The first two weeks of the SEC basketball season have provided some delightful nonsense, like a human-sized banana being taken away in a police car at Mississippi State and Texas A&M fans wearing Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets as hats.

There has been some surprising smack talk from Alabama's Nate Oats and what some interpreted as an NIL-related jab from Vanderbilt's Jerry Stackhouse.

But, tuning out all the noise, what's changed within the SEC basketball hierarchy over the last three games?

Not much at the top. But moves are being made elsewhere.

1. Tennessee

With 103 points in his last three games, Dalton Knecht is morphing into the superhero that Tennessee needs him to be. But not even he could save the Vols from stepping on a banana peel at Mississippi State for their first SEC loss of the season.

Last week: 1

Record: 13-4

2. Auburn

The Tigers look like a juggernaut. They've won 10 consecutive games – all by double digits. Their average margin of victory in four SEC contests is 18.3 points. The only thing keeping them at No. 2 after the Vols' misstep is that, bizarrely, they don't yet have a Quadrant One win. Plenty of opportunities await.

Last week: 2

Record: 15-2

3. Alabama

Let's play a game of 'What Looks Weaker?' Is it opposing defenses trying to cope with an Alabama team that might have the best offense in the country? Or are we going with the SEC issuing Nate Oats a "public reprimand" that carried no actual consequences after he pushed Mizzou's Aidan Shaw?

Last week: 4

Record: 12-5

4. Kentucky

It took 25 Texas A&M offensive rebounds, four fouls in six minutes to big man Aaron Bradshaw and eight missed free throws for Kentucky to suffer its first SEC loss in overtime. Talk about a nightmare concoction. The Wildcats will be fine, as they illustrated by pummeling Mississippi State in response.

Last week: 3

Record: 13-3

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5. Texas A&M

After their signature win over Kentucky, the Aggies undid a 20-point deficit at Arkansas only to lose on a floater at the buzzer. The upcoming schedule is manageable for Buzz Williams' team, but seven losses in the last 12 games mean the season hangs in the balance.

Last week: 6

Record: 10-7

6. Ole Miss

These Rebels share little in common with the defensive powerhouses coach Chris Beard built at his prior stops. In fact, they're among the worst defensive teams in the SEC. Ole Miss can match most of the conference in firepower, but its defense has to start traveling if it wants to be comfortable on Selection Sunday.

Last week: 9

Record: 15-2

7. Mississippi State

The Bulldogs allowed 80-plus points once all last season. They've done so twice in the last week. The schedule handed Chris Jans' team three games against SEC title contenders in a row, and a 1-2 outcome isn't bad. But if Mississippi State intends to improve on last season's 8-10 conference record, it will have to defend at an elite level again – even against really good teams.

Last week: 8

Record: 12-5

8. Florida

It would seem, with an 0-5 record against Quad One opponents, that the Gators have some issues to solve when they play against quality opposition. Thumping losses to Ole Miss and Tennessee support that theory. And it won't be getting easier for Florida.

Last week: 5

Record: 11-6

9. Georgia

Who had Mike White's Bulldogs starting conference play 3-1, with two road wins to boot? Georgia has no bad losses ‒ but it doesn't have a signature win either. Regardless, UGA is rapidly approaching the bubble and is in position to play meaningful games in February.

Last week: 10

Record: 13-4

10. LSU

A handful of teams had the dynamic of their season totally changed by last month's two-time transfer ruling. The Tigers might be one of them. Jalen Cook is averaging over 15 points in seven games since he got the green light, and the Tigers are 3-1 in the SEC. LSU is a cellar-dweller no longer. How far can it climb?

Last week: 12

Record: 11-6

11. South Carolina

Home games against the likes of Georgia are the kind South Carolina has to win if it hopes to make a genuine push for the NCAA Tournament. A 17-for-32 showing at the free-throw line ensured the Gamecocks didn't.

Last week: 7

Record: 14-3

12. Arkansas

With 7.1 seconds on the clock Tuesday night, the Razorbacks were 0-3 in the SEC, had just blown a 20-point home lead to Texas A&M and were behind by virtue of Wade Taylor's circus shot. Enter Tramon Mark, who stepped up to drill a game-winner and keep the train on the tracks ‒ for now.

Last week: 11

Record: 10-7

13. Missouri

Mizzou averaged 78.9 points per game last season in Dennis Gates' first season on the job in 2022-23. In 10 games against power conference opposition this season, the Tigers have surpassed that total once – and they still lost. Almost unfathomably, Mizzou now has a losing record overall.

Last week: 13

Record: 8-9

14. Vanderbilt

When Jerry Stackhouse called Ole Miss the "best team money can buy" after the Rebels beat Vanderbilt, it sounded like a dig at Ole Miss. Maybe it was. But it was also an acknowledgment that the Commodores didn't have the same resources as their peers this offseason. The results that have followed shouldn't be surprising.

Last week: 14

Record: 5-12

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: SEC basketball power rankings: Tennessee retains top spot despite loss