The start of conference play has brought chaos to the SEC basketball world.
After a month-long run in the top 3 of SEC RPI, Texas A&M has suffered back to back defeats to open conference play and have fallen to fifth place.
Similarly, Rick Barnes’ Tennessee team has fallen outside of the top 10 nationally after dropping the first two contests in conference play.
The Alabama Crimson Tide had an interesting two games to start SEC play. After getting its most quality win of the year against Texas A&M last weekend, the Crimson Tide suffered its worst loss (in terms of RPI) of the season to Vanderbilt.
On the positive side of things, the Auburn Tigers are on fire.
Bruce Pearl has led Auburn to eleven consecutive wins including a marquee win on the road at Tennessee. The Tigers have moved up more than 50 spots in RPI over the last few weeks.
Kentucky will also be quite happy with the start of conference play. The Cats blew out Louisville and prevailed late against Georgia which has led them to 2nd place in the SEC and 16th nationally.
Lastly, we will touch on Mississippi State. Although State’s strength of schedule has been questioned often this season, the Bulldogs are moving on up after defeating nationally ranked Arkansas.
Sitting at 57 in RPI, Ben Howland’s team has all to play for in the remaining 17 conference games.
Note: If using a mobile device, you will need to turn it sideways to properly view the table below.
SEC RPI Report – Wednesday, Jan. 3rd
| SEC | NCAA | Team | Record | SOS | Quad 1 | Quad 2 | Quad 3 | Quad 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Arkansas | 11-3 | 16 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 6-0 | 2-0 |
| 2 | 16 | Kentucky | 11-2 | 20 | 0-2 | 3-0 | 4-0 | 4-0 |
| 3 | 21 | Auburn | 13-1 | 175 | 2-1 | 1-0 | 4-0 | 6-0 |
| 4 | 23 | Tennessee | 9-4 | 7 | 1-4 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 4-0 |
| 5 | 24 | Texas A&M | 11-3 | 35 | 2-2 | 3-1 | 1-0 | 5-0 |
| 6 | 26 | Missouri | 10-3 | 22 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 4-1 | 2-0 |
| 7 | 42 | Alabama | 9-5 | 8 | 2-1 | 2-3 | 3-1 | 2-0 |
| 8 | 45 | S. Carolina | 9-4 | 64 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 5-0 |
| 9 | 57 | Miss. State | 13-1 | 310 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| 10 | 60 | Georgia | 9-3 | 183 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 5-0 |
| 11 | 62 | Florida | 10-4 | 66 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 0-1 | 7-0 |
| 12 | 115 | LSU | 9-3 | 213 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 6-0 |
| 13 | 143 | Vanderbilt | 6-8 | 38 | 1-4 | 0-3 | 2-1 | 3-0 |
| 14 | 158 | Ole Miss | 8-5 | 121 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 5-0 |
** All data presented in this report is courtesy of the NCAA’s Nitty Gritty & Team Sheet Reports **
Now that we have taken a look at the current positioning and figures for each SEC team, let’s take a look at what the next week of basketball holds for each of the 14 squads.
The Week Ahead (Jan. 1 – Jan. 7)
Alabama Crimson Tide
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/18 | Vanderbilt Commodores (A) | 6-8 | #143 |
| 1/6/18 | Georgia Bulldogs (A) | 9-3 | #60 |
Arkansas Razorbacks
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/18 | Miss. State Bulldogs (H) | 13-1 | #57 |
| 1/6/18 | Auburn Tigers (A) | 13-1 | #21 |
Auburn Tigers
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/18 | #23 Tennessee Volunteers (A) | 9-4 | #23 |
| 1/6/18 | #22 Arkansas Razorbacks (H) | 11-3 | #9 |
Florida Gators
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/17 | #11 Texas A&M Aggies (A) | 11-3 | #24 |
| 12/30/17 | Missouri Tigers (A) | 10-3 | #26 |
Georgia Bulldogs
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/3/18 | Ole Miss Rebels (H) | 8-5 | #158 |
| 1/6/18 | Alabama Crimson Tide (H) | 9-5 | #42 |
Kentucky Wildcats
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/3/18 | LSU Tigers (A) | 9-3 | #115 |
| 1/6/18 | #23 Tennessee Volunteers (A) | 9-4 | #23 |
LSU Tigers
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/3/18 | #17 Kentucky Wildcats (H) | 11-2 | #16 |
| 1/6/18 | #11 Texas A&M Aggies (A) | 11-3 | #24 |
Mississippi State Bulldogs
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/18 | #22 Arkansas Razorbacks (H) | 11-3 | #9 |
| 1/6/18 | Ole Miss Rebels (A) | 8-5 | #158 |
Missouri Tigers
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/3/18 | South Carolina Gamecocks (A) | 9-4 | #45 |
| 1/6/18 | Florida Gators (H) | 10-4 | #62 |
Ole Miss Rebels
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/3/18 | Georgia Bulldogs (A) | 9-3 | #60 |
| 1/6/18 | Miss. State Bulldogs (H) | 13-1 | #57 |
South Carolina Gamecocks
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/3/18 | Missouri Tigers (H) | 10-3 | #26 |
| 1/6/18 | Vanderbilt Commodores (H) | 6-8 | #143 |
Tennessee Volunteers
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/18 | Auburn Tigers (H) | 13-1 | #21 |
| 1/6/17 | #17 Kentucky Wildcats (H) | 11-2 | #16 |
Texas A&M Aggies
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/18 | Florida Gators (H) | 10-4 | #62 |
| 1/6/18 | LSU Tigers (H) | 9-3 | #115 |
Vanderbilt Commodores
| Date | Opponent (H/N/A) | Record | RPI |
| 1/2/18 | Alabama Crimson Tide (H) | 9-5 | #42 |
| 1/6/17 | #23 Tennessee Volunteers (H) | 9-4 | #23 |