Grades for each SEC college basketball team through first month of 2025-26 season

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After a historically special 2024-25 campaign, the SEC was always primed to take a step back on the hardwood this winter, especially with 26 of the top-30 scorers vamoosing for greener pastures.

To no surprise, the SEC started a bit slow, winning just five of its first 23 games against top-60 competition, per The Field of 68, but it rebounded this week with a 9-7 comeback victory in the ACC/SEC Challenge. It was not the 14-2 shellacking of its ACC brethren from a year ago, but progress in watering holes like The Plains or Norman, Oklahoma, is apparent.

November proved to be an exploration month for a 16-team league, featuring so many fresh faces.

So, what have we learned about each SEC club? Let's dive into some first-month grades.

Auburn (7-2)

Initial KenPom rank: 31

Current KenPom rank: 20

You can never accuse Auburn of being unwatchable. This team is equally as fickle as fantastic. Pound for pound, this may be the SEC's most talented roster, and when the barrage of in-your-eyehole 3s are going in, the Tigers are overwhelming. Keyshawn Hall may score 22 points a night, but give up 18 on the other end. It just is what it is. 6-1 point guard Tahaad Pettiford is leading all Auburn rotation players in block rate. Because sure. Kevin Overton can give you a two-piece and then an avalanche of 29 eight days later. Elyjah Freeman will score the loudest seven points in a game that you'll ever see.

Mercurial is the word that I'll keep using with this group for the time being, but overall, Steven Pearl has to feel pretty good about the direction of this club after nine games. The interior defense is not as big a red flag as initially feared, thanks to the emergence of burly freshman Sebastian Williams-Adams, who is already one of my favorite role players in the league. Losses to Michigan and Houston won't hurt. Wins over St. John's and NC State will age well on Selection Sunday. They have to clean up the decision-making and the transition defense, but Auburn is a rock-solid club that will likely steamroll teams at Neville all year. Grade: B+

Alabama (6-2)

Initial KenPom rank: 23

Current KenPom rank: 14

Alabama is so annoying to play against. Nate Oats' group plays with relentless pace, and the Tide generate a barrage of open corner 3-pointers. Over 15% of Alabama's shots are those ultra-valuable corner 3s. That rates in the 97th percentile nationally, and it's fueled by All-American Labaron Philon, speedy deadeye Aden Holloway and multiple lineups that feature five shooters.

When Alabama gets pelted on the boards, it's going to lose. It just is what it is. But give Oats credit. Alabama has been super banged up. Holloway, Keitenn Bristow, Jalil Bethea and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. have all missed time, and Alabama keeps grinding out victories over good teams, partially because Oats has found a real gem in freshman forward Amari Allen. The 6-8, 205-pound wing connects so many dots for these lineups and impacts winning in a ton of different ways. Grade: A-

Vanderbilt (9-0)

Initial KenPom rank: 19

Current KenPom rank: 7

Vanderbilt is smoking hot. One does not eviscerate a Randy Bennett defense for 96 points. As of now, Vanderbilt -- not presumed powerhouses like Florida, Alabama, Kentucky or anyone else -- is the favorite to win this league. This team doesn't have a five-star recruit or a five-star transfer, but Mark Byington's squad has built one of the most dangerous offenses, starring a vroom-vroom transition attack, unselfish playmaking and a boatload of know-your-role, all-stars.

Maybe this is a tad aggressive, but Vanderbilt reminds me a smidge of those Florida Atlantic teams under Dusty May. The Owls were great because the ball had energy and popped all over the floor to find a galore of open looks. That's what Vanderbilt is cooking with right now, too. The guard play was tremendous for FAU, and Vanderbilt has it with Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles, who are bringing it on both ends. This interior defense could be a stumbling block, but Vanderbilt makes so, so, so many teams uncomfortable with its pressure. That effort and attention to detail can cover up plenty on the back end. Grade: A+

Kentucky (5-3)

Initial KenPom rank: 3

Current KenPom rank: 15

The vibes are miserable in Kentucky these days. The 'Cats just aren't playing winning basketball. Good teams end strong possessions defensively with rebounds. Good teams don't take this many ill-advised shots. Good teams share the ball and make the extra pass.

Kentucky isn't playing with an edge or stacking enough of those winning plays together right now.

Mark Pope has been frustrated with his inability to get a pulse of this roster, but I do believe there were more positives than negatives defensively in Tuesday's 67-64 loss to UNC. Defense has to be the calling card for this group because the offense is just unrecognizable right now from previous iterations of Pope-led squads. The lack of play-creation without point guard Jaland Lowe is jarring, and it's exacerbated by the fact that there are too many lineups for Kentucky with three iffy shooters on the floor together.

