2021 SEC Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Week 5

Let's be real here: Alabama basketball's game in Seattle vs Gonzaga was hardly a neutral-site game. While on paper the Battle in Seattle should definitely be considered as such, the distance from Spokane to Seattle is minuscule when comparing it to the trip from Tuscaloosa.

On Saturday, No. 16 Alabama basketball took down No. 3 Gonzaga in prime time, 91-82. The win didn't garner the Crimson Tide much favor in the first NET rankings that were released on Monday morning due to the game being a neutral-site game in Seattle.

This, however, is a Power Rankings.

The Crimson Tide's dominant win over the Bulldogs was certainly impressive. While Gonzaga was able to come back and make it a four-point game with just over five minutes left, at one point Alabama was winning by a margin of 18. In short, the Crimson Tide looked like it was by far the best team in the SEC this past week.

And for that, Alabama is back as the top-ranked team in this week's Power Rankings.

Arkansas and LSU might still be undefeated, and both teams have a strong case for being at the top this week. However, when you compare the schedules between the Crimson Tide, the Razorbacks and the Tigers, Alabama comes out on top — and by a significant margin: in terms of average NET rankings of opponents thus far this season, the Crimson Tide is No. 1, LSU is No. 55 and Arkansas is all the way down at No. 257.

So in case Razorbacks and Tigers fans decide to point out Alabama's loss to Iona and sport their team's undefeated record, there's a useful stat.

With all that out of the way, here's the SEC Men's Basketball Power Rankings after five weeks of college basketball:

2021 SEC Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Week 5

1. Alabama (7-1)

2. Arkansas (8-0)

3. LSU (8-0)

4. Auburn (7-1)

5. Kentucky (6-1)

6. Tennessee (6-1)

7. Florida (6-1)

8. Texas A&M (7-1)

9. Mississippi State (6-2)

10. Ole Miss 6-2)

11. South Carolina (6-2)

12. Vanderbilt (5-2)

13. Missouri (4-4)

14. Georgia (3-5)

Stay tuned at BamaCentral each week throughout the 2021-2022 season for updated SEC Men's Basketball Power Rankings.