Florida Rises, Texas Surges, and the SEC Basketball Race Heats Up
AUSTIN, Texas - The calendar’s flipped to February, and for the first time in over a decade, Florida sits alone at the top of the SEC men’s basketball standings. The Gators, defending national champions, made a loud statement over the weekend with a commanding 86-67 win over Texas A&M - a result that not only extended their winning ways but also put them in sole possession of first place in the conference at 8-2.
Now, let’s be clear: there’s still a long road between now and the SEC Tournament in March. But Florida’s current form has them leading a tightly packed group that includes Kentucky, Arkansas, and Texas A&M - all chasing that regular-season crown. For a program that’s tasted the ultimate success just last year, this kind of midseason momentum is exactly what you want to see.
Oklahoma Shocks Vanderbilt in One-Point Thriller
Elsewhere in the conference, we saw one of the biggest upsets of the season. Oklahoma, sitting near the bottom of the standings, stunned then-No.
15 Vanderbilt in Nashville, 92-91. It was just the Sooners’ second SEC win, but it came in dramatic fashion, and on the road no less.
For a team still finding its footing in this new-look SEC, that’s the kind of win that can shift a locker room’s energy.
Texas Finding Its Groove at the Right Time
Meanwhile in Austin, Texas is quietly building some serious momentum. The Longhorns have now won four of their last five, including Saturday’s 79-68 home win over Ole Miss.
It wasn’t always smooth - Ole Miss mounted a strong second-half push - but Texas slammed the door with a 14-0 run to close the game. That’s the kind of finishing kick that wins games in March.
Sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis was a force, pouring in a game-high 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting and converting 9-of-12 from the line. It was a breakout performance that powered Texas to its first three-game SEC win streak since early January, when they knocked off Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU in Big 12 play. It’s a different conference now, but the Longhorns are proving they can hang.
And just to add a bit more intrigue to the win: the Rebels are coached by Chris Beard - the former Texas head coach. Safe to say that storyline added a little extra fire to the Moody Center atmosphere.
SEC Power Rankings Shake-Up
With all that action, the weekly SEC men’s basketball poll saw some movement. Florida earned the top spot this week, with Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M rounding out the top four. Texas slotted in at No. 11 - a fair spot given their recent surge, but one that could rise quickly if this form holds.
Here’s how the rest of the rankings shaped up:
- Florida (11 first-place votes)
- Arkansas (+2)
- Kentucky (+3)
- Vanderbilt (-2)
- Tennessee
- Texas A&M (-3)
- Alabama
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Texas
- Missouri
- Ole Miss
- LSU
- Mississippi State
- Oklahoma (+1)
- South Carolina (-1)
(The plus/minus indicates movement from last week’s poll.)
Looking Ahead: March in Nashville
This season marks the second year that SEC beat writers and national reporters are combining their insights to rank the conference’s teams each week. It’s all building toward the SEC Tournament, which returns to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from March 11-15.
Texas, still relatively new to the SEC, is chasing its first conference title in this league. Last year, the Longhorns made it to the quarterfinals before bowing out to Tennessee. Florida, meanwhile, used an SEC Tournament title win over Tennessee (86-77) as a springboard to their national championship run.
With "Rivalry Saturday" set to wrap up regular season play on March 7, there’s still plenty of basketball left - and plenty of chances for teams to climb, fall, or make a statement.
One thing’s for sure: the SEC race is wide open, and the intensity is only going to ramp up from here.