There's no magic switch. You either play better or you keep losing. Grade: F

Florida (5-3)

Initial KenPom rank: 2

Current KenPom rank: 12

For the expectations internally and externally, the first month has been extremely frustrating for Florida. This may be a time to buy the dip on the Gators, even though they aren't running quite as flawless an operation as a year ago. The smash-mouth brand of basketball can unequivocally work. Florida has out-rebounded five of the six high-majors it has played. It's still dominating the paint at will and suffocating the best 3-point shooter on almost every scouting report.

But this group is turning it over more (19.2%) than any other Todd Golden team. This group is also shooting it worse from 3-point range (27.4%) than any other Golden-coached club. I expect the rim dominance and rebounding to travel every night. I do not expect the 3-point shooting and turnovers to be this glaring a red flag all year.

Albeit the late turnover, Boogie Fland showed encouraging signs down the stretch against Duke, and you already know Tommy Haugh is a superstar who still plays like a high-energy role player. Once Fland gets rolling next to Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Haugh, the Gators have enough pop to make serious noise.

The depth concerns are real, though. Xaivian Lee has to play better. Point blank. Getting contributions from one of the freshmen, namely Alex Lloyd or CJ Ingram, would be ideal. Grade: C+

Tennessee (7-2)

Initial KenPom rank: 9

Current KenPom rank: 16

Tennessee has two offensive engines (Nate Ament and Ja'Kobi Gillespie) and scores of excellent big men who love to rebound and control the paint. That's a very dangerous combination, especially since you'd expect a Rick Barnes defense to get better by the day.

When Ament and Gillespie are clicking at the same time, you're in hot water, and Tennessee's offensive process is mostly encouraging after the first month. The Vols have leaned into finding actions that incorporate both Ament and Gillespie at the same time to give defenses real headaches. Plus, they can throw it to JP Estrella, Jaylen Carey or DeWayne Brown on the block to punish mismatches and pound the glass against anyone who doesn't play two bigs.

But can a team be awesome with just one guard you have to truly worry about? Tennessee is putting that to the test right now. If one of Ament or Gillespie is off, Tennessee's offense doesn't have many other get-out-of-jail-free cards. Grade: B+

Georgia (8-1)

Initial KenPom rank: 44

Current KenPom rank: 21

Somto Cyril has to be one of the scariest dudes to go up against in the country. The chiseled, 6-11, 260-pound big man ranks 14th nationally in block rate and has jackhammered 20 dunks already in nine games. He is a freak, and Georgia has two fill-it-up guards in Blue Cain and Jeremiah Wilkinson, who don't turn it over much, which allows Georgia to go hunt offensive rebounds.

This roster is just so dependent on transition buckets, and I hesitate to believe that will stick against the SEC rosters that can match up with UGA's athletes up front. The point guard play on this roster is really, really unproven at the high-major ranks and could be the stumbling block against the big boys. Grade: B

LSU (8-0)

Initial KenPom rank: 56

Current KenPom rank: 25

Point guard play matters! LSU's got a gem in Dedan Thomas, who rescued the Tigers late in regulation against Boston College with a pair of huge buckets to force overtime on Wednesday. Thomas is an organizer with God-like feel in pick-and-rolls who raises the level of everyone around him. That may explain why Marquel Sutton, Max Mackinnon and Mike Nwoko have been so productive.

LSU still hasn't played a top-100 team, so it's hard to get overly enthusiastic about a potential breakthrough, but the talent level has clearly been raised here. The Tigers have to find a way to split the upcoming games against Texas Tech and SMU, easily the best two teams they face in nonconference play. Another season-ending injury for Jalen Reed is depressing, though. Grade: A-

Missouri (8-1)

Initial KenPom rank: 28

Current KenPom rank: 38

I still have more questions than answers with Missouri after seven buy games surrounding a win over Minnesota and a road loss to a solid Notre Dame club. Mark Mitchell probably should stop shooting treys, but everything else is excellent. He's one of the best 4-men in the league. The Anthony Robinson Breakout is still in hibernation, but it's coming eventually. Jacob Crews still takes some crazy shots, but this time, they're going in at a 49% clip from downtown. This defense also still makes some head-scratching decisions, but the addition of Shawn Phillips Jr. has helped Missouri scare opponents away from the rim way, way more often. I still think this defense could be a top-30 unit if it quit the riverboat gambler act a few more times. Grade: B-

Arkansas (6-2)

Initial KenPom rank: 29

Current KenPom rank: 30

When the lights are bright, this Arkansas team brings it. Losses to Michigan State on the road and Duke on a neutral are nothing to be ashamed about. Arkansas is only the 32nd-best defense in America right now, but there's a great unit in here somewhere. You saw glimpses of it in Wednesday's 89-80 win over Louisville. Arkansas held the high-powered Cardinals offense to just 1.05 points per possession. Yes, Louisville expects to make more than eight of its 37 3-point attempts, but you go through the tape, and Arkansas' size, speed and length forced a ton of tough looks. I charted eight clean attempts out of Louisville's 37 3s. Everything else was hotly contested.

