As we passed the time this offseason, a consensus was forged about the SEC. The league’s stratigraphy broke the conference into four, clearly delineated tiers.
- Tier 1: Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn
- Tier 2: Mississippi State, LSU, Florida, Alabama
- Tier 3: Vanderbilt, Missouri, South Carolina, Arkansas
- Tier 4: Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss
Over the season’s first seven weeks, the upper crust has proven mostly static. Tennessee and Auburn’s losses came to top-five teams on neutral floors, while Mississippi State appears to have steady its perimeter shooting enough to make a move.