Voices of the SEC basketball power rankings: Throwing stuffed animals is a sin

The Tennessean

If Mississippi State does not hand out stuffed bulldog toys to its student section before Saturday's game vs. South Carolina, this is truly all for naught. Of course, they could have T'd up just as easily.

Voices was in its pajamas on Wednesday night, ready to finish a mug cake and watch UNC-Duke (sorry SEC, it was just this once) when social media blew up about Georgia basketball.

When Twitter lights up about Georgia basketball, it usually has to require a special event or moment, like hiring Tom Crean or getting a recruit over John Calipari and Kentucky.

This one was way more inexplicable and makes little sense. Someone threw a stuffed animal onto the Georgia playing floor as Mississippi State's Quinndary Weatherspoon was shooting free throws in a tie game with less than 10 seconds left.

To be fair to Georgia, it didn't immediately impact the free throw. But Ben Howland and the MSU bench made sure everyone was aware. "WHAT IS THAT?!?!"

So Mississippi State eventually got an extra free throw to make and win a game it was leading by double digits until the final minutes. It doesn't sit right with Voices to have the precedent that a single thing thrown onto the floor that is as harmless as a Beanie Baby could result in a game-altering technical.

Kentucky fans salivate over having that kind of impact. It's better than threatening officials at their other place of work, to be sure.

Don't throw things onto the court, kids. Welcome to Voices of the SEC and its basketball power rankings.

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1. Kentucky (22-4, 11-2 SEC)

Tournament status: Trending up for a 1-seed, though Reid Travis' injury may hamper those efforts.

Thing to know: John Calipari is the second coach in Wildcats history to post 10 20-or-more-win seasons in his first 10 seasons as head coach, joining Tubby Smith.

2. Tennessee (24-2, 12-1)

Tournament status: Alive for the No. 1 overall seed, and should the Vols wrap up the next month with no more than one loss, they could have an argument.

Thing to know: UT has played six games against the current NET Top 40 but will finish the regular season against five straight Top 40 opponents.

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3. LSU (21-5, 11-2)

Tournament status: No. 1 seed aspirations are all but out the window, and Will Wade has been exceedingly grumpy about the Tigers' home form. The good news for him is that not one NCAA Tournament game is played in Baton Rouge.

Thing to know: Kavell Bigby-Williams would be the NCAA's leader in field goal percentage (69.3 percent) if he had enough shots. Bigby-Williams needs 41 shots over the next five games while sustaining his make rate to become eligible and rank at the top.

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4. Mississippi State (19-7, 7-6)

Tournament status: Almost a lock, and it would take a pretty steep drop from this point to keep them out. Of course, MSU is undefeated when stuffed animals streak onto the court.

Thing to know: Quinndary Weatherspoon is one of eight players in the country who is averaging 18.5 points per game or more while shooting 50 percent or better from the field and 40 percent or better from 3-point range. One of the other seven players is Jordon Varnado, whose older brother is Jarvis, the former MSU standout.

5. Ole Miss (18-8, 8-5)

Tournament status: The same as its in-state rivals, but with a couple of tough tests remaining. If the Rebels take care of business of Georgia, Arkansas and Missouri, those games against UT and Kentucky will be nothing more than seed boosters.

Thing to know: The Rebels are the league's best free throw shooting team, and only KL Buffen shoots worse than 70 percent among the players in the rotation.

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6. South Carolina (14-12, 9-4)

Tournament status: Keep winning. Hey, if the Gamecocks win out and get at least one SEC Tourney victory, that adds up to 20. And in this bubble, that's a promising base to an argument for inclusion into the NCAAs.

Thing to know: Historically, 12 SEC wins is a good jumping point into an NCAA Tournament bid, though it is not guaranteed. 31 of the 35 teams with 12 SEC wins or more made the NCAA Tournament over the last 15 seasons. Those four teams missed the NCAAs from 2011 to 2014, which was the lowest point, perceptively, for the conference.

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7. Auburn (18-8, 7-6)

Tournament status: They're in a better spot, and it probably helps that Alabama has crashed and burned over the last 10 days.

Thing to know: Bryce Brown has shot the most 3s in the SEC at 218 attempts, which is more than twice as many 2-point shots as he has taken this season.

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8. Florida (15-11, 7-6)

Tournament status: Looking up! The Gators win at LSU might be the best win for an SEC team all season, given the circumstances. Mike White has done an excellent job, and if he can get a good month of Jalen Hudson, this team can do a lot of damage.

Thing to know: Hudson has four double-digit point totals in the last six games, which are his only 10+ point games in SEC play.

9. Alabama (15-11, 6-7)

Tournament status: Not great, Avery. The Tide are either happy or terrified to see Vanderbilt on the schedule next.

Thing to know: Of the Tide's last 10 NCAA Tournament teams, five have experienced losing streaks of three or more. Alabama has currently lost three straight games.

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10. Arkansas (14-12, 5-8)

Tournament status: The NIT is not necessarily as well-mapped out by Professional Bracketologists, but Voices' favorite is this one.

Thing to know: The Razorbacks have been at .500 or better in the SEC every year since 2012. Kentucky is the only other program who can also claim that.

11. Missouri (12-13, 3-10)

Tournament status: Long gone, but Cuonzo Martin has his team playing hard almost all the time. See the Tigers' second half vs. Kentucky for an example.

Thing to know: Mizzou is third in the SEC in 3-point shooting percentage but last in points per game. Why? The Tigers have shot the least amount of free throws in the conference. Four teams have shot 200 or more freebies.

12. Texas A&M (11-14, 4-9)

Tournament status: Next season gets closer with every passing day.

Thing to know: If the Aggies don't finish strong in 2019, this will be the second losing season in the last 15. A&M has made the NCAA Tournament eight times in the last 15 seasons, which is fourth in the SEC in that time.

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13. Georgia (10-16, 1-12)

Tournament status: Left in a Build-A-Bear workshop to be used as spare parts for other bears and stuffed animals. A brave fate.

Thing to know: Georgia has never won when a stuffed animal has jumped onto the playing floor.