Saturday's Iron Bowl of Basketball featuring a No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 2 Alabama for supremacy in the SEC lived up to the billing for stretches, but ultimately ended in disappointment for the Crimson Tide as Auburn walked out of Coleman Coliseum with a 94-85 win.
Alabama shot the ball poorly, connecting on just 5-of-26 attempts from three-point range against a stingy Auburn defense and the Tigers took the first of two regular season meetings between the two rivals. Alabama and Auburn will meet again at Neville Arena on the final day of the regular season. It'll give Alabama a chance to avenge the home loss to the Tigers.
For now, Auburn is a clear-cut No. 1 in the SEC and in the nation. Where does Alabama fall following the disappointing defeat?
SEC Basketball Power Rankings
16. South Carolina Gamecocks: 10-15 (0-12)
A winless SEC schedule is looking more like a reality for the Gamecocks with just six games to play. They had a late lead this week at home against Ole Miss, but as they have done in every close game in SEC play, they found a way to lose. They were overmatched on the road against Florida on Saturday.
South Carolina has three winnable home games remaining, with KenPom giving them at least a 44% chance in games against Texas, Arkansas, and Georgia.
15. LSU Tigers: 13-12 (2-10)
LSU remains at 15th but the Tigers earned the win they'd been waiting on this week. On Saturday, LSU went on the road and earned an 82-79 win over Oklahoma in Norman for their second SEC win of the season. That came on the heels of a 12-point road loss to Arkansas in midweek action.
Coming up, LSU faces South Carolina at home on Tuesday before Florida comes to Baton Rouge next Saturday.
14. Oklahoma Sooners: 16-9 (3-9)
Oklahoma's first year in the SEC has been little fun. After an impressive 13-0 run in non-conference play, the Sooners have lost nine of 12 in SEC play. Saturday's three-point home defeat to KenPom No. 80 LSU is the most damaging of defeats, and likely places Porter Moser's team on the wrong side of the bubble. It was simply not a defeat they could afford to take this late in the game.
A tough week awaits Oklahoma with a midweek road trip to Gainesville before a home matchup against Mississippi State next Saturday.
13. Georgia Bulldogs: 16-10 (4-9)
Another team likely teetering on the wrong side of the bubble is Mike White's Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia has now lost three consecutive games and four of their last five following a week that saw them lose at Texas A&M and at home against Missouri. Georgia really needed a win over Missouri on Saturday, but the Tigers took over and won by 13.
Georgia finally gets a much-needed week off but they'll be welcomed back from the break with a road game at Auburn.
12. Arkansas Razorbacks: 15-10 (4-8)
This week didn't move the needle much for Arkansas as the Razorbacks predictably beat LSU at home and lost a road game at Texas A&M. The Hogs likely need to go 4-2 down the stretch to have a realistic path to the NCAA Tournament without a deep run in the SEC Tournament.
Arkansas has a favorable schedule coming up if they can navigate this next week. They travel to Auburn on Wednesday and face Missouri at home on Saturday. Following that, Calipari's crew finishes vs. Texas, at South Carolina, at Vanderbilt, and vs. Mississippi State.
11. Texas Longhorns: 16-10 (5-8)
Texas had lost three in a row and four of its last five games heading into Saturday's home matchup against Kentucky. They desperately needed a win and freshman Tre Johnson delivered with a 30+ point night as the Longhorns knocked off the Wildcats and improved their chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament.
Texas gets the week off before a road trip to South Carolina next weekend in a game they cannot afford to lose.
10. Vanderbilt Commodores: 17-8 (5-7)
Vanderbilt unsurprisingly went 0-2 with a brutal week. They lost at home to Auburn on Tuesday before a competitive road loss at Tennessee on Saturday. It's still hard not to be impressed with the job Mark Byington has done in Nashville and Vanderbilt should be considered a comfortable NCAA Tournament team at this point.
