College basketball rankings: SEC teams in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25

Although the SEC has only one team remaining in the College Football Playoff, fans of the league can breathe easy. 

While the conference may not have been the overwhelming football juggernaut some propped it up to be this season, it’s shaping up to have one of the best seasons ever in men’s basketball.

The SEC had nine teams in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll last week, including seven of the top 12 and both of the top two teams, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Auburn. In his most recent bracket projection Sunday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had 13 of the league’s 16 teams earning a bid to the NCAA tournament, which would break the Big East’s record of 11 bids from 2011. Five of the top eight seeds in his field came from the SEC.

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Last weekend became a showcase for the conference, with many of its top teams squaring off. Kentucky handed Florida its first loss of the season in a 106-100 thriller at Rupp Arena. Oklahoma fell from the ranks of the unbeatens, as well, after getting blasted 107-79 by an Alabama team that looks primed to make it back to a Final Four. 

The Vols, meanwhile, reaffirmed their standing as the highest-rated team in the country in a 76-52 rout of John Calipari and Arkansas. Coach Rick Barnes’ team is now the only undefeated squad remaining at the Division I level. Their in-state foe, Vanderbilt, continued an excellent turnaround under first-year coach Mark Byington with an 80-72 win at LSU that moved it to 13-1.

After that jam-packed opening weekend of conference play, here’s a look at where SEC teams appeared in the latest Coaches Poll and AP top 25:

College basketball rankings: Updated polls for Jan. 6

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

SEC teams in bold. First-place votes in parentheses

1. Tennessee (21)
2. Auburn (10)
3. Iowa State
4. Duke
5. Alabama
6. Marquette
7. Kentucky
8. Florida
9. Texas A&M
10. UConn
11. Houston
12. Kansas
13. Mississippi State
14. Michigan State
15. lllinois
16. Oklahoma
17. Oregon
18. Gonzaga
19. Purdue
20. Memphis
21. UCLA
22. Ole Miss
23. West Virginia
24. Michigan
25. Utah State

Others receiving votes:Baylor 49; Cincinnati 38; Pitt 32; San Diego State 25; St. John’s 24; Clemson 10; Maryland 9; Georgia 5; Nebraska 4; Arizona 4; Wisconsin 3; Vanderbilt 3; Indiana 3; UC San Diego 1; Texas Tech 1; Arkansas 1

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AP Top 25

SEC teams in bold. First-place votes in parentheses.

1. Tennessee (45)
2. Auburn (15)
3. Iowa State
4. Duke
5. Alabama
6. Kentucky
7. Marquette
8. Florida
9. UConn
10. Texas A&M
11. Kansas
12. Houston
13. Illinois
14. Mississippi State
15. Oregon
16. Michigan State
17. Oklahoma
18. Gonzaga
19. Memphis
20. Purdue
21. West Virginia
22. UCLA
23. Ole Miss
24. Michigan
25. Utah State

Others receiving votes: Pitt 91; Arkansas 62; Nebraska 62; Baylor 32; Wisconsin 31; St. John’s 27; San Diego State 26; Cincinnati 22; Clemson 19; Maryland 7; Georgia 6; St. Bonaventure 6; Texas Tech 6; Indiana 6; Missouri 5; Arizona 3; Dayton 1; Georgetown 1; Vanderbilt 1; Xavier 1

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