Conference Power Rankings...

[ArtVandelay]

Crazy how far Vandy has fallen. They really missed their window last year. I thought they had Final Four potential. Stallings has to take most of the blame for not recruiting well enough knowing that Taylor and Jenkins would be leaving.

Conference Power Rankings: SEC
November, 30, 2012

By now, many assumed that Kentucky would own the No. 1 post in the SEC. As I compile the first edition of ESPN.com’s power rankings for the conference, however, I’m not even sure they’re No. 2. The Wildcats have faced some tough teams but they’ve been inconsistent. It’s early, so these rankings will change. But the Gators are on top. It might be tough for the rest of the league to knock them off their perch, too.

1. Florida. The Gators destroyed Wisconsin and crushed Marquette in the SEC/Big East Challenge. Kenny Boynton is one of four players averaging double figures for the 6-0 squad. Plus, Florida has been one of the nation’s most efficient offensive and defensive units in November.

2. Missouri. Michael Dixon Jr. leaving the program is certainly a blow for the Tigers, but they’re still one of the league’s best teams. Phil Pressey (15.0 points, 6.2 assists per game) and Laurence Bowers (14.2 ppg, 6.3 rebounds per game) have led Frank Haith’s squad to victories over Stanford and Virginia Commonwealth in recent weeks.

3. Kentucky. John Calipari’s young squad has been battered by some of the nation’s top teams, suffering losses to Duke and Notre Dame (on the road). The 14-point loss against the Fighting Irish on Thursday was a blow to its ego but the Wildcats could shake it off Saturday if they get a win over Baylor.

4. Alabama. I’m not sure whether I believe Alabama’s 6-0 start but I believe in Trevor Releford (18.6 ppg) and the leadership he’s provided for Anthony Grant’s squad. The Crimson Tide have been tough on defense. And they can prove that this start hasn’t been a fluke when they visit No. 17 Cincinnati on Saturday in the SEC/Big East Challenge.

5. Tennessee. The Vols were overmatched against Oklahoma State in Puerto Rico but they bounced back with a victory over UMass and then crushed Oakland, a Summit League contender, by 27 points. A win at No. 20 Georgetown on Friday would certainly elevate Tennessee nationally.

6. Ole Miss. The Rebels haven’t played a high-major opponent this season, but they’ve crushed the non-BCS opponents on their schedule by an average of 29.2 ppg. Andy Kennedy’s 5-0 squad has looked good thus far, but this start won’t mean much until it starts SEC play in January.

7. Arkansas. The Razorbacks lost to Wisconsin and Arizona State during the Las Vegas Invitational. But I still think this Arkansas team, led by BJ Young (20.5 ppg) and Marshawn Powell (12.2 ppg), is better than most of the teams in the SEC. Friday’s home matchup against No. 6 Syracuse will be an opportunity to show it.

8. Texas A&M. Elston Turner (15.7 ppg) is one of three players averaging double figures, and freshman J'Mychal Reese (7.3 ppg) has been a young standout for a 5-1 Aggies squad that’s beaten teams it’s supposed to defeat. The Aggies did give up 70 points (and only recorded 49) against a Saint Louis squad that’s rarely recognized for its offense.

9. LSU. Johnny Jones’ tenure has started off with five wins and zero losses, including Thursday’s 72-67 victory over Seton Hall. And with a small sample size, the Tigers are top-100 in defensive efficiency. Could be worse for a program that’s struggled in recent years.

10. Georgia. The Bulldogs need to stop the bleeding after losing four of their past five games, although two of those losses came against Indiana and UCLA. They’ll play at South Florida on Friday in the SEC/Big East Challenge. Few SEC squads need a win as badly as Mark Fox’s.

11. South Carolina. Frank Martin’s team is in a bad spot. The Gamecocks lost to Elon last week and suffered a 24-point defeat to St. John’s on Thursday. Bruce Ellington’s return, until the football team begins prep for its bowl game, is a plus for the squad.

12. Auburn. The Tigers have lost close games to Boston College (50-49) and Rhode Island (double overtime). Frankie Sullivan (18.3 ppg) shoulders the bulk of the offensive burden and that’s one of the 2-4 team’s problems: It lacks balance.

13. Vanderbilt. The Commodores, who lost every significant player from last season's rotation, get a pass for losses at Oregon and to Davidson (at a neutral site). Scoring 33 points against Marist? Ugh.

14. Mississippi State. Rick Ray walked into a messy situation when he accepted the head-coaching job last spring. These Bulldogs have struggled on both ends of the floor. It’s worth noting, however, that Marquette, Texas and North Carolina were responsible for three of their four losses.

[gtr2x]

Man, life as an Auburn sports fan must really suck these days. Guess they still have swimming to look forward to.

