Rk.

Team

Comments

1.

The LSU Tigers are the class of the SEC by far — there is no one even close.  Whether they can make a tournament run remains to be seen.

2.

The South Carolina Gamecocks grab second by default — there is no one else really deserving, and I’m not even convinced that they are either.

3.

The loss to LSU is hardly a black eye considering the Tigers’ strength — and the fact the Florida Gators already had two shiners to begin with.

4. (t)

Two losses this week for the Kentucky Wildcats — one to Vandy who then lost to Georgia.  Time to break out the bourbon — it’s gonna be a bumpy March.

4. (t)

Up, Down!  Up, Down!

No this isn’t a verbal description of an X-rated movie for the visually impaired, it’s just a really inconsistent season for the the Tennessee Volunteers.

6.

The Auburn Tigers are sort of hard to describe: a little sweetness and a lot of suck.  Oh, and some how in 2nd in the West.

7.

Losing to Tennessee wasn’t all that bad, but Alabama?  The Mississippi State Bulldogs can do better than that.

8.

The Ole Miss Rebels look good some nights and really bad on others.  I wonder how that performance correlates to whether Andy Kennedy takes a taxi to the arena?

9.

After losing four in a row, the Alabama Crimson Tide managed to win back to back games this week, but likely have 3 losses ahead.

10.

First the Vanderbilt Commodores  beat Kentucky — nice.  Then they lose to Florida – alright, not unexpected.  But losing to Georgia?  (vomit noises)

11.

Who knew?  The Georgia Bulldogs have managed two good wins lately:  Florida and Vandy.  Can the Dawgs grab a third in the SEC?  Yeah, I’m waiting on that one too.

12.

I thought Georgia would win the “Worst of the Best” award but the Arkansas Razorbacks have never let up in their battle to the bottom.  It takes dedication to fight your way to failure.

Rk.

Team

Change

Comments

1.

—

It was a strong week for the Kentucky Wildcats with wins over the Vols, Dawgs, and War Tig-les.

Right now, they look like the cream of the crop in the SEC.

2.

—

After getting hammered by the Cats last week, the Tennessee Volunteers bounced back with wins against the Cocks and the Dores.  If they can continue to play defense, this team could gel into something impressive.

Memphis, however, will test them.

3.

1

The LSU Tigers are on a bit of a roll, winning 3 in a row and their 17th at home.  Next up is Xavier, which they should win, followed by the Vols in Knoxville which will be much tougher.

4.

2

Well, the  Florida Gators are obviously beatable, as South Carolina made clear.  While Nick Calathes is good, hitting your free throws to win is better.

5.

1

The South Carolina Gamecocks pulled off an unlikely win against the Gators on Tuesday.  At 13-4 / 2-2, are they for real?

6.

3

The Mississippi State Bulldogs may be the dark horse of the SEC West.  Though they lost to LSU, the Bulldogs have the potential to be strong in March.  Their next two games, against hapless Georgia and Ole Miss, make that even more likely.

7.

1

Well, Alabama Crimson Tide Coach Mark Gottfried is in the news again courtesy of Kevin Steele, but not necessarily the way he hoped.  I’m thinking Kentucky is a loss, but what do I know?

8.

1

The Vanderbilt Commodores are a bit of an unknown, but looked very weak against the Vols.  In fact, they looked dreadful.  Facing Florida this week is not likely to improve things.

This could be a long season in Nashville.

9.

4

After coming out with wins against top 10 teams, the Arkansas Razorbacks have gone stone cold.  They have a chance, however, against Auburn and perpetually listless Alabama.  I suggest they take it before the wheels come off completely.

10.

—

Auburn has two winnable games coming up.

Arkansas can be tough if they choose, but lately they haven’t so there’s a chance.  Texas-Pan American, on the other hand, has been mistaken as an airline.

11.

—

The Ole Miss Rebels are looking at three tough games in a row: at South Carolina, Kentucky in Oxford, and then a contest at Miss St. Furthermore, Coach Andy Kennedy just isn’t feeling the vibe the way he used to.

If I were a betting man … I think I just get drunk and shoot myself.

12.

