Men’s basketball SEC Power Rankings Feb. 5: Vols remain among elites

Last week: Defeated Vanderbilt Commodores; Lost to Missouri Tigers

Last rank: 4th

Just when you thought this was the time that the Kentucky Wildcats and freshmen under John Calipari come together, they have hideous week. Remaining 6-4 in conference play and 17-6 overall kept them safely in the Top 5 of our SEC Power Rankings.

But we had to drop these guys one spot. There was simply nothing we could do to avoid that fact when you consider how they played in both games last week.

This team barely beat the Vanderbilt Commodores. They won by two points at home against the team with the worst record in the conference. Then they lost to the Missouri Tigers on the road. As a result, they clearly looked worse this week.

All of a sudden, the freshmen show that they still can’t deal with success. But things are about to get brutal for them if they don’t focus. With the No. 8 ranked strength of schedule, their record is enough to keep them at No. 16 in the RPI. And that’s enough to say they’re safely in the NCAA Tournament.

However, they have a ton of work to do to get where they want to be. And these guys are about to embark on a brutal three-game stretch. They first host the Tennessee Vols. Then they visit the Auburn Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies.

Losing all three games is plausible. And that could destroy them. But remember, this team has so much talent that it could win all three games as well. So we’ll just have to wait and see how they perform.