SEC Power Poll Week 8

How did South Carolina's first win in conference play impact them in the Power Poll?  Well...

1. Kentucky. I'm not giving a reason here until they require one.

2. Florida. The Gators went to Columbia and won, which puts them above Arkansas, who went to Tennessee and lost.

3. Arkansas. The Hogs are 2-1 with a nice win on the road in Athens, and look to clearly be the third-best team in the league and the likeliest NCAA team aside from Kentucky and Florida.

4. Alabma. The middle of the SEC is a complete mess, but we'll let the Tide slot in here since their only loss was by two points in Columbia.

5. Georgia. There's seriously no good way to separate the middle, but put Georgia here because their two losses (at home to Arkansas and away to LSU) are slightly better than South Carolina's two losses, which include a 16-point drubbing in Oxford.

6. Ole Miss. Ahead of the Gamecocks thanks to a 16-point whipping in Oxford.

7. South Carolina. A very close loss to Florida away from being the fourth-best team in the league, but a very close win against Alabama way from being 0-3.

8. LSU. A 2-1 record and some nice in-conference wins, but still a team I'm skeptical of, and the loss to Missouri didn't cure any of that skepticism.

9. Vanderbilt. Not enough here to make a serious post-season run, but no one is going to look forward to their trip to Nashville this season.  The SEC is on the upswing not so much because of the teams above the 'Dores, but because a team as good as Vanderbilt is only 9th in these power ratings.

10. Tennessee. A very nice home win over Arkansas shows the Vols won't be easy outs.

11. Texas A&M. Free falling despite the great effort against Kentucky, given they only escaped Mississippi State by three points at home and got clobbered in Tuscaloosa.

12. Auburn. The win over Missouri is a nice won for a team that will treasure every one they get in SEC play.

13. Missouri. Focus on the win over LSU, forget about everything that happened since then.

14. Mississippi State. The considerable lack of progress from last year to this year has to concern basketball fans in Starkville.