College basketball rankings: SEC teams in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25

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Although the SEC has only one team remaining in the College Football Playoff, fans of the league can breathe easy.

While the conference may not have been the overwhelming football juggernaut some propped it up to be this season, it’s shaping up to have one of the best seasons ever in men’s basketball.

The SEC had nine teams in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll last week, including seven of the top 12 and both of the top two teams, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Auburn. In his most recent bracket projection Sunday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had 13 of the league’s 16 teams earning a bid to the NCAA tournament, which would break the Big East’s record of 11 bids from 2011. Five of the top eight seeds in his field came from the SEC.

REQUIRED READING: Tennessee basketball ranked No. 1 for program-record fifth straight week

Last weekend became a showcase for the conference, with many of its top teams squaring off. Kentucky handed Florida its first loss of the season in a 106-100 thriller at Rupp Arena. Oklahoma fell from the ranks of the unbeatens, as well, after getting blasted 107-79 by an Alabama team that looks primed to make it back to a Final Four.

The Vols, meanwhile, reaffirmed their standing as the highest-rated team in the country in a 76-52 rout of John Calipari and Arkansas. Coach Rick Barnes’ team is now the only undefeated squad remaining at the Division I level. Their in-state foe, Vanderbilt, continued an excellent turnaround under first-year coach Mark Byington with an 80-72 win at LSU that moved it to 13-1.

After that jam-packed opening weekend of conference play, here’s a look at where SEC teams appeared in the latest Coaches Poll and AP top 25:

College basketball rankings: Updated polls for Jan. 6

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

SEC teams in bold. First-place votes in parentheses

Tennessee (21)

Auburn (10)

Iowa State

Duke

Alabama

Marquette

Kentucky

Florida

Texas A&M

UConn

Houston

Kansas

Mississippi State

Michigan State

lllinois

Oklahoma

Oregon

Gonzaga

Purdue

Memphis

UCLA

Ole…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-basketball-rankings-sec-teams-195527612.html

Author : The Tennessean

Publish date : 2025-01-06 19:55:00

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