After 30-plus games for SEC basketball teams, the end of the SEC regular season is a good time to rate the head coaches. In a sense, what happens in early March is that one season ends and another one begins. The second season is the most important one, but coaches who have performed well through the regular season deserve notice.
Seven SEC teams and possibly an eighth are expected to make the NCAA Tournament field. Since basketball is a tournament sport, what happens in March, and into April for a few teams, most defines a team's season.
Especially during tournament season, the best teams most often prevail. With little exception, the best teams are led by the best coaches. Based on the regular season the SEC basketball coaches are ranked, worst to best below.
SEC Basketball Head Coach Power Ranking
No. 14 - Dennis Gates - Missouri Tigers
It is a no-brainer to rank Gates at the bottom. His team was winless in SEC play and 8-23 overall. The Tigers have not won since Dec. 30. Their best performance of the season was a five-point home loss to Tennessee.
No. 13 - Eric Musselman - Arkansas Razorbacks
No coach in the SEC has done less with more than Musselman. The Razorbacks are 15-16 and 6-12 in SEC play. One positive for the Hogs is they have continued to battle for victories, despite speculation that Musselman will hit an SEC exit door quickly after his team's final loss.
No. 12 - Jerry Stackhouse - Vanderbilt Commodores
Admittedly for a coach with a 4-14 SEC record this season, the No. 12 ranking is a bit of grading on a curve. Any coach of the Commodores competes with a fundamental disadvantage. The 9-22 overall record has little to boast about, but going back to mid-February, the Dores have beaten Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Florida.