SEC basketball standings ahead of Mississippi State women's basketball matchup with Tennessee

It's cold outside, but competition in the Southeastern Conference is heating up. That's right, SEC play for women's basketball teams has been pretty interesting so far. And while Sam Purcell and the Mississippi State women's basketball team have suffered a couple of losses against some really good SEC teams, the Bulldogs have also gotten a couple of recent wins over some pretty respectable programs.

Now, the Mississippi State Bulldogs will welcome one of the SEC's women's basketball blue bloods to town. The Tennessee Lady Vols are set to face the Mississippi State women's basketball team in The Hump this afternoon.

As Mississippi State prepares to host Tennessee at 4 p.m., let's go ahead and examine where the SEC race currently stands. Here's how the SEC standings look at the moment:

SEC women's basketball standings, 1/18/24:

It shouldn't surprise anyone that the South Carolina Gamecocks and the LSU Tigers are currently leading the conference. And that's exactly what's going on right now:

• South Carolina: 16-0 (4-0)
• LSU: 16-2 (3-1)
• Vanderbilt: 16-2 (3-1)
• Tennessee: 10-6 (3-1)
• Texas A&M: 14-3 (2-2)
• Mississippi State: 15-4 (2-2)
• Alabama: 15-4 (2-2)
• Arkansas: 14-5 (2-2)
• Ole Miss: 12-5 (2-2)
• Auburn: 12-5 (1-3)
• Florida: 10-6 (1-3)
• Georgia: 10-7 (1-3)
• Missouri: 10-7 (1-3)
• Kentucky: 8-10 (1-3)

Interestingly enough, the Vanderbilt Commodores might prove to be an intriguing challenger in the SEC this season. Vandy isn't perfect, but the Commodores have already shown they can be pretty good.

Mississippi State women's basketball record:

In this afternoon's matchup, the host Bulldogs are bringing a 15-4 overall record to the table. That's really solid, all things considered. But MSU will need to be more consistent in conference play and so far the Bulldogs have split their first four SEC women's basketball matchups.

After starting 0-2 against SEC teams, Mississippi State handed the Arkansas Razorbacks and Ole Miss Rebels losses. As such, MSU is now 2-2 against SEC teams so far this year. This afternoon's matchup gives Sam Purcell and the Mississippi State women's basketball team an opportunity to build upon that record.

But, Tennessee is a tough foe.

Tennessee Lady Vols women's basketball record:

Tennessee got SEC play started with three conference wins, but the visitng Lady Vols just suffered their first conference loss of the season when they fell to the Texas A&M Aggies by a margin of 71-56. That loss was likely pretty frustrating for a talented team like Tennessee. Expect the Lady Vols to try to bounce back and improve upon their record at 10-6 overall and 3-1 against SEC teams.