As basketball takes center stage in the SEC, here's a look at how they rank in mid-January.
Vanderbilt's Duke Miles drives against Florida's Xaivian Lee in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. With Ole Miss falling to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, that closed a chapter to an exciting SEC football season that carried tons of drama and intrigue.
It’s now time for SEC basketball to take center stage, which has also carried its share of drama and intrigue. While the Florida Gators continue to pace the league as they’re searching for a back-to-back national championship, the SEC remains one of the toughest leagues in America. Yet it’s two schools with coaches relatively new to the league that are shaking things up. Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington has led Vanderbilt to new heights in his second season with the program, jumping out to a 16-0 start. Then, you’ve got Bucky Ball in College Station, TX. First-year head coach Bucky McMillan has Texas A&M at 4-1 in the league with wins over Auburn and Texas, both coming on the road. How do these three schools, and the rest of the SEC rank in the first edition of the SEC’s power rankings?The Gators suffered a loss at Missouri to open the conference slate but have rebounded with four-straight wins, most recently a 98-94 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville on Saturday.The Aggies should continue to collect wins over the next week and change with games vs. Mississippi State and South Carolina. Then, Texas A&M travels to Georgia for another road test.Back-to-back losses for Vanderbilt present them with facing true adversity for the first time this season. Two out of their next three games will come against at Arkansas on Tuesday, and hosting Kentucky next week. We may learn a lot about the Commodores and their viability as a contender over the next few weeks.Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. pushes past Oklahoma forward Tae Davis during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Norman, Okla. The Crimson Tide have rebounded from a 1-2 start in the SEC, but those wins were against Mississippi State and Oklahoma, a couple of timely slump-busters. Alabama will also be tested over the next week with games vs. Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, and Texas A&M. Amid a logjam near the top of the league, Alabama can’t afford to drop too many games.Perhaps the most impressive win of the weekend came from Kentucky who came back from 17 points in the first half to beat Tennessee, 80-78 on Saturday. The bigger question is, after having won three-straight league games, has Kentucky officially turned things around?Following their 104-100 win over Auburn to open SEC play, the Bulldogs have played .500 ball since, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier. Georgia hits the road for their next two games before hosting Tennessee and Texas A&M to wrap up January. We may know a lot more about Georgia once we reach February.Losers in two out of their last three games, Arkansas has golden opportunity at rejoining the SEC race when they face Vanderbilt on Jan. 20. A win there will put Arkansas at 4-2 in the SEC, while handing Vanderbilt their third-straight loss in the SEC.After stumbling to 0-2 in the SEC, Ole Miss has won three in a row, However, their next four come against Auburn, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee. Going .500 for the Rebels may be a seen as a major win going up against fellow SEC contenders.Tennessee has alternated wins and losses in their first five games of SEC play. If that remains the pattern, Tennessee will pick up a win in their next game, against who? Alabama on the road in Tuscaloosa.Losses in the SEC are common, but dropping a loss to the last winless team in the SEC? Not great, as Missouri lost to a previous 0-4 LSU team 78-70 on Saturday night.AUBURN, AL - JANUARY 17 - Auburn’s Filip Jović during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neville Arena in Auburn, AL on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn TigersMuch like the SEC’s midsection, the Auburn Tigers carry multiple loss and need to pick up a few wins as the Auburn has begun flirtations with the NCAA tournament bubble. If Auburn can collect a few wins in a row, they can be on the right side of the bubble.The Longhorns have won two out of their last three games, with an important three game stretch coming up. Two games on the road vs. Kentucky and Auburn, with a home game vs. Georgia sandwiched in between.Following a 2-0 start in the SEC, the Mississippi State Bulldogs carry a three-game losing streak into this week with games vs. Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. It very well could be five by this time next week.The good news is for LSU is they’ve won their first SEC game this past Saturday over Missouri. The bad news? Road trips to Florida and Arkansas await them this coming week.AUBURN, AL - JANUARY 17 - Auburn's Kevin Overton during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neville Arena in Auburn, AL on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn TigersThe Gamecocks nearly snapped their losing streak on the road this past weekend before falling 71-67 to Auburn. However, South Carolina meets a struggling Oklahoma side in a battle of SEC cellar dwellers.Following an 86-70 victory over Ole Miss to start SEC play, the Oklahoma Sooners have lost a league-high four-straight games. Not only are NCAA hopes slipping away, but the struggles by Oklahoma may have head coach Porter Moser on the hot seat. A journalist of 19 years, Andrew Hammond's career has taken him from Wichita, KS to Birmingham, AL. In that time, he's excelled in producing quality content in radio, television and newspapers in newsrooms...
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