SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Pre-Christmas Edition

Ah, Christmas time.

It is when the sports move indoors from the blistering cold, and the hardwood heats up.  In the SEC, there is no more dominating team than the Kentucky Wildcats.

Wins over North Carolina and Connecticut have leaped Kentucky back into the forefront of the college basketball world.

Amongst the SEC Featured Columnists, Kentucky is a unanimous vote as number one. It gets interesting as the list goes down. 

Here is the power rankings list for this week:

1. Kentucky

Joel Barker, Tennessee Volunteer Featured Columnist: The Great Wall has officially moved to Lexington.

Blake Stansbery, Arkansas Razorback Featured Columnist: Calipari has the most talent by far of any team in the SEC. Who cares if they are young, these Wildcats are the real deal. Just like his Memphis squads.

2. Tennessee

Tiger Histalmos, Auburn Tigers Featured Columnist:  A close loss to the Purdue Boilermakers is the only blemish. Rest of Volunteers's games have been blowout wins.

Joel B: Potential, Potential, Potential. Will it translate onto the national stage in '09-'10?

3. Florida

Blake S: The Gators are playing well, and will be in a battle with TN for the two spot all year.

Tiger H: This team has lots of promise as well. A down game against Syracuse has them just under the Vols at this point, but could jump them at any time.

4. Ole Miss

Joel B: Doubt the 82 points per game will continue against SEC foes.

Blake S: The Rebels are the biggest surprise in the SEC this season and look to be the favorite to win the West.

5. Mississippi State

Joel B: Another team with tons of potential. Two bad losses keep them down for now. 

Tiger H: This team can play some basketball. If they can get more consistency in conference play, I expect them to take the division.

6. South Carolina

Tiger H: A couple of bad outings has the Gamecocks as a question mark as of now. 

Blake S: The Gamecocks are still a question but have been playing well so far this season.

Jameson Fleming, College Basketball Featured Columnist: If the Gamecocks can reach full strength by conference play, then they will be able to make a run at third place in the east. Until then, they need to win enough games to stay in contention for an NCAA bid.

7. Vanderbilt

Tiger H: The 'Dores have slipped as of late. Do they have the leadership to find a way to win again?

Joel B: They are young but still have the talent to compete this season.

Blake S: They have not lived up to their billing so far this season.

8. LSU

Joel B: Speaking of terrible losses, the Tigers have been blown off the court twice this season.

Blake S: If they can reach their potential and improve as the season progresses, they can be a very dangerous team.

8. Alabama

Tiger H: I suspect the Tide will have highs and lows this season. At times, they have looked good. 

Joel B: Their most recent loss was more impressive than Vandy's two-game loser. 

10. Auburn

Tiger H: It is hard to win basketball games when you lack defense inside the paint.  Their shot selection has been poor as well. It'll be another long season on the Plains.

Blake S: Auburn has been pretty bad as of late. They have talent but have not shown the growth on the floor.

11. Arkansas

Blake S: While the Hogs sport the worst record in the SEC, that will change pretty quickly now that they have more than six scholarship players available. The Hogs will likely get rolling a little bit before SEC play.

Joel B: Third in points per game, but they allow 75 points per game. That won't get it done.

12. Georgia

Jameson F: New coach Mark Fox has a lot of work to do with his Bulldogs. He does have one starter that could start on any team in America: Trey Thompkins is a load in the paint.

Joel B: The Dawgs are stuck in neutral.