[gatorbogey]

down year for the SEC? looks to be.
UF may be the standard bearer for the league this season.

[themistocles]

Art, I'm not sure I would give Missou as much credit as you do.

I think it is far too early to being ranking teams, although Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Auburn and Vanderbilt all look somewhat lost on the basketball court right now.

[bofusgators]

I'm glad the Gators are this well thought of.

[ArtVandelay]

Originally Posted by themistocles

Art, I'm not sure I would give Missou as much credit as you do.

I think it is far too early to being ranking teams, although Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Auburn and Vanderbilt all look somewhat lost on the basketball court right now.

Forgot the link. They aren't my rankings, although I would have the Gators #1...

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...ankings-sec-14

[candymanfromgc]

Yikes-good thing we have a stong OOC schedule to help with SOS come tourney time.

[luciaboy]

the conference title is wide open between uk, uf, mizzou and ala

[chompalot]

I don't know if this was already posted, but here's another very good article on Florida and the SEC by Miles Simon of ESPN

The Florida Gators are in an interesting position right now. They are the highest-ranked team in the SEC, yet still tend to be overshadowed by conference rivals the Kentucky Wildcats and (to a lesser extent) the Missouri Tigers.

ESPN's GatorNation
Read up on all things Florida, including football, basketball and recruiting. GatorNation

I tend to side with the voters, as I think the Gators are playing the best basketball at the moment among all SEC teams. They are 5-0, including a 74-56 blowout of a tough and defensive-minded Wisconsin team (their aircraft carrier matchup with Georgetown was canceled at halftime).

This theory of mine is about to be put to the test, however, with the Gators' next three games coming against Marquette (Thursday night), at Florida State and at Arizona. What do I like about the Gators' chances to finish the season as the SEC's top team, and which teams will be their toughest challengers for the league title? Let's take a look.


For starters, I really like Florida's experience this season. Remember that in the last two seasons coach Billy Donovan took his Gators teams to back-to-back Elite Eight appearances, where they lost by four points to Louisville in 2012 and by three in overtime to Butler the year before that. Four key players from this season's teams -- Kenny Boynton, Patric Young, Erik Murphy and Scottie Wilbekin -- saw time in those games. That type of big-game experience is going to help the Gators as the season goes along. Florida is something of a rarity for an elite-level program in today's game in that its top six players in minutes per game are all upperclassmen. When you have that many players on your roster who know your system and what is to be expected on a daily basis, it gives your team a great advantage on opponents, especially early in the season.

Boynton has been called a volume shooter for most of his career as a Gator, but after watching him early in his senior season it's clear to me that he has become more than that. With the suspension of Wilbekin for the first two games of the season, Donovan went with Boynton as his starting point guard and the team hasn't skipped a beat. He's running the team very efficiently, and even though he is still the leading scorer, he is finding a good balance between scoring and distributing.

A huge part of Boynton's growth is that he has dedicated himself to film study the last two seasons. After each game there is a DVD waiting for him, and he critiques himself on what he did well and what needs improvement. Wilbekin has now been back for three games, and when he enters it allows Boynton to play off the ball, and Florida has been thriving when the two of them are in the game together. Wilbekin is a steady hand at the point guard spot, where he has a 3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season, but teams can't just lay off of him because he led the Gators in 3-point percentage last season at 45 percent.

The player on this team whom I would love to see get more touches is Patric Young. He is their only true back-to-the-basket player and he shot 62 percent from the field last season, yet was only fifth on the team in shot attempts. Florida is a team that relies on the 3-point shot, as nearly 40 percent of their shots come from behind the arc, but they need the interior presence of Young if they want to reach their ultimate goal. He's such a force down low that he is going to draw the attention of multiple defenders, which will make things much easier on the perimeter.


AP Photo/Phil Sandlin
Erik Murphy's versatility is an asset for Florida.
Erik Murphy has been tremendous early on for this team. He may be the Gators' most versatile and important player. Murphy is a career 41 percent 3-point shooter but he's not afraid to mix it up down low, either, as evidenced by the 18 rebounds he had combined in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games versus Marquette and Louisville last season. Then you add Mike Rosario, Will Yeguete, Casey Prather and Michael Frazier to the mix, and it's clear that Donovan's roster has some of the best depth and versatility in the country.

With all of those pieces in place, I think this is a team that is going to continually get better throughout the season on both sides of the ball. Having a plethora of talented upperclassmen will win you a lot of games. Florida teams are always going to be able to score, and this team, after being on the brink of the Final Four in back-to-back seasons, knows that getting defensive stops at crucial times is what can put them over the hump, not only in the SEC but in the NCAA tourney.

