A few portions of the ESPN article:
SEC pecking order: There are four teams from the SEC likely to end up in the top 16: Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. The Tigers have been near the top of the rankings for months; the Wildcats will be one of the favorites to cut down the nets; the Vols might be playing the best of anyone in the league; and the Razorbacks have lost only twice in two months. If all four make the semifinals of the SEC tournament, the winners of those two games might end up going a long way toward determining Selection Sunday seeding.
4. Auburn Tigers (27-4)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: SEC tournament
Jabari Smith jumped into the No. 1 overall pick conversation pretty early in the season, but the freshman forward might be playing his best basketball right now. He still sometimes goes long stretches without touching the ball, which isn't entirely his fault. But when he does consistently get touches, he has been super productive. Over his past six games, Smith is averaging 24.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists, while shooting nearly 57% from 3. He has scored at least 27 points in four of his past six games, including 31 against Vanderbilt in mid-February and 27 points in an overtime win at Mississippi State on Wednesday. His 3-point percentage isn't sustainable, but his size and ability to make jumpers make him borderline unguardable at times.
6. Kentucky Wildcats (25-6)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: SEC tournament
If Kentucky is going to look like the team it was for most of January and February, it will need Kellan Grady to find his shooting stroke from the perimeter again. The former Davidson transfer is shooting 43.1% from 3 on the season, which is obviously fantastic, but that drops a bit in SEC play, down to 37.8%. And over the past four games, Grady is clearly in a slump, shooting just 3-for-15 from behind the arc. During an 11-game stretch, starting with Kentucky's demolition of Tennessee in mid-January and ending with the Wildcats' win over Alabama on Feb. 19, Grady shot better than 45% from 3 and was making 3.5 of those per game. He provides spacing and perimeter balance for Kentucky, which has two drive-first guards in the backcourt and two frontcourt players far more comfortable around the rim.
7. Tennessee Volunteers (23-7)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: SEC tournament
Very few teams nationally are playing better than the Vols right now. They've won 12 of their past 14 games since getting blown out at Kentucky, a stretch that includes wins over Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas and LSU. The lone losses came at Texas (by one point) and at Arkansas. The numbers back it up, too. Since Feb. 1, Tennessee has been the fifth-best team in the country according to BartTorvik.com's metrics. It has been elite defensively all season, but over the past five weeks, it's in the top 30 nationally offensively too. It's not enough to jump off the page, but it's more than enough when you haven't allowed a team to score more than one point per possession since Feb. 1. This is a legitimate SEC tournament title and Final Four contender.
16. Arkansas Razorbacks (23-6)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: SEC tournament
Arkansas lost for just the second time in 16 games on Saturday, with the Razorbacks' comeback falling just short at Tennessee in Knoxville. I don't want to read too much into the loss -- Tennessee jumped out to a huge first-half lead after shooting 75% from 3 in the first 20 minutes, which doesn't feel sustainable -- but it is the fourth straight game in which Arkansas has allowed at least 1.05 points per possession. The Razorbacks have been the SEC's best defense in league play, allowing just 0.93 points per possession and keeping 12 straight opponents below 1.00 point per possession. But Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee all found success against the Razorbacks. The latter three teams in that group are all surefire NCAA tournament teams, and Kentucky and Tennessee are Final Four threats, so the uptick in competition could have played a role, but Arkansas does need to tighten things back up entering the postseason.
SEC pecking order: There are four teams from the SEC likely to end up in the top 16: Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. The Tigers have been near the top of the rankings for months; the Wildcats will be one of the favorites to cut down the nets; the Vols might be playing the best of anyone in the league; and the Razorbacks have lost only twice in two months. If all four make the semifinals of the SEC tournament, the winners of those two games might end up going a long way toward determining Selection Sunday seeding.
4. Auburn Tigers (27-4)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: SEC tournament
Jabari Smith jumped into the No. 1 overall pick conversation pretty early in the season, but the freshman forward might be playing his best basketball right now. He still sometimes goes long stretches without touching the ball, which isn't entirely his fault. But when he does consistently get touches, he has been super productive. Over his past six games, Smith is averaging 24.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists, while shooting nearly 57% from 3. He has scored at least 27 points in four of his past six games, including 31 against Vanderbilt in mid-February and 27 points in an overtime win at Mississippi State on Wednesday. His 3-point percentage isn't sustainable, but his size and ability to make jumpers make him borderline unguardable at times.
6. Kentucky Wildcats (25-6)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: SEC tournament
If Kentucky is going to look like the team it was for most of January and February, it will need Kellan Grady to find his shooting stroke from the perimeter again. The former Davidson transfer is shooting 43.1% from 3 on the season, which is obviously fantastic, but that drops a bit in SEC play, down to 37.8%. And over the past four games, Grady is clearly in a slump, shooting just 3-for-15 from behind the arc. During an 11-game stretch, starting with Kentucky's demolition of Tennessee in mid-January and ending with the Wildcats' win over Alabama on Feb. 19, Grady shot better than 45% from 3 and was making 3.5 of those per game. He provides spacing and perimeter balance for Kentucky, which has two drive-first guards in the backcourt and two frontcourt players far more comfortable around the rim.
7. Tennessee Volunteers (23-7)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: SEC tournament
Very few teams nationally are playing better than the Vols right now. They've won 12 of their past 14 games since getting blown out at Kentucky, a stretch that includes wins over Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas and LSU. The lone losses came at Texas (by one point) and at Arkansas. The numbers back it up, too. Since Feb. 1, Tennessee has been the fifth-best team in the country according to BartTorvik.com's metrics. It has been elite defensively all season, but over the past five weeks, it's in the top 30 nationally offensively too. It's not enough to jump off the page, but it's more than enough when you haven't allowed a team to score more than one point per possession since Feb. 1. This is a legitimate SEC tournament title and Final Four contender.
16. Arkansas Razorbacks (23-6)
Previous ranking: 14
This week: SEC tournament
Arkansas lost for just the second time in 16 games on Saturday, with the Razorbacks' comeback falling just short at Tennessee in Knoxville. I don't want to read too much into the loss -- Tennessee jumped out to a huge first-half lead after shooting 75% from 3 in the first 20 minutes, which doesn't feel sustainable -- but it is the fourth straight game in which Arkansas has allowed at least 1.05 points per possession. The Razorbacks have been the SEC's best defense in league play, allowing just 0.93 points per possession and keeping 12 straight opponents below 1.00 point per possession. But Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee all found success against the Razorbacks. The latter three teams in that group are all surefire NCAA tournament teams, and Kentucky and Tennessee are Final Four threats, so the uptick in competition could have played a role, but Arkansas does need to tighten things back up entering the postseason.
