By the time you read this, we will have entered the best month of the year for college hoops fans.
*CUES UP MARCH MADNESS BY FUTURE 87 TIMES IN A ROW.*
It appears the SEC has separated itself into a few tiers; the elite teams who you wouldn't be surprised to see in San Antonio for the Final 4, the middle-of-the-pack teams who could get hot at the right time and make a deep tourney run too, and about a half-dozen teams who are total toss ups in the SEC Tourney and the NCAA Tourney. Here's how I rank the SEC as March befalls us once again.
1. Auburn Tigers
This one, I'm confident in. Auburn's two losses are to Duke, who they could feasibly meet again in the National Championship, and Florida, a team that isn't too far down this list.
Johni Broome remains in the running for National Player of the Year — and seems to have the edge over Duke's Cooper Flagg right now — but he doesn't do it all himself for the Tigers, who get 10-plus points per game from six players, five of which are seniors, a sign of Auburn's wealth of experience.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
An early conference play loss to Ole Miss is the only real blunder on Bama's season thus far, but a recent two-game losing streak to Auburn and Missouri showed how teams with first-class offenses can expose Bama's defense. The Tide give up over 80 points per game — luckily, they average over 4 more points per game than any other team in the nation, which usually covers for a sometimes defective defense.
A slow scoring night could signal disaster for this team in March. Luckily, they don't have many slow scoring nights.
Nate Oats' team is hoping to remain in second place heading into SEC Tourney play, and finishes the regular season against a slate of Tennessee, Florida and Auburn... Oh, no. Oh, God. Have mercy.
3. Tennessee Volunteers
Heartbreakers to Auburn and Vanderbilt are all that stands in the way of Tennessee having a real chance to finish No. 2 in the SEC — but neither game went the Vols' way, and they will likely have to settle for a fourth or fifth place regular season finish.
Still, this team is 6-1 in their last seven games, including wins over Florida (a huge revenge game for the 30-point embarrassment they suffered earlier in the year), Vandy, Missouri and Texas A&M. Things were shaky at the start of SEC play, but it looks like Tennessee is peaking at the right time.
4. Florida Gators
A loss to Georgia snapped a hot streak that included wins against Auburn and Mississippi State, but KENPOM still has this Florida team ranked No. 4, and it doesn't take much imagination to envision this team making a deep run in a few weeks.
One of the best rebounding teams in the country, Florida is tenth in rebound differential, constantly crashing the boards and limiting second-chance opportunities for opponents.
5. Missouri Tigers
Dennis Gates took over this program in 2022, immediately turned the program around, saw a massive letdown last season, and is now leading the Tigers even higher than he did in his first year. Missouri isn't just a good story, they're the best team in the second tier of the SEC.
6. Kentucky Wildcats
This team is harder to read than Russian literature (why are there so many characters?) At their best, they look like a deep tourney team. At their worst, they look like a 9-seed waiting to get trounced by a mid-major power in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Which Kentucky team shows up the rest of the regular season? Which team shows up in the SEC Tournament? Who knows!
The upside of this team keeps them at No. 6, but they might be the most volatile team in an already explosive league.
7. Texas A&M Aggies
A 3-game losing streak has cratered Texas A&M's standing a bit, and games against Florida and Auburn looming might not do this team any favors, either.
An elite offensive rebounding unit, the Aggies are one of the most annoying teams to play in the country; every time you think you've gotten a stop, they grab an offensive board to give themselves another chance.
But hustle only gets you so far; the Aggies are barely a top 200 offensive team in the nation, and a lack of offensive options could do them in when facing elite teams.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs
MSU might be the cutoff point in the SEC; they look great against everyone below them in these power rankings, but can't go blow for blow with the teams above them. Still, a team that you're confident can beat half of the SEC remains a dangerous team.
9. Vanderbilt Commodores
Vandy has grinded to a near-.500 conference record, which is a massive success, and is on its way to an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since Bryce Drew was in charge. Clark Lea deserves props for what he's done in year one with a scrappy Vandy team.
10. Ole Miss Rebels
The Rebels have a 9-6 record in conference, but a 2-7 record against AP Top 25 teams is reason to be scared of how this team plays against good competition. They can quell some concerns by beating either Tennessee or Florida to finish off the regular season.