SEC Basketball power rankings, Jan. 14 – Can Auburn stay on top without Johni Broome

By Chris Marler

SEC Basketball is off to a ridiculously good start to January, as nine teams are ranked in the top 25, 14 of the 16 overall teams are in the top 60 of NET rankings, and an unprecedented 13 teams are projected to make the NCAA Tournament. 

Here are my SEC Basketball Power Rankings for January 14th. 

1. Auburn

I told y’all a week ago that Auburn was the best team in the country, and a few hours after our first power rankings were released, the Vols to lose by 30. Meanwhile, Auburn went 2-0 in conference play last week and have won eight in a row. They still rank No. 1 overall in the country in NET and KenPom Rankings. However, now comes the hard part as their all-everything senior Johni Broome will be out for 3-4 weeks with an ankle injury. 

2. Alabama 

Alabama did something few teams in the SEC have been able to do so far this year and that is survive on the road. They beat South Carolina by 20 and then played a top ten Texas A&M team in prime time on Saturday night, winning that game by six. Alabama returns home this week to play a top 25 Ole Miss team on Tuesday. They still have what I think is the best roster in the country and the combination of Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, and Mark Sears gives them the best backcourt in the country. It may not even be close. 

3. Kentucky 

I feel odd for putting Kentucky so high after their loss to Georgia last week. However, they beat Florida so they probably deserve to be ahead of the Gators, for now. Also, not enough was made of their impressive win in Starkville against a really good Mississippi State team. The Cats took the lead with two minutes left in the first half and trailed just once the rest of the way. 

4. Florida 

Florida has the most impressive win in SEC play of any team in the league so far this season. Sure we are only three games into conference play but a 30 point win over No. 1 Tennessee is about as good as it gets. At one point, Florida held Tennessee to 1-of-27 from three. They followed that up with a good road win against Coach Cal’s Arkansas team. The Razorbacks are 0-3 in SEC play but have one of the more talented rosters in the league. Florida seemed to handle them with ease. 

5. Tennessee 

Tennessee at five feels low, and I’m sure the Vols will prove me wrong as the season goes on. However, a 30-point loss in conference play is horrendous. What was arguably more disappointing to me though was their performance in Austin. The Vols got a four point win against Texas, but I was left unimpressed. I expected Rick Barnes’ team to come out hungry and pissed off. They struggled throughout and trailed most of the second half. Now, they absolutely deserve credit for the win, but I expected more especially off the loss and especially considering that the arena was flatter than three day old Diet Coke. 

Best of the Rest

6. Mississippi State 
7. Texas A&M
8. Ole Miss 
9. Georgia
10. Vanderbilt 
11. Arkansas 
12. Oklahoma 
13. Texas 
14. Missouri
15. LSU
16. South Carolina