clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

SEC Power Poll 2012: Week Ending 1/22/2012

Secpowerpoll2008_medium

Today's SEC Power Poll has some changes, but not at the top. The Kentucky Wildcats are still at the pinnacle of the conference, and Alabama, who had been second on my ballot for the last couple of weeks, drops significantly due to a couple of tough losses.

Meanwhile Florida, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi St. all improve due to either winning or a combination of winning enough while others a head of them lost. Two SEC teams had impressive wins over ranked non-conference foes, Arkansas at home over the Michigan Wolverines, and Tennessee at home over the Connecticut Huskies. Those rare non-conference wins in the middle of conference season really helped the SEC's profile, and has placed at least one of the two, Arkansas, near the bubble for consideration for an at-large bid.

To have any real chance, though, the Razorbacks much find a way to win away from Fayetteville, which they have yet to do this season. There are at least five more winnable games on Arkansas schedule, and if they can pull an upset or two, the Michigan win gives them the kind of credibility they need to sneak into the tournament.

My complete ballot follows the jump.

Rank Last wk. Delta Team Overall Conf Proj Pomeroy AdjO AdjD AdjT Conf SOS Comments
1 1 0 Kentucky 19-1 5-0 14-2 0.9519 117.2 87.6 68.7 0.6676 #1 in all the land means they are #1 in the SEC as well. No exposition necessary.
2 3 1 Florida 15-4 3-1 11-5 0.9223 123.6 97.1 67.2 0.6416 Gators have won their last three, and they weren't close. Rounding into form.
3 4 1 Vanderbilt 14-5 4-1 10-6 0.8553 110.2 92.7 66.8 0.6613 Vanderbilt lost a game they should have won. No excuses. Team defense still a problem, and MSU owned them on the offensive glass.
4 5 1 Mississippi St. 16-4 3-2 9-7 0.7950 111.1 97.3 66.8 0.8040 Big win on the road thanks to some remarkable shooting by Jalen Steele.
5 2 -3 Alabama 13-6 2-3 11-5 0.9045 107.8 86.6 64.0 0.8346 Tough loss at Kentucky, and now the Tide must travel to Columbia to face the Gamecocks. I like their chances in that one, though.
6 7 1 Arkansas 14-5 2-2 8-8 0.7339 104.1 94.2 72.1 0.8214 What a huge victory over Michigan. If all the Razorback's games were played at home, they might be undefeated.
7 9 2 Mississippi 13-6 3-2 7-9 0.6536 97.7 91.8 67.8 0.6927 Big win over favored State, and a road win at Georgia. It gets a lott tougher now, though, only 3 clearly winnable games left on their schedule.
8 8 0 Tennessee 9-10 1-3 6-10 0.6860 102.3 94.8 64.8 0.8547 If Arkansas' win over Michigan was huge, the Vols win over Connecticut was galactic. Dangerous team is only getting more so as Jarnell Stokes improves.
9 6 -3 Louisiana St. 12-7 2-3 7-9 0.7425 99.7 90.0 66.4 0.8035 Didn't put up much of a fight against the Gators, and they figure to fare no better against Mississippi St. on the road, or Kentucky at home.
10 10 0 Auburn 12-7 2-3 4-12 0.4590 95.3 96.9 66.0 0.7736 This team is showing some fight, but almost any win from now on will be an upset.
11 11 0 Georgia 10-9 1-4 4-12 0.5626 101.7 99.2 63.5 0.8202 Quality win over UT in overtime, but close loss to Ole Miss a disappointment to the Dawgs. Finding wins from now on will be tough.
12 12 0 South Carolina 8-10 0-4 4-12 0.5601 104.1 101.7 61.9 0.8567 Haven't won a league game yet, and hard to see that changing against 'Bama.

Comments? Suggestions? Agreement, disagreement? I'd love to hear them.