Another Saturday, another thrilling batch of games in the SEC, which has once again shown just why it's the best conference in the country this season. Throw a dart anywhere in the South, and you were likely to land on a sensational basketball game. Auburn clinched the regular-season title with a commanding win against Kentucky at Rupp Arena; Florida moved one step closer to securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament by sending Texas A&M to its fourth straight loss; Vanderbilt and Ole Miss snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Oklahoma and Missouri, respectively; and of course, Alabama and Tennessee played an instant classic, with the Vols draining a logo 3 at the buzzer to snatch an improbable win.
Got all that? Good. Now that the dust has finally settled, let's take stock of where things stand. Who's climbing and falling in the latest conference standings, and how is the SEC Tournament bracket shaping up with less than two weeks to go until tip-off in Nashville?
Updated SEC standings after Tennessee stuns Alabama, Auburn and Florida roll
1. Auburn Tigers 27-2 (15-1)
2. Florida Gators 25-4 (12-4)
3. Alabama Crimson Tide 23-6 (12-4)
4. Tennessee Volunteers 24-5 (11-5)
5. Missouri Tigers 21-8 (10-6)
6. Texas A&M Aggies 20-9 (9-7)
7. Ole Miss Rebels 20-9 (9-7)
8. Kentucky Wildcats 19-10 (8-8)
9. Mississippi State 20-9 (8-8)
10. Vanderbilt 20-9 (8-8)
11. Arkansas Razorbacks 17-12 (6-10)
12. Georgia Bulldogs 18-11 (6-10)
13. Texas Longhorns 16-13 (5-11)
14. Oklahoma Sooners 17-12 (4-12)
15. LSU Tigers 14-15 (3-12)
16. South Carolina Gamecocks 12-17 (2-14)
Tennessee's win strengthened its grip on a bye into the quarterfinals, now one game ahead of Missouri after the Tigers lost a heartbreaker in overtime at Vanderbilt on Saturday. Florida's win drew it even with Alabama in the standings at 12-4 in conference, and the Gators are now the two-seed — pending a showdown between the two in Gainesville this coming Wednesday. As things stand, Florida is considered the No. 2 seed: SEC tiebreaking procedures stipulate that, absent a head-to-head matchup, whichever team has the best winning percentage against the top seed gets the nod, meaning the Gators' win at Auburn earlier this year looms large.
Kentucky's loss paired with Vanderbilt and Mississippi State wins creates a three-way logjam in the middle of the standings. The Cats still hold on to the all-important No. 8 seed and a bye to the second round, by virtue of a 2-1 record in the head-to-head between the three (Mississippi State split its games between Kentucky and Vanderbilt, while the Commodores are 1-2).
What does all that mean for how the SEC Tournament is shaping up? Let's take a look at the projected bracket as things stand.
Projected SEC Tournament bracket as of Sat., March 1
First round
No. 16 South Carolina vs. No. 9 Mississippi State
No. 13 Texas vs. No. 12 Georgia
No. 15 LSU vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt
No. 14 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Arkansas
Bubble implications abound here; Mississippi State and Vanderbilt are safe, but Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas all could come to Nashville needing at least one win to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Georgia was the big winner Saturday, routing the Horns in Austin, while Arkansas fell on its face in an embarrassing loss at South Carolina and Oklahoma let a huge opportunity slip away in a last-second loss to Ole Miss.
Second round
8. Kentucky vs. Miss. St./South Carolina
5. Missouri vs. Georgia/Texas
7. Ole Miss vs. Vandy/LSU
6. Texas A&M vs. Arkansas/Oklahoma
This presents a potential opportunity for John Calipari's team: Get out of the first round, and you'll have a shot to notch another Quad 1 win against a fading Texas A&M team that's now lost four in a row. Vandy-Ole Miss would be a barnburner of a game, while Missouri probably wouldn't feel great about drawing a Georgia team that's playing very well right now.
Quarterfinals
1. Auburn
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. Tennessee
Tennessee has to be feeling good about itself after that spectacular win; survive a trip to Oxford in the middle of next week, and a top-four seed and double bye (and potentially a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament) are theirs. Both Florida and Alabama, meanwhile, will be looking to strengthen their grip on the No. 2 seed when they meet on Wednesday.