SEC Basketball Preview

Here is Ken Pomeroy's ranking of the SEC basketball programs. The ranking given for each team is its national ranking among all teams:

1. Kentucky
9. Vanderbilt
12. Florida
32. Alabama
59. Georgia
74. Ole Miss
87. Arkansas
99. Mississippi St.
102. S. Carolina
108. Tennessee
143. Auburn
154. LSU

A few points to keep in mind as we head into the new season:

1. The SEC has abolished divisional standings for basketball, but the teams are still going to play the old divisional schedule this year. Thus, the three best teams in the conference -- Kentucky, Vandy, and Florida -- each have to play one another twice, while Alabama only has to play each of those teams once. This will give Alabama an advantage in terms of winning the SEC.

2. I think Vandy is seriously overrated. In their last three NCAA appearances, the Dores have lost to Siena, Murray State, and Richmond. They have never -- I mean, literally never -- reached the final of the SEC tournament since that tournament was renewed in 1979. When push comes to shove, they are simply not ready to compete with big-time programs in big-time games. The only exception to this rule is, of course, their games against Kentucky. As far as I can tell, Kevin Stallings's main goal for the year is to beat Kentucky -- and the Cats usually get Vandy's best efforts of the season.

3. After taking a few years off, it is clear that the real Billy Donovan is back at Florida. When he is on his game, Donovan is the best under-50 coach in America and the best non-Kentucky coach in SEC history. (In fact, he is the only SEC coach other than Adolph Rupp to win multiple national titles). Florida came back very strong last year, and would have played for the national championship if they hadn't had a late-game meltdown against Butler in the Elite Eight. The Gators will be a major headache for Kentucky.

4. I'm very impressed with the jobs being done by Anthony Grant at Alabama and Mark Fox at Georgia. Last year, those teams had a combined record of 46-24, and they went 2-2 against the Big Blue. I expect them to be even better this year.

5. I think Arkansas has finally made the right hire in Mike Anderson. He did a solid job at Missouri -- taking the Tigers all the way to the Elite Eight in 2009 before losing to UConn. In the course of that run, he handed Coach Cal his last defeat at Memphis -- a 102-91 pasting in the round of 16. I'm not sure Arkansas will be ready for his run-and-gun style this year, but I believe he will eventually bring them back into serious contention.

6. Kentucky's every-other-year trip to Starkville is one of the most unpleasant fixtures on the schedule for Wildcat fans. The last time we went down there, we barely survived an overtime game, and the whole team was pelted with water bottles. We go back down there on February 21, and that will again be a grim evening. Coach Stansbury and his Bulldogs don't seem to care about any of their other games, however, until it comes time for them to make their desperate effort in the SEC tournament. They lost to Akron by 10 points last night, and they will have other similar losses as the year goes on.

7. Perhaps the best thing about this year's SEC season is the absence of Bruce Pearl. Tennessee fans will miss the Man in Orange, but I would point out that Pearl went only 2-7 in his last nine games against UK -- 1-3 against Gillespie, and 1-4 against Coach Cal. Nevertheless, we will hope that Pearl's departure has left the Vols in disarray.

8. I still think Darrin Horn was a great coach at Western, and I hope that the Toppers take him back when he is eventually pushed out at South Carolina.