2021 SEC Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Week 6
With every passing game, fans of college basketball are starting to realize that Alabama's loss to Iona at the ESPN Events Invitational is looking more and more like an anomaly rather than a revealing loss.
In back-to-back Saturdays, the Crimson Tide has taken down two-straight top-15 opponents in No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 14 Houston. At the Battle in Seattle, Alabama dominated the majority of the game and looked unquestionably like the better program that night. Against the Cougars, however, the Crimson Tide had to overcome rebounding and turnover issues that kept the game close until the final horn sounded.
That being said, Alabama is still looking like the team to beat in the SEC. For that, the Crimson Tide remains No. 1 in this week's Power Rankings.
LSU is now the only undefeated team left in the conference after last week. Heading into Saturday, only the Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks were left, but a lopsided 88-66 loss that included the ejection of Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman was hardly a good look for the program.
LSU and Arkansas swap places at Nos. 2 and 3 this week.
Here are the biggest winners and losers this week:
Biggest Winner: Alabama — While the above summary of the Crimson Tide's big week is enough to explain why Alabama is this week's biggest winner, it should also be noted that the past seven days marked the first time since the 2015-16 season since the Crimson Tide defeated back-to-back ranked opponents. If you want to go to the last time it won two-consecutive games against top-15 teams, you'll have to go all the way back to 2001.
Biggest Loser: Ole Miss — Coming off of a 67-63 upset of No. 18 Memphis, one would think that the Rebels would be fired up for its neutral-site game in Atlanta against Western Kentucky. That couldn't be further from the truth, as Ole Miss was shellacked by the Hilltoppers by a score of 71-48. There's still plenty of time for the Rebels to make an impact this season, but rough losses like that aren't going to get the program anywhere in a tough conference.
2021 SEC Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Week 6
1. Alabama (8-1)
2. LSU (9-0)
3. Arkansas (9-1)
4. Auburn (8-1)
5. Kentucky (7-2)
6. Tennessee (7-2)
7. Florida (7-2)
8. Texas A&M (7-2)
9. Mississippi State (6-3)
10. South Carolina (6-2)
11. Ole Miss (6-3)
12. Missouri (5-5)
13. Vanderbilt (5-4)
14. Georgia (4-5)
This Week's SEC Schedule: Dec. 12-18, 2021
Sunday, Dec. 12
Florida State vs South Carolina — 11 a.m. CT, ESPN2
No. 20 Florida at Maryland — 3:30 p.m. CT, BTN
Tuesday, Dec. 14
SC Upstate at No. 13 Tennessee — 6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+
Allen at South Carolina — 6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+
Northwestern State at No. 25 LSU — 6 p.m. CT, SEC Network
Georgia State at Mississippi State — 7 p.m. CT, SEC Network+
North Alabama at No. 18 Auburn — 8 p.m. CT, SEC Network
No. 9 Alabama at Memphis — 8 p.m. CT, ESPN
Wednesday, Dec. 15
MTSU at Ole Miss — 6:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network+
Friday, Dec. 17
Furman at Mississippi State — 6 p.m. CT, SEC Network
Saturday, Dec. 18
No. 13 Tennessee at Memphis — 11 a.m. CT, ESPN2
South Florida at No. 20 Florida — Noon CT (Network TBD)
Austin Peay at Vanderbilt — 1:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network
Utah at Missouri — 3:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network
No. 21 Ohio State at No. 10 Kentucky — 4:15 p.m. CT, CBS
Dayton at Ole Miss — 5:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network
No. 25 LSU at Louisiana Tech — 6 p.m. CT (Network TBD)
George Mason at Georgia — 6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+
Texas A&M at Oregon State — 7 p.m. CT (Network TBD)
Hofstra at No. 12 Arkansas — 7 p.m. CT (Network TBD)
South Carolina at Clemson — 7 p.m. CT, ACC Network
Jacksonville State at No. 9 Alabama — 7:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network
No. 18 Auburn at Saint Louis — 8 p.m. CT (Network TBD)
Stay tuned at BamaCentral each week throughout the 2021-2022 season for updated SEC Men's Basketball Power Rankings.
