No. 4 Alabama, no. 5 Florida men’s hoops broken down by SEC foes, showing conference depth

And the award for deepest men’s basketball conference goes to: the SEC.

How else to explain two top five teams – no. 4 Alabama and no. 5 Florida – both lose Tuesday night at home to conference foes?

At least in Alabama’s case, the Tide lost to a ranked team and fell 74-64 to the No. 21 Ole Miss. Meanwhile, the Gators shot an abysmal 21 of 31 from the free throw line in an 83-82 loss to unranked Missouri, which wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicates.

The best argument for the SEC’s depth is not only that Missouri won, but that the Tigers led for nearly 38 minutes on the road — at one point by as many as 19 points.

Turnovers played a crucial role in both Alabama and Florida faltering on Tuesday night. The Tide threw it away a whopping 21 times, which Ole Miss turned into 19 points (the Rebels tallied just seven turnovers). Florida coughed it up 13 times to Missouri’s eight, allowing the Tigers to score 18 points.

Giving the ball to the other team usually does not end well. What is more surprising, however, is that this happened with both Alabama and Florida at home. Playing well on the road is tough. Playing well in front of a friendly, packed crowd shouldn’t be.

Certainly no one could have predicted that midway through January, the two undefeated teams in SEC play would be the No. 1 Auburn (16-1, 4-0) and Ole Miss (15-2, 4-0). Given how tough this conference is, it’s unlikely anyone will finish with less than three losses – especially if Auburn star and National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome is out for more than a week.

The SEC’s motto is “it just means more.” With the way this conference is shaping up as we approach March, that line may need to be changed to “it’s just more” — as in, more representation in the NCAA Tournament than anyone else. Because with the SEC’s depth, they’re likely to send a lot of teams to the dance.

Required reading

(Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images)