Men’s basketball SEC Power Rankings for Jan. 22: Vols lose ground

Last week: Lost to Mississippi State Bulldogs; Defeated LSU Tigers

Last rank: 13th

They are the most consistent team in the bottom tier of these SEC Power Rankings. And make no mistake, the Vanderbilt Commodores are not good right now. In fact, they are pretty awful in the grand scheme of things.

However, this team keeps benefitting from one weird win or extenuating circumstances facing another team to keep it from being last in our SEC Power Rankings. And it’s pretty impressive for them to keep up that shtick.

Okay, we’re still being a bit sarcastic here. Bryce Drew’s team has a losing records at 7-12 and is the only team in the conference with absolutely no shot at the NCAA Tournament with an RPI ranking of No. 143.

However, it’s fair to point out that these guys have the No. 9 ranked strength of schedule. So finding some magical way to get above .500 could significantly improve their resume.

That number only gets better for them over the next four games with more losses likely to come at the same time. After all, the Commodores are about to face the Tennessee Vols, TCU Horned Frogs, Kentucky Wildcats and Auburn Tigers. All of those are Top 25 RPI teams.

So the schedule continues to get brutal for this team. And that’s why they have no shot at moving up these rankings in a substantial way. They are just not good enough to win enough given the hole they’ve already dug. But at least they aren’t in last place.