The 'Dores go to Kentucky in the midweek before a home matchup against Ole Miss coming next Saturday.
9. Ole Miss Rebels: 19-7 (8-5)
Ole Miss was on a three-game winning streak before losing at home to Mississippi State, which meant the Bulldogs swept the two-game season series against the Rebels. The road win over South Carolina in the midweek didn't do much to move the needle.
Ole Miss has a week off prior to facing back-to-back road games at Vanderbilt and Auburn.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs: 18-7 (6-6)
Ole Miss has a better resume and two more wins, but it's impossible not to rank Mississippi State ahead of the Rebels considering the Bulldogs swept the season series, culminating in an impressive double-digit road win on Saturday.
Mississippi State gets Texas A&M at home on Tuesday before traveling to Oklahoma next Saturday.
7. Kentucky Wildcats: 17-8 (6-6)
Kentucky finished off a season sweep of Tennessee at home on Tuesday, but slipped right back to .500 in SEC play with a loss in Austin to Texas. The 'Cats just can't seem to string together wins in league play this year. They haven't won more than two in a row so far.
Kentucky gets Vanderbilt at home on Wednesday before heading to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama on Saturday.
6. Missouri Tigers: 19-6 (8-4)
Missouri handled its business this week, winning by double digits in both wins at home over Oklahoma and on the road against Georgia. Dennis Gates has engineered an impressive turnaround in CoMo, taking a team that went 0-18 in conference play last year to an 8-4 mark through 12 games. It's all the more impressive considering how good the SEC has been this year.
The midweek game brings a huge opportunity for Missouri as Alabama comes to Columbia on Wednesday. They'll go on the road and face Arkansas after that.
5. Tennessee Volunteers: 21-5 (8-5)
The Vols have won four of five, but this week was challenging. Tennessee lost at Kentucky in the midweek game, allowing the Wildcats to complete the season sweep. Tennessee had to rally from a 16-point deficit on Saturday to knock off Vanderbilt at home. Tennessee is capable of beating anyone, but their stretches of offensive ineptude remains worrisome.
They get a needed week off before going to College Station to face Texas A&M on Saturday.
4. Texas A&M Aggies: 20-5 (9-3)
Texas A&M just keeps stacking wins. The Aggies have won five in a row, including a 2-0 week this week with home wins over Georgia and Arkansas. Texas A&M is now tied for third place in the league and were a projected 2-seed in the selection committee's first mock bracket for March Madness.
This week brings a big challenge. The Aggies go on the road to face Mississippi State for the midweek game and then welcome Tennessee to College Station on Saturday.
3. Florida Gators: 22-3 (9-3)
Florida has now won four in a row and boast one of the most impressive wins of the college basketball season: a road win at Auburn a week ago. They followed up that win over Auburn by beating Mississippi State on the road and rolling over South Carolina in Gainesville.
The Gators still have a realistic path to the SEC Championship. They have a favorable schedule down the stretch with a home game against Oklahoma on Tuesday and a road trip to Baton Rouge on Saturday.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide: 21-4 (10-2)
Alabama struggled from three-point range in Saturday's loss to Auburn at home. The loss broke the Crimson Tide's seven game winning streak and was the flip-side of the shooting variance they got on Tuesday against Texas on the road. Alabama connected on 17-of-29 threes in the road win over the Longhorns.
Alabama will get another crack at Auburn, but before that has a ridiculously tough five games standing in its way. That starts with a mid-week road game at Missouri this week before facing Kentucky at home on Saturday.
1. Auburn Tigers: 23-2 (11-1)
Auburn flexed its muscles as the No. 1 team in the nation with a nine-point road win over Alabama. Following the loss to Florida at Neville last weekend, the Tigers bounced back with road wins over Vanderbilt and Alabama and remain college basketball's top team.
Auburn has the inside track on the SEC regular season title and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Four of their last six games are at home, including back-to-back this week with Arkansas and Georgia coming down to the Plains.