The SEC continues to cannibalize itself in men's basketball this season. Everyone is going to take some losses this season, and if you don't bring the energy and effort, anyone can beat you.
Alabama learned that the hard way when it lost at home to Ole Miss on Tuesday. It more than made up for it with a road win in Lexington over Kentucky, but the Crimson Tide probably should be 5-0 in league play. That slip up could prove costly down the stretch in a cutthroat league.
But did the Crimson Tide move at all from where it was a week ago in our SEC Power rankings?
SEC Basketball Power Rankings
16. South Carolina Gamecocks: 10-8 (0-5)
South Carolina let one slip away last Saturday at home against Auburn, and this week was always going to be challenging as the Gamecocks had two games away from home. They lost a close win at Vanderbilt and then got blown out on Saturday at Oklahoma.
South Carolina now sits at 0-5 in the league. The good news is they get two home games coming up; the bad news is that it will be against a pair of Top 25 opponents: Florida and Mississippi State.
15. Arkansas Razorbacks: 11-7 (0-5)
The vibes are terrible in Fayetteville. The Hogs are 0-5 in the SEC and John Calipari looks in over his head. He looks like a coach who has seen the game pass him by. All Kentucky fans in the chat are throwing the thumbs up.
Arkansas lost a close on the road to LSU before getting pummeled at Missouri on Saturday. To garner any momentum, the Razorbacks need to win both games they have at home this week against Georgia and Oklahoma.
14. LSU Tigers: 12-6 (1-4)
LSU got its first conference win over an equally hapless Arkansas team. There might not be many more on the horizon for the Tigers this season. They were competitive for a while on the road against Texas A&M, but they just don't have the talent most teams in the league do.
The Tigers get a week off before traveling to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama.
13. Oklahoma Sooners: 14-4 (1-4)
The Sooners went to 0-4 in the SEC with another close loss, this time at home to Texas. The good news is Oklahoma finally got off the snide and earned their first-ever SEC win by beating up on hapless South Carolina in Norman.
Oklahoma only has one game this week and has a much-needed week off before going to Arkansas on Saturday.
12. Texas Longhorns: 12-6 (1-4)
Like the rival Sooners, Texas got its first-ever SEC win this week by beating Oklahoma. It followed that up by getting beaten down on the road against Florida.
The win over Oklahoma was the first Top 50 win of the season for Texas. They have a pretty weak resume at the moment, but the good news is in the SEC this year is there will be plenty of chances for quality wins. They get Missouri and Texas A&M in Austin this week with two opportunities for key wins.
11. Georgia Bulldogs: 14-4 (2-3)
Georgia went 0-2 this week, but most teams in the country would have gone 0-2 facing the gauntlet the Bulldogs had in front of them. First, they had to travel to Knoxville to face Tennessee in a game they lost by 18. They got to return to the friendly confines of Athens on Saturday, but they had the No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers in front of them.
Georgia put up a fight but fell short against Auburn to drop to 2-3 in the SEC. The road gets slightly easier, but they have back-to-back road games this week at Arkansas and Florida.
10. Vanderbilt Commodores: 15-3 (3-2)
Vanderbilt took advantage of having two home games this week and after beating South Carolina mid-week, the 'Dores knocked off Tennessee 76-75 to earn a signature win and put itself firmly in NCAA Tournament discussions.
New head coach Mark Byington has done a really good job with a team that hasn't been competitive recently. Vandy will travel to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama this week before finishing the week at home against Kentucky.
9. Mississippi State: 15-3 (3-2)
It speaks to how ridiculous the SEC is this year that Mississippi State could possibly be the 9th ranked team in the league. They earned a huge win over Ole Miss at home on Saturday but got blown out by Auburn in the middle of the week even with the Tigers playing without Johni Broome.
Back-to-back road games await the Bulldogs this week with trips to Tennessee and South Carolina.
8. Texas A&M Aggies: 14-4 (3-2)
Texas A&M was happy to get Wade Taylor IV back on Saturday against LSU. The Aggies went 1-2 without him with a win over Oklahoma and losses to Alabama and Kentucky. It knocked off LSU at home to get above .500 in the SEC.
Taylor's return is big as A&M goes on the road this week to face Ole Miss and Texas.
7. Missouri Tigers: 15-3 (4-1)
The runaway SEC coach of the year at this point has to be Missouri's Dennis Gates. His Tigers went a winless 0-18 in the SEC a year ago. They're off to a 4-1 start to this season with the only loss coming in its SEC opener at Auburn.
They've won four in a row since then and that includes an incredibly impressive road win at Florida. They followed that up with a blowout win over Arkansas and now the Tigers have positioned themselves as a legitimate contender in the SEC race.
6. Tennessee Volunteers: 16-2 (3-2)
Tennessee had an easy win over Georgia this week at home and then suffered a road upset at the hands of Vanderbilt. The loss to Vandy and the blowout defeat at Florida keeps Tennessee lower for me than most would probably agree with considering their standing among the national media.
The Vols defense is one of the best in America. I continue to worry if they have enough offensive firepower to be a real threat. They get Mississippi State at home this week before a huge showdown on Saturday at Auburn.
5. Florida Gators: 16-2 (3-2)
Florida suffered an unfortunate setback mid-week when Missouri came into Gainesville and stunned the Gators. But the Tigers are looking like a legitimate team, so it shouldn't be too costly. Florida bounced back and blew out Texas.
The Gators have two winnable games this week: first, they go on the road to face South Carolina before hosting Georgia on Saturday.
4. Kentucky Wildcats: 14-4 (3-2)
Kentucky has one of the best offenses in the country, but if they don't improve defensively they won't be a serious threat for the SEC title or in the NCAA Tournament. They remind me a lot of Alabama last season, but the Crimson Tide made a Final Four run because they finally started defending.
The 'Cats got a nice home win this week over Texas A&M and then lost a close one to Alabama at Rupp on Saturday. Kentucky gets a week off now before heading to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Saturday.
3. Ole Miss Rebels: 15-3 (4-1)
It's hard not to be impressed with what Ole Miss did this week to go 1-1. They lost on Saturday to rival Mississippi State in overtime in Starkville, but they scored a massive road victory in Tuscaloosa over Alabama on Tuesday that should finally give Chris Beard's team some respect.
They get Texas A&M at home this week and then go on the road to face Missouri.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide: 15-3 (4-1)
Even with the head-to-head loss at home, Alabama's resume trumps that of Ole Miss' and keeps the Crimson Tide ahead of the Rebels this week. Tuesday's home loss to Ole Miss was hard to stomach, but Alabama did what it needed to and bounced back in a big way with a win in Lexington over Kentucky.
Alabama's floor is lower than I thought it was, but the Crimson Tide still has one of the highest ceilings in the country.
Alabama has two games it should win this week at home with Vanderbilt and LSU coming to Coleman Coliseum.
1. Auburn Tigers: 17-1 (5-0)
I try to avoid giving credit to Auburn when I can help it, but it's impossible to not be impressed with this Tigers team. When Johni Broome went down with an ankle injury against South Carolina, most pundits expected Auburn to struggle. Instead, in two games without him Auburn blew out Mississippi State at home and knocked off Georgia on the road to remain undefeated in the SEC.
Auburn gets a much-needed week off this week with no mid-week game before hosting Tennessee in the Jungle on Saturday.