The SEC is as good as it has ever been in Men's Basketball. It's so good that there's early advocation for as many as 12 teams from the league to get bids into the NCAA Tournament come March.
The league really raised eyebrows in the SEC/ACC challenge when the SEC won 14 of 16 contests. Auburn's loss to Duke and Kentucky's loss to Clemson were the only two blemishes on the league's resume.
With league play beginning soon, you know conference play will be a buzzsaw. Q1 games will be aplenty with numerous opportunities to build NCAA Tournament resumes.
All SEC teams have played at least 10 games so far. Let's rank the 16 programs so far:
SEC Basketball Power Rankings:
16. South Carolina Gamecocks: 7-3
The Gamecocks sit in last place at the moment as the only team with three losses. They're also one of the few SEC teams without a marquee victory. Right now, South Carolina's best win is over KenPom No. 145 Virginia Tech. It also has the league's worst loss - a season-opening home defeat to North Florida.
15. Vanderbilt Commodores: 9-1
The 'Dores are 9-1 but have only played three Top-100 teams in their first 10 games. They have a neutral-site win over No. 47 Nevada and a win over No. 87 TCU, but they've also lost to No. 73 Drake. Vanderbilt is far from a pushover under first-year head coach Mark Byington, but it remains to be seen the quality of this team with the weak out-of-conference schedule.
14. LSU Tigers: 8-2
LSU sits at 8-2, but they've lost against the only Top-50 teams they've played so far. The Tigers lost by double-digits to both Pittsburgh and SMU away from home. Their best wins so far are at home over No. 65 Florida State and a triple-overtime win over UCF on a neutral floor.
13. Missouri Tigers: 9-1
Missouri can hang its hat on a home win over Kansas, but otherwise, they've played a weak out-of-conference schedule so it's difficult to get a good assessment of whether they are legitimate SEC contenders or not through the first 10 games. They lost on the road to Memphis to open the season, and aside from that game and the win over Kansas, the rest of their opponents have been sub-100 in KenPom. They play Illinois on a neutral floor on the 22nd of this month in a game that'll give another good data point on them.
12. Texas Longhorns: 9-2
Texas has played three Top-100 teams so far, beating No. 83 NC State and losing to both Ohio State and UConn. Otherwise, they've feasted on cupcakes, including five teams ranked 340th or worse in KenPom. The Longhorns play another one coming up on Thursday against New Orleans before finishing up non-conference play against No. 265 Northwestern State. In a year where the SEC is as deep as it is, playing a weak non-conference schedule like Texas did could make it difficult to adjust.
11. Georgia Bulldogs: 9-1
It speaks to the strength of this league that Georgia could be ranked No. 11 right now. The Bulldogs have an impressive neutral-site win over St. John's and their only loss came to Marquette, also on a neutral floor. They also beat two other Top-100 opponents in Notre Dame and Grand Canyon. With guard Silas Demary and freshman big man Asa Newell, who looks like a lottery pick, the Bulldogs will be a tough out.
10. Arkansas Razorbacks: 9-2
Arkansas has a great win on a neutral floor over Michigan, but outside of that their next best wins are over fringe Top-100 opponents like Lipscomb and Miami. They lost neutral site games to Baylor and Illinois. It's tough to know how good Arkansas is at this point, but they are undeniably talented in John Calipari's first season.
9. Ole Miss Rebels: 9-1
The lone loss for Ole Miss so far was by just two points at a neutral site against Purdue. They have a win over BYU on a neutral floor and a road victory at Louisville. The Rebels upgraded the talent on the roster last year and they look like a likely tournament team in Chris Beard's second season in Oxford. They haven't been tested a ton, though, and SEC play will change that.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs: 9-1
Chris Jans' style isn't the most aesthetically pleasing to watch, but it is undeniably effective. Jans has led Mississippi State to the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons in Starkville and has played well enough out-of-conference to position themselves for a third straight bid. They beat SMU on the road and then blew out Pittsburgh at home in one of the most eye-popping results of the SEC/ACC challenge.
7. Oklahoma Sooners: 10-0
Oklahoma is 10-0, but they haven't played one of the tougher schedules so far. Even still, they have neutral site wins over Arizona and Louisville. They also beat two other Top-100 opponents on neutral floors - Providence and rival Oklahoma State. The Sooners will play their highest-ranked opponent to date this week when they face Michigan. A win over the Wolverines would probably cause them to move up even further.
6. Texas A&M Aggies: 9-2
It was a good last week for the Aggies, beating two teams ranked in the Top 25 in KenPom - knocking off Texas Tech on a neutral floor and then beating Purdue in what was effectively a road game. They also beat Ohio State and Creighton. With four quality wins, the only thing holding A&M back is a season-opening loss to No. 79 UCF.
5. Kentucky Wildcats: 10-1
Year one has gone about as good as could be expected for Mark Pope in Lexington. The Wildcats were one of two SEC losers against the ACC with a road loss to Clemson. Outside of that, Kentucky has two KenPom Top-10 wins - a neutral site win over Duke and a semi-away game against Gonzaga. The 'Cats are one of the best shooting teams in the conference and will be a factor in the SEC Championship race.
4. Florida Gators: 10-0
The off-court turbulence has not affected Todd Golden's ability to have his Florida team ready to play. The Gators haven't played a highly-ranked schedule, but the difference between them and other teams is that Florida has beaten everyone they've played this year by double-digits. Florida takes on North Carolina this week in what will be far and away their most challenging opponent to date.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide: 8-2
Alabama just finished one of the most challenging non-conference stretches in the country with seven consecutive games against teams ranked in the Top 80 of KenPom, and only one of them being played in Tuscaloosa. The Tide has wins over Illinois, Houston, North Carolina, and Creighton, and are just now getting healthy with the return of last year's AAC Player of the Year, Chris Youngblood. Alabama's best basketball is still in front of them.
2. Tennessee Volunteers: 10-0
Tennessee teams under Rick Barnes are always similar: they're going to be one of the best defensive teams in the country and they'll hope they have enough offense to make a deep run in March. The Vols have two high-quality wins: they beat Baylor on a neutral floor and just scored a buzzer-beating win on the road over Illinois this weekend. Even though they lost Dalton Knecht, Tennessee is one of the best teams in the country and it would surprise no one to see them win the SEC.
1. Auburn Tigers: 9-1
Auburn hasn't traditionally played challenging out-of-conference schedules under Bruce Pearl. This year was different, however, and the Tigers, even with a loss, probably have the best resume in the country. They beat Houston in what was effectively a road game in the second game of the season and then followed that up by winning the Maui Invitational by beating Iowa State, North Carolina, and Memphis. They lost to Duke on the road, but just blew out Ohio State on a neutral floor. Through 10 games, Johni Broome is the National Player of the Year and Auburn has been the best team in the country.