Men’s basketball SEC Power Rankings Feb. 12: Vols fall back to pack

Last week: Lost to Arkansas Razorbacks and Florida Gators

Last rank: 12th

A couple of weeks ago, the South Carolina Gamecocks appeared to be hitting their stride just enough to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Sure, they weren’t going to be a Final Four team again. But they were going to be a team that could be dangerous.

Well, that now clearly wasn’t going to happen. South Carolina is now on a five-game losing streak, and three of them came at home. In fact, two of those losses came at home to NCAA Tournament bubble teams, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Florida Gators.

Now, Frank Martin’s team is barely above .500. They have been wildly inconsistent on the season, and it makes for a year in which they clearly don’t look likely to get back to the Final Four. However, for a 13-12 team, they aren’t as out of it as they should.

Playing in the brutal SEC, that record is still somehow good enough for the No.  76 ranked RPI. With the No. 24 ranked strength of schedule and earlier quality wins against Florida and the Kentucky Wildcats, you could see how that happens. And just a few wins will be enough to get them on the bubble.

That brutal stretch, though, begins in the most brutal way this week. South Carolina has to visit the Tennessee Vols and then host the Auburn Tigers. Those games will at least spike their schedule strength. And after that, they have a chance at real wins with home games against the Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers and a road game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.