—

The Georgia Bulldogs have lost 4 in a row.  With games at Florida and Alabama this week, it’s likely to soon be 6.

Maybe Dennis Felton should have stayed in Washington after the inauguration.

Rk.

Team

Change

Comments

1.

1

No matter how much I dislike them or how hard I might try, the Florida Gators are the National Champions, and thus are deserving of the No. 1 spot in the final poll, no questions asked.

Sucks, don’t it?

2.

2

Pre-season, I’d have said you were crazy if you told me that the Ole Miss Rebels would be my No. 2 team at season’s end, but they earned it.

With their strong finishing victory against Texas Tech, their 9-4 overall record, their amazing improvement over last year, and their having been the only team to beat Florida they earned it.

Nice job by the Right-Reverend Nutt.

3.

—

No change for the Georgia Bulldogs.  Sure, they beat Michigan State, but it wasn’t pretty and they were supposed to win.  A solid season, but a disappointing one nonetheless.

On another note, I’m sure gonna miss Larry Munson, though…

4.

3

Well, the Alabama Crimson Tide took notched two lop-sided losses since the last regular season ballot.  The Florida loss was (in my mind) expected.  The Utah blow-out was not.  Thus, the Tide falls a few spots for a lapse in focus.

Still, a nice season for a team full of freshmen and sophomores.

5.

2

The Vanderbilt Commodores were supposed to be average this season.  They were supposed to putz along, business as usual.  They were supposed to lose to Boston College.  So much for “supposed tos.”

Here’s to Vandy, to showing everyone they still know how to Show their Gold!

6.

(tie)

—

The Kentucky Wildcats won their bowl game against East Carolina — earning them their first win against a team with a winning record.  That’s hardly impressive, and they hang on to their spot by the narrowest of margins.

6.

(tie)

2

Most folks thought that Georgia Tech would give the LSU Tigers fits.  In the end, the only fits were the withdrawal pains of the Tiger faithful when they quit selling beer at the Georgia Dome at the start of the 4th quarter.

Nice finish to a rollercoaster season.

8.

3

The South Carolina Gamecocks hoped to end their late-season slide against Iowa.  Nice idea, but one which simply failed to come together.  Still, considering they started with 2 conference losses, not all that bad.

Hey, at least they got to go to a bowl.

9.

—

I had half a mind to give the Tennessee Volunteers a bump up due to all the excitement surrounding new coach Lane Kiffin, but I couldn’t in good conscience do that.

Next year, however, should be fun in Knox-vegas.

10.

—

“There’s nothing to see here, please disperse.  The cow-bell clanging you hear is all a figment of your imagination.”

This was a tough one for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and I hated to see Sly Croom—my pre-season coach of the year—go, but he did about as well as he could given the situation he inherited.

11.

1

The Arkansas Razorbacks showed some real improvement during the middle of the season, but faded at the end.  Still, Bobby Petrino didn’t quit mid-season to go coach the German National Swimming team, so there’s that, too.

12.

1

Yeah, I dropped the Auburn Tigers a spot.  Any fan base who attacks their new coach before he even coaches a game earns that due to the divisive nature of their actions.  Of course, I understand they blame the AD.  Still, a tough situation for new head coach Gene Chizik.

Rk.

Team

Change

Comments

1.

4

Jodie Meeks.

‘Nuff said.

2.

1

I have real problems ranking the Tennessee Volunteers this high considering how they have been struggling.  A loss against South Carolina could point to even more serious problems.

After making more talented guards across the country look all-world, all the Vols can say is “Thank you sir, may I please have another.“

3.

–

The Florida Gators grabbed a really ugly win over Auburn — really ugly.  But an ugly win is better than a stellar loss.

4.

2

The LSU Tigers win over the Gamecocks was impressive, and enough to get them a bump this week.

5.

3

After starting off gangbusters, the Arkansas Razorbacks faded hard this week losing to both Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

The lesson we have learned?  Stay away from Mississippi…

6.

2

The South Carolina Gamecocks managed a decent win against Auburn followed by an equally impressive loss to LSU.  Thus the jury is still out.

7.

