We are just shy of halfway through the SEC schedule, and we are finally seeing teams like Florida and Vanderbilt round into form. Down the ballot, we find teams jockeying a little bit for position, but today's Power Poll ballot shows no big moves one way or another.
One team that seems to be on a general downward trend is the Alabama Crimson Tide. Teams have figured out that they are so poor at shooting the three, you can just pack in the defense near the rim and dare them to shoot. needless to say, that has placed Alabama's slow tempo into a bit of a conundrum, and the result has been an unexpected loss to bottom-feeder South Carolina in Columbia. They rebounded with a narrow victory over Arkansas in Tuscaloosa, and right now seem to me to be in jeopardy of another NIT visit absent a turnaround.
Meanwhile, over in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks seem to be finding their game a little bit. Despite being blasted by Kentucky in Lexington, the Hawgs have come back strong, knocking off Michigan and Auburn at home while giving the Tide 40 Minutes of Almost-Hell on the road. This team has an outside chance of going on a run and making a case for an at-large bid. I can see the possibility of up to seven more wins for the Razorbacks with an upset or three.
My ballot follows the jump.
Here's my ballot:
| Rnk | Last wk. | Delta | Team | Overall | Conf | Proj | Pomeroy | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT | Conf SOS | Comments |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | Kentucky | 21-1 | 7-0 | 14-2 | 0.9616 | 118.7 | 86.7 | 67.5 | 0.6955 | Not much to say, they just keep winning. LSU victory most impressive. |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | Florida | 17-4 | 5-1 | 12-4 | 0.9207 | 123.0 | 96.8 | 66.2 | 0.672 | The Gators are winning at home, and winning away. Patric Young is getting better every game. |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | Vanderbilt | 16-5 | 5-1 | 11-5 | 0.8683 | 111.4 | 92.7 | 67.1 | 0.6433 | Solid home stand this week, but on the road next week. Eligible to improve if they knock of the Gators in Gainesville. |
| 4 | 4 | 0 | Mississippi St. | 17-5 | 4-3 | 9-7 | 0.7895 | 110.7 | 97.3 | 66.5 | 0.8206 | This team has exactly one win on the road in conference. That does not inspire a great deal of confidence. |
| 5 | 6 | 1 | Arkansas | 15-6 | 3-3 | 8-8 | 0.7361 | 104.0 | 94.1 | 71.7 | 0.7964 | Never figured this team to be 3-3 in league at this point. They still have at least 5 winnable games left on the schedule. |
| 6 | 5 | -1 | Alabama | 14-7 | 3-4 | 10-6 | 0.8890 | 106.4 | 86.9 | 64.2 | 0.7995 | Teams are figuring out that you can zone Alabama and let them fire away from three at will. So far, they've only made them against Kentucky. This is a major vulnerability that could send them back to the NIT. |
| 7 | 7 | 0 | Mississippi | 14-7 | 4-3 | 7-9 | 0.6631 | 98.2 | 91.9 | 67.3 | 0.6928 | I count 2 more games the Rebels should be favored in. |
| 8 | 8 | 0 | Tennessee | 10-11 | 2-4 | 6-10 | 0.6844 | 100.1 | 92.8 | 65.6 | 0.822 | Everyone keeps thinking Jarnell Stokes makes them better, but so far, they have only one good win to prove it. |
| 9 | 9 | 0 | Louisiana St. | 12-9 | 2-5 | 7-9 | 0.7141 | 100.6 | 92.0 | 66.1 | 0.8381 | The Tigers have had the roughest stretch imaginable in the early conference season. It gets easier, but they need to win the games they should win to have a chance at the post season. |
| 10 | 10 | 0 | Auburn | 12-9 | 2-5 | 4-12 | 0.4613 | 94.0 | 95.4 | 65.9 | 0.7953 | They'll have to take solace in moral victories and a significant improvement over last year. |
| 11 | 12 | 1 | South Carolina | 9-11 | 1-5 | 4-12 | 0.5942 | 104.8 | 101.0 | 62.0 | 0.8478 | Big win against Alabama, and a tough loss against Ole Miss. Is the improvement too little, too late? |
| 12 | 11 | -1 | Georgia | 10-10 | 1-5 | 4-12 | 0.5646 | 101.1 | 98.5 | 62.9 | 0.8462 | Lost 5 out of six in the SEC, but their schedule has been tough. It gets easier, but I only a maximum of 4 and more likely 3 wins left for them. |
Your comments are welcome and appreciated