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

Last week: Defeated South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs

Last rank: 9th

Like the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Mississippi State Bulldogs don’t have a winning record in the conference. But they had an impressive enough week last week to complement their .500 record and 17-6 record overall to shoot them up our SEC Power Rankings.

Having beaten the Missouri Tigers to be on a three-game winning streak instead of a two-game winning streak, Ben Howland’s team is also currently on a more impressive run overall than the Gamecocks.

Mississippi State has just scored three wins against bubble NCAA Tournaments, and despite a poor schedule to start the season, they are seriously building their resume. Right now, in the brutal conference, they have certainly done enough to be No. 3 in our SEC Power Rankings for now.

However, despite all of this, they still have a ton of work to do to reach the NCAA Tournament. That’s because their schedule strength is still outside of the Top 100, which is why they are only No. 57 in the RPI. By the way, that’s how abysmal their non-conference schedule was.

A home game against the Alabama Crimson Tide this week is a must-win. After that, they probably need to find a way to beat Missouri again, this time on the road. And they have to make sure they beat the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road and Ole Miss Rebels at home following that.

All four of these games likely need to be wins. If they can do that, they’ll be in much better position. But right now, despite how well they’re playing, they are still not in the Big Dance.