George Bagwell gives his SEC basketball power rankings heading into week 2 of the 2026-27 season.
Week 1 team of the week: Florida Gators
Week 1 game of the week: Florida – 77, Miami (FL) – 67
Week 1 player of the week: Saliou Niang, LSU
Week 2 matchup of the week: Kentucky vs. Kansas (Nov. 10 at 9:30 p.m., Chicago, IL.)
Week 2 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Alabama vs. Seton Hall (Nov. 13 at 9 p.m.)
1) Florida Gators
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. #14 Miami (FL) (77-67), W vs. Jacksonville (88-57)
Next week: at Florida State (Nov. 10 – 6 p.m.), vs. Merrimack (Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Miami (FL)
Bad losses: None
Coming into the season, Florida was seen as the national title favorite, not to mention SEC basketball favorite, by a plurality of the nation’s media sources, evidenced by their top ranking in the AP poll. A win over a solid Miami team only adds to the hype of this squad, and the three-headed rebounding machine made quick work of Jacksonville as well. This week, Florida stays in the Sunshine State as they travel to the capital to take on their rivals Florida State in what could sneakily be a very good game. The home tilt against Merrimack, however, likely will not be.
2) Texas Longhorns
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Chicago State (109-59), W vs. Gardner-Webb (98-50)
Next week: vs. Grambling (Nov. 9 – 7 p.m.), vs. Baylor (Nov. 15 – 3 p.m., San Antonio, TX.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Texas has this spot by virtue of preseason hype and the propensity of SEC basketball programs not to take risks in the first few weeks of the basketball season. Beating Chicago State and Gardner-Webb, no matter the margin, isn’t all too impressive for a Power Five school. Sure, the Longhorns won, but it’s the classic two low-major slate to kick off the season that we have to pretend is equitable and worth something other than the checks sent to the opposing athletic departments. It’s not. But don’t fret, as the Longhorns get to play Baylor in a neutral site contest this weekend, so we’ll get to see what this team is actually made of.
3) Vanderbilt Commodores
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Bellarmine (93-47), W vs. Wake Forest (74-51)
Next week: vs. Memphis (Nov. 10 – 7:15 p.m.), vs. Prairie View A&M (Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Like Texas, the Commodores won’t be penalized or rewarded for a blowout win over a low-major opponent. They will, however, move up from their place in the non-existent Week 0 SEC Basketball Power Rankings with a victory over Wake Forest, who, despite being 2026-27 Wake Forest basketball, do still count as a Power Five win. Tyler Tanner and Co. will have a chance to build on the Wake win when Memphis, fresh off wins against VCU and Iowa State, comes to Nashville on Tuesday. This quietly has the makings of a very competitive matchup, as Penny Hardaway might have his best Tigers team in years.
4) Tennessee Volunteers
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 1-0
Last week: W vs. Wofford (FL) (90-59)
Next week: vs. Radford (Nov. 9 – 7 p.m.), vs. Tennessee State (Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
We haven’t seen much from Tennessee so far this season, just a 40-minute win over Wofford in which the Volunteers sped away in the second half. Therefore, there isn’t much to move the needle in either direction. If we can draw anything from last week’s game, it’s a round of applause for DeWayne Brown II. After 4.8 PPG for Rick Barnes’s squad last season, he totaled 17 points and 17 rebounds in the season opener. Tennessee is still a force in SEC basketball as of right now, despite their exhibition losses.
5) Alabama Crimson Tide
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Sam Houston State (96-74), W vs. Arkansas State (101-86)
Next week: vs. Oakland (Nov. 9 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Seton Hall (Nov. 13 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Are we going to keep doing this every year? By this, I mean Alabama scoring plenty of points and giving up just a shade too many on defense to actually be a threat in the NCAA tournament when they run into a competent offense. It’s the first week of November and we’re already giving up 52 points against Arkansas State in a half? But not many SEC basketball teams looked particularly overpowering last week, so the Crimson Tide doesn’t receive as much ire as they could. A litmus test arrives to Tuscaloosa in the form of Seton Hall this week.
6) Kentucky Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Manhattan (85-57), W vs. James Madison (89-80)
Next week: vs. #15 Kansas (Nov. 10 – 9:30 p.m., Chicago, IL.), vs. Northern Arizona (Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Just like Alabama, Kentucky gave up 80+ points to a mid-major that had no business doing so. This time, it was James Madison who was up in the second half against the Wildcats before Kentucky eventually escaped with a nine-point victory against the same team that lost by nine to Miami (OH) earlier in the week. I don’t believe in the value of transitive wins, but the point remains that Kentucky cannot beat the top dogs of SEC basketball with the same type of performance that they put together last week against the Dukes, nor can they beat Kansas on Tuesday if they show those same type of defensive cracks.
7) Arkansas Razorbacks
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 1-1
Last week: W vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (106-61), L vs. #9 Virginia (91-72)
Next week: vs. Robert Morris (Nov. 11 – 8 p.m.), vs. Central Arkansas (Nov. 13 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Credit where credit is due: Arkansas scheduled a tough matchup in the first week of the college basketball season. Did they win? No, the Razorbacks lost by 19 points to Virginia. But at least they had the courage to schedule tough to begin the year, and Virginia very well may be one of the top teams in the nation. However, we know now that Arkansas’s roster, one of the youngest in the nation, will need some time to mesh before the SEC basketball conference schedule.
