Projected AP rankings for SEC teams after Ole Miss stuns Alabama and Missouri topples Florida

Being a fan of an SEC basketball team looks really fun. Well, fun as in thrilling, anyway. Well, thrilling as in really stressful, anyway. Okay, maybe it doesn't look that fun, because every night in this conference makes me feel like I'm about to pass out and I've never even been to the Southeast part of the United States.

The conference was already at max chaos after Ole Miss marched into Tuscaloosa and knocked off No. 4 ranked Alabama, 74-64 behind a monster game from Malik Dia. But then, as it will likely do many times this season, the SEC broke the chaos meter as Missouri marched into Gainsville and beat Florida, 83-79.

The week is just getting started in college basketball, and a huge slate on Saturday will throw these projections into disarray. But if the AP Poll was released right now, here's where I think each SEC team would fall.

Projected AP rankings for SEC teams

1. Auburn Tigers
4. Kentucky Wildcats
6. Tennessee Volunteers
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
9. Florida Gators
12. Texas A&M Aggies
13. Ole Miss Rebels
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs
23. Georgia Bulldogs
25. Missouri Tigers

Missouri sneaks into the top 25

Yesterday, we welcomed Georgia into the AP Top 25 for the first time in over a decade. If the rankings were released right now, I think Missouri would join UGA in the rankings. It wouldn't be as monumental — Mizzou was in the top 25 a few year ago — but it's still dang impressive what Dennis Gates is doing in Columbia.

The Tigers received 8 votes in this week's poll... and then beat the No. 5-ranked team in the country on the road. Maybe I'm a prisoner of the moment, but a 14-3 SEC team (3-1 in the conference) with wins over Kansas and Florida probably deserves to crack the rankings.

Ole Miss might be the sleeping giant in this conference

It was a historic night for Ole Miss on Monday — the Rebels got their first-ever road win against a top-five team. I don't think that's a fluke, either. This team is for real. They are now 4-0 in conference play, 15-2 on the season and haven't given up more than 66 points in a conference game yet. Grinders. Jumping up eight spots is a gargantuan leap, but it's getting harder to ignore this team.

Kentucky hops back into the top five

It's easy to get lost in the shuffle when there are two major upsets within the conference, but Kentucky got a very impressive win on Monday too, knocking off Texas A&M, 81-69. Mark Pope has now beaten TAMU, Mississippi State and Florida, and it's only January 15th. Stacking quality wins early in conference play.