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

Last week: Lost to Florida Gators; Defeated Ole Miss Rebels

Last rank: 10th

The Arkansas Razorbacks took a slight jump in our SEC Power Rankings. After all, there’s no shame in losing to the Florida Gators this year. Meanwhile, the Ole Miss Rebels were looking to move into one of these spots.

So by beating Ole Miss, Arkansas showed it belongs here. The Razorbacks, though, have been impossible to figure out. How do you have huge wins over the Tennessee Vols and Missouri Tigers but get blown out by the LSU Tigers? That makes no sense.

LSU then losing to Vanderbilt makes that loss look even worse. And it’s making Mike Anderson’s team impossible to gauge overall. What’s clear is these guys are wildly inconsistent and need to get that fixed soon.

Still, as of now, Arkansas is an NCAA Tournament team. At 13-6, they have the No. 14 ranked strength of schedule and are No. 32 in the RPI. That’s a position many other teams in the conference would kill for, but it shows again the depth of the conference for us to keep them here with that ranking.

Going forward, though, they have to work to keep it. Two of their next three games are on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies. Both are difficult, and they might want to win at least one for insurance.

However, facing the Oklahoma State Cowboys at home in the SEC-Big 12 challenge should be a win for them. And they do get to face the LSU Tigers on the road soon for a chance at revenge.