It was a stacked slate of games on Tuesday night, as we head down the final stretch of the 2024-25 men's college basketball regular season. In case you were unaware, the SEC is stacked with great teams, and there's a case to be made for all No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament be representatives from the conference.
On Tuesday, the No. 2 Florida Gators made a case as to why they deserve a No. 1 seed, as they took on the Oklahoma. Sooners. Considering that Oklahoma was 3-9 in conference play, the expectation was that Florida would cruise to victory. The Gators did just that, as they defeated the Sooners 85-63. The Gators played safe basketball, as they only turned the ball over six times. With that, they are now 10-3 in SEC play.
Then, there was a huge Top 25 matchup between the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs. Behind a 25-point game by Josh Hubbard (6-for-10 from the field, 10-for-11 from the free throw line), Mississippi State picked up a 70-54 win.
With these results, how do the SEC standings look now?
Updated SEC standings after Florida defeats Oklahoma in blowout, Mississippi State upsets Texas A&M
Place | Team | Overall Record (Conference Record) |
|---|---|---|
1 | Auburn | 23-2 (11-1) |
2 | Alabama | 21-4 (10-2) |
3 | Florida | 23-3 (10-3) |
4 | Texas A&M | 20-6 (9-4) |
5 | Missouri | 19-6 (8-4) |
6 | Tennessee | 21-5 (8-5) |
7 | Ole Miss | 19-7 (8-5) |
8 | Mississippi State | 19-7 (7-6) |
9 | Kentucky | 17-8 (6-6) |
10 | Vanderbilt | 17-8 (5-7) |
11 | Texas | 16-10 (5-8) |
12 | Arkansas | 15-10 (4-8) |
13 | Georgia | 16-10 (4-9) |
14 | Oklahoma | 16-10 (3-10) |
15 | LSU | 14-12 (3-10) |
16 | South Carolina | 10-16 (0-13) |
With the win, Florida is now a game and a half back of the Auburn Tigers for first place in the conference. Let's not forget that the Gators are the team that handed the Tigers their lone loss in SEC play this season. Yet, it wasn't enough for Florida to take the No. 1 seed in the AP Top 25 rankings following that game. For Florida, they still have favorable matchups against LSU and Georgia next on their schedule. Yet, they have a rough stretch in which they play Texas A&M, Alabama, and Ole Miss.
As for Oklahoma, they can kiss an NCAA Tournament berth goodbye. They are now 3-10 against SEC teams this season following this loss. They were on the bubble before, and now it's safe to say they are knocked off of it.
Mississippi State, meanwhile, will undoubtedly skyrocket up the next AP Top 25 rankings. Now, they sit in eighth place in the SEC, and are now 7-6 in the conference. If they keep it up, they will earn a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. In their final five games, the Bulldogs play Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, Texas, and Arkansas. It's a favorable schedule for Mississippi State.
Finally, Texas A&M can take solace that they won't tumble down the conference standings too far. They currently sit at 20-6 on the year with a 9-4 record in conference. They do have a tough road to end the regular season, as they take on Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee in three of their final five games.