–

The Vanderbilt Commodores managed to pound on the Dawgs this week which is nice for them.  Unfortunately, Georgia is, as we we say in the business, “lousy.”

8.

2

This week the Alabama Crimson Tide made LSU look bad, Mississippi State look good and Mark Gottfried look like he always does: average.

9.

1

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are looking like they could be a sleeper.  A win against Vandy or LSU this week would make them look stronger.  A win against both and they probably get the cow bells out again.

10.

2

The Auburn Tigers dropped two this week, even appearing to try to lose to the Gators.  Looks like the slide is on, Down on the Plains.

Of course, they didn’t give up 54 points to a single player either … so there’s that.

11.

1

The Ole Miss Rebels beat an Arkansas team that I probably had overrated and lost to a Florida team that I probably had underrated.

Thus, so far they are pretty much doing what they are supposed to do.

12.

1

The Georgia Bulldogs made Vandy look good and Tennessee look overconfident.  Are the Dawgs going to be the team that everyone beats immediately before losing?

Rk.

Team

Change

Comments

1.

n/a

The Tennessee Volunteers have managed a couple of nice wins so far, most notably against Georgetown, and a close loss to Gonzaga (whom they play again tonight).  The Vols have played the toughest schedule of the SEC teams thus far, and have the experience to go with it.

On the other hand, they have also managed to completely stink it up a bit with inconsistent guard play, the inability to hit the 3-Point shot, and a general lack of direction and identity.  That said, they are still probably the best team in the SEC…for now.

2.

n/a

The Arkansas Razorbacks have been a real surprise thus far this season.  After defeating the Texas Longhorns 67–61—their second win over a top-10 opponent this year—the Hogs look to be for real.  As a team, Arkansas looks to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC West, second only to the litany of expletives emanating from Coach John Pelphrey’s mouth.

3.

n/a

The Florida Gators are a solid team whose biggest win to date came against the NC State Wolfpack.  That’s all well and good except that the Wolfpack are, well, not very good.  Still a solid start for the Gators.

4.

n/a

The South Carolina Gamecocks are 11-2 thus far, despite a less than impressive schedule.  Their only real test to date ended in a loss to the Clemson Tigers, but they clearly have the ability to win, the question remains as to whether they will actually do that down the stretch.

5.

n/a

The Kentucky Wildcats came out in full force suck losing to both VMI and the Tarheads in their first two games of the season.  From there, however they have improved.  Had they beaten their kissing cousins, the Louisville Cardinals, they’d have been higher this week.

Still, it’s probably a little early to start screaming to “Fire Billy.”

6.

n/a

The LSU Tigers really haven’t played anyone yet this season, and thus are sort of an unknown.  Their 12-2 record, however, gives them the boost into the top-half of the conference.  We’ll see if they can hold on to it once they start conference play this weekend against the Tide.

7.

n/a

Like LSU, the Vanderbilt Commodores have yet to really show whether they are good or not.  At 11-3, they appear to have some talent, but a win at Kentucky on Saturday will definitely improve their ranking.

8.

n/a

The Auburn Tigers lost 4 of their first 7 games, but have come on since the start of December, picking up 7 straight wins including a win against the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville.  Still, opening up with losses to Mercer, Dayton, and Northern Iowa hardly inspires confidence.

9.

n/a

Mark Gottfried has been coaching the Alabama Crimson Tide for 11 seasons now, but they rarely seem to get much better or much worse.  At 10-4, it looks like the Tide will likely reside in the middle of the SEC once again.  Will Gottfried make it to 12 seasons?

10.

n/a

Well, it isn’t much, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ Basketball team is a little better than the football team fielded in Starkville this year.  Still, at 10-5, they have managed a few decent wins recently, most notably against Houston and Western Kentucky.

11.

n/a

The Georgia Bulldogs managed the seemingly impossible in the SEC Tournament last year, but they appear to have returned to their ways of old this year, losing every game played thus far against a quality opponent.

12.

n/a

At 9-5, the Ole Miss Rebels are deceptive in that they appear to be a decent team.  Don’t be fooled, there may be great suckification ahead in Oxford if they can’t manage to play an entire game to the end—just like they didn’t against Southern Miss.