8) LSU Tigers
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. LSU New Orleans (100-57), W vs. Jacksonville (88-57)
Next week: vs. Louisiana Tech (Nov. 9 – 8 p.m.), at #14 Gonzaga (Nov. 14 – 3:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
The Tigers defeated the newly-branded LSU New Orleans and still-the-same-name Texas Southern in their first week with Will Wade back at the helm. That won’t tell us much, even with the lopsided margins. But a really nice matchup awaits on the horizon (this weekend) when the Tigers travel to Spokane to play Gonzaga. Might this team actually have depth?
9) Missouri Tigers
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 1-1
Last week: W vs. Cleveland State (111-50), L vs. Saint Louis (90-84)
Next week: vs. SIUE (Nov. 9 – 8 p.m.), vs. Marquette (Nov. 15 – 2:30 p.m., Chicago, IL.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
To throw validity on the claim that blowouts against low-majors should be taken with grains of salt, Missouri beat Cleveland State by 61 points just to falter against a solid Saint Louis squad. The good news? Star freshman Jason Crowe Jr. led the team with seven assists. The bad news? He shot 3-18 from the field. More good news? Bryson Tiller (the basketball player, not the singer) and Mark Mitchell combined for 47 points. I’m not worried about this Missouri squad, but the loss does mean they’ll have to fall a few spots in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings.
10) Auburn Tigers
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 1-0
Last week: W vs. Southeastern Louisiana (92-59)
Next week: vs. Appalachian State (Nov. 9 – 9 p.m.), vs. #12 Arizona (Nov. 13 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
We got our first taste of year two of Steven Pearl basketball with an Auburn win over Southeastern Louisiana, but that likely won’t tell us much. What will divulge the undercurrents of this program is a home matchup against a ranked Arizona squad this week. The best way to be impressed with Auburn basketball is by assuming a loss and being happy when that doesn’t happen. But to be fair, you can only play the schedule you’re given, and an SEC basketball team winning by 33 against a Southland opponent is better than losing to one. (Looking at you, Oklahoma.)
11) Texas A&M Aggies
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Alabama State (97-66), W vs. Northern Kentucky (104-67)
Next week: vs. UL Monroe (Nov. 9 – 8 p.m.), vs. Oklahoma State (Nov. 12 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Welcome to the number whatever of SEC basketball teams to blowout low-major opponents in the first week. Texas A&M will not move up in these rankings until they beat a Power Five opponent. The good news, however, for the Aggies, is that they have a chance to do just that when they host Oklahoma State this week. We’ll get a much more fair look at this program then.
12) Mississippi State Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Tennessee Tech (106-88), W vs. Northwestern State (82-44)
Next week: vs. Jackson State (Nov. 9 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Xavier (Nov. 13 – 9 p.m., White Sulphur Springs, WV.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
If we’re going to get mad at Alabama for giving up 50+ points in a half to a low-major opponent, we’ll have to do the same to Mississippi State after Tennessee Tech scored 51 points in the second half of the season opener. But there is hope after all considering Northwestern State managed just 44 points in 40 minutes against the Bulldogs. This week, Josh Hubbard and Co. travel to West Virginia to play Xavier, in possibly the first time that specific sentence fragment has been typed out in the SEC Basketball Power Rankings.
13) Ole Miss Rebels
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Alcorn State (99-58), W vs. Central Arkansas (92-60)
Next week: vs. Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 9 – 7:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Just one game awaits Ole Miss this week, a Monday home matchup with Southeastern Louisiana. There isn’t much to say in this note because not much has happened. As soon as we see the Rebels against Clemson, we’ll have a good idea of where this team stands. The only issue with that is the Tigers and Rebels don’t face off for another two weeks.
14) Georgia Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. North Carolina Central (78-62), W vs. Presbyterian (91-77)
Next week: vs. FGCU (Nov. 9 – 7 p.m.), at North Carolina (Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
In a week of cupcake games, Georgia had a pair of weaker showings compared to the rest of SEC basketball. Two wins over NC Central and Presbyterian by an average of 15 points aren’t all too impressive, despite Blue Cain’s 20-point outing against the Blue Hose. Don’t look away just yet, however, as the Bulldogs are traveling to Chapel Hill this week to face off against North Carolina in an early road test. It’s a winnable game against a squad that struggled to separate from Western Carolina in the season opener.
15) South Carolina Gamecocks
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Stetson (81-55), W vs. Southeast Missouri State (78-68)
Next week: vs. Saint Peter’s (Nov. 11 – 7 p.m.), vs. Gardner-Webb (Nov. 14 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
The lowest ranking of 2-0 teams in the SEC basketball standings belongs to South Carolina, who beat Stetson handily but defeated Southeast Missouri State by just 10. Good news? Sure, big man Juan Fernandez looks like a type of All-SEC talent through two games. More good news? Lead guard Kory Mincy might have found his groove, going on a 10-0 run by himself in the second half of the victory over SEMO. This week, there’s more low-major opponents to be seen on the schedule with Saint Peter’s and Gardner-Webb coming to Columbia.
16) Oklahoma Sooners
Last week’s ranking: N/A (-)
Record: 1-1
Last week: L vs. East Texas A&M (68-64), W vs. Mississippi Valley State (84-57)
Next week: vs. North Alabama (Nov. 9 – 8 p.m.), vs. FDU (Nov. 13 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: East Texas A&M
To the shock of zero readers, the team that lost at home to East Texas A&M finds themselves in last place. Oklahoma may have just had a result that happens once in 100 tries, and the season opener might have been that once. But we won’t know for sure until Oklahoma faces some Power Five opposition, which doesn’t happen for another two weeks. Welcome to the cellar of the SEC Basketball Power Rankings, Oklahoma.