The penultimate month of the college basketball season is upon us.
With the calendar flipping to February the SEC is still completely up for grabs with a month left in the regular season.
Top teams like Auburn and Kentucky have struggled recently while programs like Alabama and South Carolina continue to climb up the standings.
This conference is getting harder and harder to predict, although we are finally starting to get an idea of what teams are “for real” heading into the home stretch of the season.
Here is where each program ranks heading into February.
Vanderbilt
Last Week: 0-1
Regular Season: 5-14
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: N/A
Vanderbilt hosted Tennessee in its lone game this week and lost by 13. It is becoming increasingly likely the Commodores go winless in the conference.
Ezra Manjon and Tyrin Lawrence need to strike lightning and combine for around 60 points if Jerry Stackhouse has any hope of picking up an SEC win.
Missouri
Last Week: 0-2
Regular Season: 8-12
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: N/A
Missouri is the little engine that couldn’t.
The Tigers are super-talented behind Sean East II, Nick Honor, and Noah Carter but just can’t win games.
A 2-0 week is possible to open up February with a home game vs. Arkansas and road matchup with Vanderbilt on the docket.
Arkansas
Last Week: 0-2
Regular Season: 10-10
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: N/A
We seem to be at the point where Eric Musselman and the Arkansas Razorbacks need to win the SEC Tournament in order to make the big dance in March.
Arkansas had a chance to pick up a pair of major wins at Ole Miss and at home against Kentucky this week but failed in both.
The Hogs to have a trio of winnable games due up next against Missouri, LSU, and Georgia.
LSU
Last Week: 0-2
Regular Season: 11-9
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: N/A
The LSU Tigers came back down to earth this week with road loses against Georgia and Alabama.
Jordan Wright and Jalen Cook have created one of the better backcourts in the SEC, but struggles from forward Will Baker and the rest of the supporting cast makes it hard to trust the Tigers.
LSU can beat anybody when the guards shoot well. If they don’t, the floor is very low.
Texas A&M
Last Week: 1-1
Regular Season: 12-8
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: First Four Out
Texas A&M hosted Ole Miss and Missouri this week. The Aggies barely skated past Missouri before losing a heartbreaker to Chris Beard and Ole Miss.
Buzz Williams’s team has slipped further and further down the SEC and suddenly find themselves on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament.
Wade Taylor IV really needs to lead his squad to a perfect week against Florida and Missouri to get the Aggies back on track.
Georgia
Last Week: 1-1
Regular Season: 14-6
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: N/A
UGA had the chance to complete an extremely unlikely comeback win over Florida in “The Swamp” on Saturday.
The Bulldogs fell in overtime.
The loss turned out to be massive as it dropped Georgia to 4-3 in SEC play. A 5-2 mark would not only look a lot better, but it would have given the Bulldogs a chance to take over first place in the SEC with a win against Alabama this week.
Instead, they’ll need an upset victory in Tuscaloosa to stay in the hunt.
Florida
Last Week: 2-0
Regular Season: 14-6
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: Next Four Out
Florida managed a very impressive 9-point win over Mississippi State to open up its week before they nearly blew a 20-point second half lead against Georgia to end the week.
The Gators escaped with an overtime win, but the game once again emphasized how poor Florida’s depth is.
A bench that averages under 15 points per game isn’t going to get it done.
Mississippi State
Last Week: 1-1
Regular Season: 14-6
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: 10
Mississippi State is an odd basketball team.
Outside of Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith the Bulldogs really struggle to score, which can be seen in their losses to Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, and South Carolina.
MSU still defends at an elite level, especially at home, and that has helped them capture massive victories over Tennessee and Auburn.
The resume is weird, but Mississippi State is a tournament team.
Ole Miss
Last Week: 2-0
Regular Season: 17-3
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: 8
Ole Miss is good enough to beat mediocre teams.
Unfortunately for Rebels fans, they aren’t going to make much noise against the better half of college basketball.
Chris Beard’s squad did pick up a monster win over Texas A&M in College Station this week but the good times won’t last long with upcoming games against Mississippi State, Auburn, Kentucky, and South Carolina.
Auburn
Last Week: 0-2
Regular Season: 16-4
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: 3
Road losses happen in college basketball, especially in conferences as good as the SEC.
The concerning part of Auburn’s week came in the Tigers second loss against Mississippi State on Saturday.
Auburn shot just 32% from the field in the contest and failed to hit timely shots again and again. If the Tigers hope to make a run this season, they have to be better.
Kentucky
Last Week: 1-1
Regular Season: 15-4
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: 3
The Kentucky Wildcats still do not play a lick of defense. That cost them this week against South Carolina in a game Kentucky struggled to score.
The Wildcats are extremely talented and still have possibly the best offensive firepower in the country, but that might not matter if the young guards refusal to play solid defense continues.
South Carolina
Last Week: 2-0
Regular Season: 17-3
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: 7
South Carolina has officially entered the conversation for the SEC title.
The Gamecocks have the star in Meechie Johnson. They have the big win against Kentucky, and they have team chemistry to make a run.
U of SC will be major underdogs to open the week in Knoxville against Tennessee. A win over the Volunteers could instantly make Meechie Johnson and company favorites in the SEC.
Alabama
Last Week: 2-0
Regular Season: 14-6
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: 5
It looks like the Alabama Crimson Tide have put their non-conference struggles behind them.
Nate Oats has his team a top the SEC with a 6-1 record, with the only loss coming in Knoxville against Tennessee.
The Tide should breeze to an undefeated week in Athens against Georgia and at home against Mississippi State before a huge rivalry game in Auburn next week.
Tennessee
Last Week: 2-0
Regular Season: 15-4
Projected NCAA Tournament Seed: 2
Dalton Knecht is the SEC Player of the Year.
This Tennessee team was talented enough to win the conference before his breakout. Now? The sky is the limit for Rick Barnes and the Vols.
