MrSEC’s Basketball Rankings – 2/16/09

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The SEC may get five teams into the NCAA Tournament, but only four teams, as of now, deserve bids.  And it’s hard to picture more than one of those teams getting to or past the Sweet Sixteen round.

Here, are my rankings of the SEC’s team heading into this week’s action:

1.  LSU — The Tigers got pushed this week, but in the end, Trent Johnson’s team showed toughness and poise when it counted.  While some are pointing to close ballgames as a sign that LSU might be faltering, I point to the fact that they are a full two-games better than any other team in other team in conference record right now.  Other schools have stumbled when they were pushed.  LSU, aside from their conference-opening loss to Alabama, has passed all tests.

2.  Kentucky — I’ve got the Wildcats #2 for the same reasons that I have view them as a possibly dangerous team come NCAA Tournament time: they don’t rely too much on three-pointers, they lead the league in defensive efficiency, and Jodie Meeks can absolutely carry them on a given night.  It’d be nice if they could start limiting their turnovers, though.

3.  South Carolina — The Gamecocks have the easiest remaining schedule of the three times tied for the East Division lead (they get Kentucky and Tennessee in Columbia).  I rank them third only because the final lay-up that won their game against Alabama at the buzzer was in the cylinder when it was tipped.  The Gamecocks caught a break.  Over the course of a season, all teams will.  But I’ll slightly penalize Carolina in this week’s ratings for that play on Saturday.  I need some way to separate the East’s teams.

4.  Tennessee — The Vols have won two in a row following their disappointing loss at Auburn.  Tennessee’s veterans responded well to that setback, calling for early morning film sessions the following day.  That seemed to pay off as UT beat Georgia and Vanderbilt by a combined 50 points last week.  But with road games at Ole Miss and Kentucky this week, it’s too soon to say the Vols are peaking.  Let’s reconvene next Monday and we’ll have a much better idea of where the Vols are.

5.  Florida — That’s it for the “real” teams in the conference.  Florida has now dropped three out of four and started a swoon that coincides perfectly with the point of swooning in last year’s schedule.  The Gators may not like to be told that they’re not a “tough” team, but they’re not a tough team.  Every dog (or Dawg) will have his day, but Georgia’s first conference win shouldn’t have come against a team fighting for an NCAA Tournament berth. 

6.  Mississippi State — The Bulldogs are now dead in terms of the NCAA Tournament.  A double-overtime loss to LSU is understandable.  A hang-over loss to Auburn is also understandable.  But they can’t be overcome in terms of an at-large bid.

7.  Auburn — Jeff Lebo is fighting for his job and right now he seems to be winning.  The Tigers have reached .500 in conference play and are playing their best basketball of the season.  They travel to Georgia on Wednesday before heading to LSU this weekend.

8.  Ole Miss –  Andy Kennedy had LSU on the ropes before the Tigers put together a furious, late rally.  All things considered, Kennedy is doing one of the best coaching jobs in the conference this year.

9.  Vanderbilt — The Commodores are incredibly young and just too darn inconsistent on offense.  This team has to be driving Kevin Stallings crazy.

10.  Alabama — Poor Philip Pearson almost got an upset over Carolina… but not quite.

11.  Georgia — I can’t believe I have Georgia out of the cellar, but after their win over Florida, I’ll give ‘em a bit of a pat on the back.  Plus…

12.  Arkansas — The Razorbacks are 1-9 in the conference, just gave up 45 points to Jodie Meeks, lost Marcus Monk for good and had to suspend Courtney Fortson, their best player.  Add it up and they’re at the bottom of my standings this week.