SEC strength, part 2

Another look at the national perception of SEC hoops.  It starts with a reminder that Bruce Pearl may have been a bit overconfident in his return to coaching:

Exactly seven weeks ago today, new Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl said of the Southeastern Conference's NCAA tournament prospects this coming March, "This year I guarantee five, and I think there could be as many as six, NCAA teams."

Roughly a month into the season, it again appears as if the conference might be closer to last year's three invitees than Pearl's hoped-for six.

The early RPI numbers back that up:

Even the RPI numbers hint of an SEC again in flux. Though eight schools are among RealTime RPI's first 69, any team past 40 is living on the edge, and half of those eight are doing just that -- Ole Miss (69), Mississippi State (63), South Carolina (61) and A&M (56) all outside the comfort zone currently enjoyed by UK (2), LSU (20), Arkansas (21) and Alabama (35).

As we approach conference play, the SEC really, really needs some quality out-of-conference wins to boost their collective RPI.  Our own Georgia Bulldogs could help with that by beating Seton Hall - currently sitting at 19 in the daily RPI rankings.

The article, by the way, never mentions Georgia, which means they are still somehow flying under the radar despite finishing tied for second in the conference last year.  The only way to change that is by doing it all over again.

h/t Chattanooga Times Free Press