That type of effort can't just appear in the biggest games. If this defense can bring it nightly, Arkansas is going to be a brutal out because Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas are hard for anybody to keep under wraps. Grade: B+

Texas (6-3)

Initial KenPom rank: 39

Current KenPom rank: 57

Texas is 1-3 against high-major competition this year, and the lone victory was on a night when it drained an unsustainable 16 of 32 treys against NC State in Maui.

That's not super encouraging.

It's a new era under Sean Miller, but you can understand some of the hesitancy from this fanbase to wrap its arms around a basketball team that has been blown out in three of the last four games at home against high-major competition. We'll see what tweaks Miller can concoct this year, but this roster may simply not have enough two-way players outside of Matas Vokietaitis and Dailyn Swain. Grade: D

Texas A&M (7-2)

Initial KenPom rank: 35

Current KenPom rank: 45

Bucky McMillan, long a poker fiend, is embracing high-variance hoops. The Aggies are attempting nearly 31 3-pointers per game and shooting 38% from downtown. That's a dangerous combination, and the newfound work on the glass gives A&M a chance to compete with the big dawgs. Out-rebounding both Pitt and Florida State is the way for Texas A&M to stay afloat. But the personnel here is uninspiring at best defensively, so McMillan is leaning heavily on takeaways to combat it. No one -- not even the mad scientists at IU Indy -- is pressing more often than Texas A&M (44.6%) right now, but if you can break the press, there are open shots to be had.

It's a wager McMillan is willing to make. Grade: C

Oklahoma (6-2)

Initial KenPom rank: 58

Current KenPom rank: 46

As expected, Oklahoma is leaning all the way in on its fabulous guard pairing of Nijel Pack and Xzayvier Brown. Pack is back to his flamethrower ways (51% from 3-point range on 67 attempts), and Brown is a walking paint touch. Oklahoma has one of the best pick-and-roll offenses in the country right now.

But any team with an inside-out big man could have a field day against this group, and there are easy targets to poke at on the perimeter, too. Grade: B-

Ole Miss (5-3)

Initial KenPom rank: 24

Current KenPom rank: 52

It's already soul-searching season in Oxford. Chris Beard was fed up with the lack of effort in Tuesday's nine-point home loss to Miami that came on the heels of two frustrating, tight losses to Iowa and Utah.

I tend to think a sharp coach like Beard is going to figure this out because there's enough high-major talent on this roster to find answers to the test. Veteran French guard Ilias Kamardine (I refuse to label 22-year-olds as true freshmen) is unequivocally a keeper, and the interior defense should be a strength when James Scott or Corey Chest is on the floor. But Ole Miss needs more from AJ Storr and Malik Dia immediately. Dia, specifically, played just two minutes in the second half against Miami. How will the Rebels respond against another desperate St. John's club on Saturday? Grade: D

Mississippi State (4-4)

Initial KenPom rank: 26

Current KenPom rank: 77

Mississippi State has plunged in every metric after a 4-4 start that included blowout losses to Iowa State and Kansas State.

Josh Hubbard is carrying an insane burden and feels all but certain to win the SEC scoring title, but Mississippi State isn't getting much from a few of its buy-low moves in free agency. It's odd to see a Chris Jans-coached team make this many scouting report errors defensively and give up this many unguarded treys (90th percentile nationally).

To his credit, Jans has already tweaked the rotation dramatically, inserting freshman Jamarion Davis-Fleming into the starting lineup. The 6-10 forward rewarded that move with 11 points and five boards in Wednesday's 85-73 road win over Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets aren't good, but beggars can't be choosers at this point. Mississippi State's at-large hopes are already on life support on Dec. 4. The margin for error is slim from here on out. Grade: F

South Carolina (5-3)

Initial KenPom rank: 86

Current KenPom rank: 90

Lamont Paris' best chance to win is dragging opponents into the mud and making it a halfcourt execution grinder. South Carolina currently ranks in the first percentile nationally in transition frequency. It just isn't getting much free cheese in the open floor these days. That means the vet (Meechie Johnson) and the rookie (Eli Ellis) have to be excellent against set defenses, which can be a hard life to live.

You need bigs to survive in this league, and South Carolina's frontcourt is one of the least-proven units in the league. But the Gamecocks will not finish in the cellar as currently projected by most models. It's going to sucker teams into playing some nip-and-tuck grinders all year. Grade: D