SEC Update: The Wrath of Billy Donovan

Each SEC team has now played 8 of its 18 conference games.  The big story of the year is the extent to which Florida is dominating the rest of the league.  So far, Florida has won all of its conference games by an average score of 75-49.  In fact, through 8 games Florida has outscored its opponents by 212 points, which almost unheard of.  Ken Pomeroy reports that since 2000, only three teams have outscored conference opponents by more than 212 points over an eight-game stretch:  Louisville in 2005, Stanford in 2000, and Belmont in 2011.  UK fans (rightfully) consider the 1996 Cats to be one of the greatest teams of all time, but throughout their first eight SEC games, the 1996 Cats only outscored their opponents by 177 points.  Last year's Cats won their first eight SEC games by a total of 124 points.  So Florida currently operating at a level we haven't seen before.

A few years ago, after Florida had missed the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2009, we were wondering how Billy Donovan would respond to John Calipari's entry into the SEC.  Now we have our answer.

UK has outscored its eight SEC opponents by 40 points, which is actually the second-best margin in the conference behind Florida.  With their two huge wins last week, the Cats have moved into a tie for second place -- but they still have to play Florida twice.  If UK can hold off the rest of the league for second place, they will have done well.

Here are the standings (conference play only).  The number next to each team is its rating by Ken Pomeroy:

1.  Florida:  8-0
19.  Kentucky:  6-2
24.  Mississippi:  6-2 (Ole Miss has no games left against Florida or UK)
66.  Alabama:  6-2 (Five of Alabama's six conference wins are by 4 points or less)
49.  Missouri:  5-3 (In SEC play, Mizzou is 5-0 at home and 0-3 on the road)
76.  Arkansas:  4-4 (In SEC play, Arkansas is 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road)
125.  Georgia:  4-4 (Georgia is 4-2 against SEC teams other than Florida)
94.  Texas A & M:  3-5 (In their last 7 games, the Aggies scored over 60 points only against UK)
102.  Tennessee:  3-5 (Two of UT's SEC wins are by only one point)
116.  Louisiana St:  3-5 (The Tigers have won 3 of their last four)
158.  Vanderbilt:  2-6 (Vandy lost its last two games by a total of five points)
166. Auburn:  2-6 (The Tigers have lost their last six games)
198.  S. Carolina:  2-6 (The Gamecocks scored only 36 points on their trip to Florida)
233.  Mississippi St:  2-6 (Like Auburn, MSU has a six-game losing streak)