the next edition of these rankings comes out. I didn’t think I’d ever be typing that sentence.
8) Missouri Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-)
Record: 13-5 (3-2)
Last week: W vs. Auburn (84-74), L at LSU (78-70)
Next week: vs. #21 Georgia (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.), vs. Oklahoma (Jan. 24 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Florida, at Kentucky, vs. Auburn
Bad losses:
Missouri continues to stay afloat in the SEC conference race, despite missing a golden opportunity against LSU. The Tigers bested the Tigers (Auburn) to start the week then lost to the Tigers (LSU) to fall to 3-2 instead of having a share of the SEC lead. Wins against Florida and Kentucky have boosted this team’s morale for right now, but they’ll need to keep winning to earn serious tournament talk. There’s hope they can do that at home against Georgia and Oklahoma this week.
9) Texas Longhorns
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)
Record: 11-7 (2-3)
Last week: W vs. #10 Vanderbilt (80-64), L vs. Texas A&M (74-70)
Next week: at Kentucky (Jan. 21 – 7 p.m.), vs. #21 Georgia (Jan. 24 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. NC State, at Alabama, vs. Vanderbilt
Bad losses:
Texas is one of those teams where you can never really guess what they’re going to do. Games against Alabama and Vanderbilt? Two quality wins. Home game against Texas A&M? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Longhorns can be great at their best and barely NIT-caliber at their worst, hence their three resume-building wins to go along with an 11-7 record. This week, they have a chance to add two more quality wins with games against Kentucky and Georgia.
10) Tennessee Volunteers
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-5)
Record: 12-6 (2-3)
Last week: W vs. Texas A&M (87-82), L vs. Kentucky (80-78)
Next week: at #17 Alabama (Jan. 24 – 8:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Houston, vs. Louisville, vs. Texas, vs. Texas A&M
Bad losses:
Only two SEC teams have not managed a true road win this season. Shockingly to some, those teams are Tennessee and Auburn, coincidentally the only teams Bruce Pearl coached in the SEC. There really isn’t any significance behind that, just a fun little fact, but there is significance in Tennessee now holding three conference losses before February. That ain’t good, y’all. The latest loss, at home to Kentucky, occurred after the Vols were up by as much as 17. That’s inexcusable, and if they don’t avenge that loss with a road win over Alabama this weekend, all of a sudden this team is 2-4 in-conference.
11) Ole Miss Rebels
Last week’s ranking: 16 (+5)
Record: 11-7 (3-2)
Last week: W at #21 Georgia (97-95), W at Mississippi State (68-67)
Next week: vs. Auburn (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.), at Kentucky (Jan. 24 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Georgia
Bad losses: vs. Utah
Ole Miss escapes the cellar by winning two games in a row, almost unheard of for this team. The first one, a road victory over Georgia, was a real shocker. But when a team shoots 46% from deep, wins tend to happen. That’s a victory that will carry a lot of weight come March, if Ole Miss can actually string together a few wins and convince the rest of the country that they’re a tournament team.
12) Mississippi State Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)
Record: 10-8 (2-3)
Last week: L vs. #18 Alabama (97-82), L vs. Ole Miss (68-67)
Next week: at Texas A&M (Jan. 21 – 9 p.m.), vs. #15 Vanderbilt (Jan. 24 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Texas, vs. Oklahoma
Bad losses: vs. San Francisco, vs. Kansas State
That leaves Mississippi State trailing Ole Miss in the Battle of Mississippi, the SEC Basketball Power Rankings’ most unpredictable sideplot. All it would’ve taken for the Bulldogs to maintain an above-.500 conference record was a home win against their rivals. And they couldn’t get it done. But what’s done is done, and Starkville must move on to two tough games this week: a road test against conference leaders Texas A&M before coming back home to play a motivated Vanderbilt.
13) Auburn Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-1)
Record: 11-7 (2-3)
Last week: L at Missouri (84-74), W vs. South Carolina (71-67)
Next week: at Ole Miss (Jan. 20 – 9 p.m.), at #16 Florida (Jan. 24 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. St. John’s, vs. N.C. State, vs. Arkansas
Bad losses:
Auburn simply isn’t that great. The Tigers now have seven losses after falling to Missouri, and even in their win last week against South Carolina, they looked bad. Auburn shot 2-19 from deep, 11%. Is that bad? It ain’t good. But if Auburn can sneak past Ole Miss on the road, who themselves have not been great, it’ll keep them afloat in terms of tournament talk.
14) LSU Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 15 (+1)
Record: 13-5 (1-4)
Last week: L vs. Kentucky (75-74), W vs. Missouri (78-70)
Next week: at #16 Florida (Jan. 20 – 7 p.m.), at #20 Arkansas (Jan. 24 – 8:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. SMU, vs. Missouri
Bad losses: vs. South Carolina
With LSU’s victory over Missouri, every team in the SEC has a win, and it’s not even February yet. That was quick. And if not for a miracle inbounds play in which the Tigers completely forgot to play defense, we’d be talking about a this team having two wins instead of just one. But you win some and you lose some, and every week is a clean slate. However, this upcoming week is actually quite the difficult slate, as LSU has to travel on the road to play Florida and Arkansas back-to-back. The Tigers are the only team in the SEC with multiple ranked matchups next week.
15) Oklahoma Sooners
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-2)
Record: 11-7 (1-4)
Last week: L vs. #19 Florida (96-79), L vs. #18 Alabama (83-81)
Next week: at South Carolina (Jan. 20 – 7 p.m.), at Missouri (Jan. 24 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins:
Bad losses:
Oklahoma is in trouble. The Sooners have now lost four games in a row, the worst streak in the SEC. Adding to that, their best win on the season is still Oklahoma State. Things are not looking up for Oklahoma, and they missed a chance to grab a real resume-boosting win over Alabama this week. Luckily for Porter Moser’s group, they get prescribed a game against South Carolina to kick off the week. Unluckily for them, Oklahoma has been playing so poorly recently that the Gamecocks are actually favored to win. Go figure.
16) South Carolina Gamecocks
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-2)
Record: 10-8 (1-4)
Last week: L at #17 Arkansas (108-74), L at Auburn (71-67)
Next week: vs. Oklahoma (Jan. 20 – 7 p.m.), at Texas A&M (Jan. 24 – 3:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at LSU
Bad losses:
South Carolina gets relegated to the bottom once more. The Gamecocks looked completely uncompetitive against Arkansas, giving up 108 points, then failed to take advantage when Auburn put up one of the worst shooting nights from deep the SEC has seen all year. Time is running out if this team wants to go on a heater and make the tournament. That very-low possibility starts with two wins this week against Oklahoma and Texas A&M.