But as much as I like Florida's chances of winning the SEC championship this season (and I'll call it the favorite right now), it's not alone in its conference contention. Here is how I think the top three challengers to the Gators -- Kentucky, Missouri and Alabama -- stack up.

The Kentucky Wildcats are still trying to find who they are at this point. Ryan Harrow, who had been raved about as arguably the best player in Kentucky practices this offseason, has yet to play a minute for the Wildcats in 2012. Harrow is the most important piece for this team because if he is not able to run this team and be an effective player, the Cats are going to struggle some. Archie Goodwin is not a point guard and Jarrod Polson is not in the mold of John Wall or Marquis Teague.

There is not much drop-off on this team from last season's national champion squad, but the difference is the experience of Darius Miller, Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones. That is hard to make up for. John Calipari has a potential No. 1 pick again in Nerlens Noel, in addition to eventual lottery picks in Goodwin and Alex Poythress, but they are all young and still learning. Kyle Wiltjer and Julius Mays will have to provide the experience that the Wildcats are looking for. Kentucky is undefeated at home under Calipari, but will the youth be able to hold up on the road in the tough SEC?

The Missouri Tigers had a tremendous regular season in 2011-12 and then flamed out in the round of 64 in the NCAA tourney. The most important piece of that team is back in Phil Pressey, but he's surrounded by a cast of newcomers.

Frank Haith got four high-level transfers in Alex Oriakhi, Earnest Ross, Keion Bell and Jabari Brown (eligible at the end of the first semester) and how they all jell together will determine the fate of this Tigers team. The return of Laurence Bowers to full strength is big for Missouri as he can score inside and out. Michael Dixon has been suspended indefinitely, but he was key as a sixth man last season. I believe this team has the depth and talent to win the SEC (they were my preseason pick to win the league), but the pieces have to start fitting and coming together. The Tigers had a rough time with Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis, losing 84-61 in the semifinals.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are off to a hot start at 6-0. Coach Anthony Grant has a core group made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, but the Tide's best player is junior Trevor Releford. Releford came off the bench the first three games of the season, but still leads the team in scoring at 18 points per game and is shooting a phenomenal 55 percent from the 3-point line. This is a guard-oriented team led by Releford, Rodney Cooper and Trevor Lacey, and those three are as good as any backcourt trio in the conference. But with no real inside threat and such a young nucleus of players, it's going to be very difficult for the Tide to win the league. A top-five finish is more realistic.

Is Florida the SEC's best team?

[SwampFox]

Yes, we are back to our rightful place. Teams that fight together and grow together over a multi-year period are what baskeballl is all about.

[gatormoe1]

Jenkins is finally gone? Good f'n riddance.

[chompalot]

Coach Cal hasn't lost at home since he's had the UK job. Hopefully, the Gators will be good enough to stop that streak.

[ufgator4ever]

4. Alabama. I’m not sure whether I believe Alabama’s 6-0 start but I believe in Trevor Releford (18.6 ppg) and the leadership he’s provided for Anthony Grant’s squad. The Crimson Tide have been tough on defense. And they can prove that this start hasn’t been a fluke when they visit No. 17 Cincinnati on Saturday in the SEC/Big East Challenge.

Definitely! Hoping to catch this game on ESPN2.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by chompalot

Coach Cal hasn't lost at home since he's had the UK job. Hopefully, the Gators will be good enough to stop that streak.

That streak honestly might end today. Either way, I really doubt it makes it all the way to the gators coming to town.

[gtr2x]

Bama lost at the buzzer and cats lost to baylor. SEC not looking good early on.

[GatorPlanet]

I think I posted yesterday that the SEC would be just fine this season. As results come in, I'm rethinking that. Really, the Gators look excellent, and there may be a few good teams, and a bunch of bad ones.

This concerns me not so much for those teams as it does the Gators. We need good competition in our conference in order to be ready for March.

I'd really like to complete that Georgetown game now.

Oh well, we'll see. There's still December for these SEC teams to start showing some improvement. The league usually at least has athleticism and size so maybe they just haven't put it together yet. Too bad we can't grab top-drawer hoops coaches like we do with football coaches.

[tampajack1]

Originally Posted by chompalot

I don't know if this was already posted, but here's another very good article on Florida and the SEC by Miles Simon of ESPN



Is Florida the SEC's best team?

The one problem with this analysis (which is typical of someone who doesn't carefully watch the Gators play) is that Patric Young gets plenty of touches. However, he is not that skilled at scoring even when he is not double-teamed. So he ends up passing the ball out to the perimeter. Skilled big men with Patric's size, strength and athletic ability generally score when they get the ball down low and are not double-teamed. It befuddles me to watch Pat get a ball down low and not score or even shoot when all he needs to do is give a head fake or 2 and then slam it down.