College basketball rankings: SEC teams in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25 on Jan. 29
Last week, the SEC had three of its members ranked among the top 10 basketball teams in the major national polls, yet another promising step for a conference which has improved significantly over the past decade in the sport.
Two of those squads, however, weren’t able to escape the week unscathed.
Kentucky and Auburn, which were tied at No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, went a combined 1-3, with all three losses coming against unranked opponents.
REQUIRED READING: Jerry Stackhouse still loves this Vanderbilt team as SEC losses mount, including to Tennessee
The Wildcats (15-4, 5-2 SEC) lost just their second conference game of the season, falling on the road against an upstart South Carolina team. John Calipari’s team, however, was able to regain some traction over the weekend with a come-from-behind win at Arkansas. The Tigers (16-4, 5-2) doubled what had been their season loss total in just a matter of days, losing on the road to rival Alabama before getting bested three days later at Mississippi State.
No. 5 Tennessee (15-4, 5-1), the league’s highest-ranked team, took care of business in its lone game of the week, beating in-state foe Vanderbilt in Nashville. In the win, star guard Dalton Knecht scored 32 points, the third time in the past four games that the Northern Colorado transfer has broken the 30-point threshold.
While Kentucky and Auburn will fall – and Tennessee will unlikely rise since the four teams ahead of it didn’t lose – the SEC may soon have some more teams in the top 25. South Carolina and Alabama picked up marquee wins to remain near the top of the league standings while Ole Miss won both of its games after falling from the rankings last week.
Here’s a look at where SEC teams are in the updated Coaches and AP Top 25 polls:
REQUIRED READING: Tennessee basketball always was going to be good. Dalton Knecht makes it special | Estes
College basketball rankings for Jan. 29
USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
This section will be updated when the poll is released Monday afternoon.
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AP Top 25
This section will be updated when the poll is released Monday afternoon.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: College basketball rankings: SEC in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25
