College basketball is in the midst of its second-to-last week of the 2025-26 regular-season, and with conference tournaments just around the corner and March Madness beginning immediately after that, the Power Four conference races are officially on the backstretch. That’s especially true in the SEC, where more than half the 16-team conference is within four games of league-leading Florida in Week 17.
No. 7 Florida (21-6, 12-1 SEC), the reigning national champions, have won seven straight to maintain a solid two-game advantage of its next closest competition for the SEC’s 2025-26 regular-season championship with four games remaining before the conference tournament officially tips off March 11. Of course, the Gators still have a home game against No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday, as well as a challenging road game at Kentucky to end the regular season on March 7.
Before that, ESPN updated its College Basketball Power Index (BPI) on Wednesday morning to give fans a better look at how the conference is really shaping up ahead of conference tournament action. With that in mind, let’s dive into how ESPN’s BPI ranks the SEC’s 16-team field in Week 17:
As mentioned above, the defending national champion Gators remain the class of the SEC this season, and hold a solid two-game lead on the 2025-26 SEC regular-season title with four games left.
Florida is considered the SEC’s top team with an overall BPI ranking of five and is the conference’s only team with a double-digit offensive and defensive average strength at 10.4 and 11.6, respectively. The Gators currently hold a 98.5-percent chance to win the SEC regular-season title.
Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
The Vols currently sit 2 1/2 games back of the Gators in the SEC standings after Tuesday night’s 73-69 loss at Missouri, and now likely needs to run the table to challenge Florida for the SEC’s No. 1 seed.
And that won’t be easy, especially with No. 17 Alabama and No. 25 Vanderbilt coming to Knoxville in back-to-back Saturdays to close out the regular season. That said, No. 22 Tennessee has the SEC’s second-best defensive strength at 10.3 and is 12th nationally with a 18.9 BPI.
The Commodores enter Week 17 having lost two straight, including a 69-65 setback at home to the rival Vols last Saturday, and are now a full four games back of Florida with four games to go.
That said, No. 25 Vanderbilt has been extremely consistent this season and holds an overall BPI ranking of 14 entering the final two weeks of the regular season. The ‘Dores are one of the SEC’s most balanced teams with an offensive strength of 10.4 and a defensive strength of 7.8.
Outside of Florida, no SEC team is currently hotter than the Crimson Tide, who have won six straight since its 100-77 road loss to the Gators on Feb. 1 during the whole Charles Bediako fiasco.
No. 17 Alabama boasts the conference’s best offense with a BPI strength of 12.2 and is among just a few contenders that can seriously challenge Florida for the SEC’s top seed. The Crimson Tide sit just two games back of the Gators with winnable Week 18 games vs. rivals Georgia and Auburn ahead.
David Leong-Imagn Images
John Calipari’s squad has won four of five and arguably have the best chance to knock off Florida from the top of the SEC standings sitting two games back ahead of Saturday’s road game in Gainesville.
Certainly helping matters is Arkansas’ 11.0 BPI offensive strength, which ranks second in the SEC behind only Alabama, and a 5.2-percent chance to win the conference with winnable Week 18 games against vs. Texas and at Missouri to close out the regular season.
The Wildcats managed to snap a three-game losing streak with a 72-63 win over South Carolina on Tuesday night but will need to find the consistency it held when it won eight of its prior nine in SEC play.
And the road doesn’t get any easier for Kentucky with back-to-back Saturday home games against No. 25 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Florida to close out the regular season.
Year 1 under Steven Pearl hasn’t been everything Tigers fans had hoped when Bruce Pearl retired in late September and passed the proverbial baton to his son.
And while there have been flashes of hope, including last Saturday’s 75-74 win over Kentucky at home, Auburn lost on the road 91-79 on Tuesday night to Oklahoma, the sixth defeat in its last seven games.
Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
The first season of Bucky Ball under new head coach Bucky McMillian has been filled with highs and lows, but the Aggies remain in the mix for a bye in the upcoming SEC Tournament if it can finish strong.
Of course, that’s easier said than done for A&M, which has won two straight since a four-game losing streak. Still, the Aggies close with home games against Texas and Kentucky before finishing at LSU.
The Longhorns enter Wednesday’s game against No. 7 Florida having just had a five-game win streak snapped with last Saturday’s 91-80 loss at Georgia.
On the bright side, Texas has the SEC’s fourth-best offensive BPI score at 10.7 and closes out the regular season with road games at rival Texas A&M and No. 20 Arkansas before finishing at home vs. Oklahoma.
The Bulldogs round out ESPN’s Top 10 amid a consistently inconsistent run through SEC play this season, including entering Week 17 on a two-game win streak after losing the prior two straight.
But the road to an opening round bye in the upcoming SEC Tournament could be in doubt with challenging road game at No. 25 Vanderbilt on Wednesday and hosting No. 17 Alabama on March 3.
Rest of the ESPN SEC Basketball Rankings
11. Missouri Tigers (19-9, 9-6)
12. Oklahoma Sooners (14-14, 4-11)
13. LSU Tigers (14-13, 2-12)
14. Ole Miss Rebels (11-16, 3-11)
15. Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-14, 3-11)
16. South Carolina Gamecocks (12-16, 3-12)