With an 83-77 win over Vanderbilt on Monday, LSU has an 18-0 record and is one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the Top 10. 

Has it been a pretty 18-0? No. Nonetheless, LSU has the second-highest rank among SEC teams. 

However, LSU has a tough road ahead. The Tigers face all the currently ranked SEC teams, including a rematch with No. 15 Tennessee, this time in Baton Rouge.

Also, four of the six upcoming conference games against ranked opponents are on the road, and three of those four games are in the last five games of the season–games closest to the postseason.

Let’s examine these six teams and how their seasons have progressed compared to LSU’s.

South Carolina

South Carolina is no stranger to a competitive schedule. In 2024 alone, the Gamecocks faced off with five ranked opponents.

Of those five games, South Carolina took four. The Gamecocks lost to the current No. 1-ranked UCLA Bruins. Not only was the loss somewhat unexpected, but losing by 15 points was certainly not expected.

Otherwise, the Gamecocks have taken care of business, winning each of their four-ranked wins by 10 points or more.

But South Carolina made a statement with a 17-point win over a then-No. 5 Texas team. 

The opportunity to strengthen its resume is especially strong in conference play. The Gamecocks square off with Texas again, which is ranked No. 7, but also face No. 19 Alabama, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 5 LSU and No. 15 Tennessee before Feb. 1.

In February, South Carolina will pivot out-of-conference, taking on No. 6-ranked UConn, which presents another opportunity to gain a national perspective.

As of Jan. 16, South Carolina will end its season facing 13 ranked opponents. The team has already put together an impressive resume going further into conference play.

Texas

In its first season in the SEC, the Longhorns have made themselves a strong force in the conference.

Texas’ non-conference schedule was not nearly as intensive as South Carolina’s, only facing two ranked opponents before conference play.

Of those two games, Texas took once, falling short in overtime to Notre Dame by 10 points. However, the Longhorns have had a quick introduction to competitive SEC teams to start conference play.

Texas started SEC play with a seven-point win over Oklahoma, currently ranked No. 13. A week later, they defeated a current No. 19-ranked Alabama team by a whopping 44 points. 

But three days later, the Longhorns suffered their second loss to No. 2 South Carolina by 17.

Texas has several upcoming opportunities to strengthen its resume, including a non-conference matchup against No. 8 Maryland on Jan. 20. Besides that matchup, the Longhorns have four ranked SEC matchups ahead, including a rematch with South Carolina at home, and a matchup with LSU also at home.

Kentucky

Kentucky suffered its only loss of the season thus far on Dec. 5 to a No. 16-ranked North Carolina.

That matchup was one of three ranked matchups that Kentucky will have until Jan. 30, when it faces Alabama. From there, it will face each ranked SEC team, including LSU, on Feb. 23. 

The potential for LSU to catch Kentucky with multiple losses by the end of February puts the Tigers in an even better position, given that there is already some essential familiarity with the Wildcats.

LSU has seen Kentucky’s leading scorer, Georgia Amoore, before, although it wasn’t in a Kentucky uniform.

When Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks took the head coaching job at Kentucky, Amoore followed him to Lexington and brought a similar energy that she brought with the Hokies. 

LSU defeated Virginia Tech, who was ranked No. 9 going into the matchup, by 18 points last season.

Having seen a Brooks-ran system before and with Amoore heavily involved, it could be an early swing factor in LSU’s favor that other SEC teams may be unable to relate to.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma faced its first-ranked opponent six games into the season but lost to Duke in overtime by 10 points.

The Sooners won their two remaining games against then-non-conference-ranked opponents No. 22 Louisville and No. 20 Michigan.

Oklahoma lost its first-ranked matchup in SEC play by seven points to Texas but bounced back with a one-point win against No. 15 Tennessee.

However, what may hurt Oklahoma is the four-point loss to Mississippi State on the road on Jan. 9, which gave the Sooners their third loss. 

While Mississippi State is a three-loss team, it didn’t face any ranked opponents in non-conference play and lost to two of the three ranked SEC opponents it’s faced thus far. The Bulldogs are on the cusp of the Top 25, receiving 22 AP Votes.

LSU also lost to Mississippi State on the road last season. But coupling that with another upset loss on the road to Auburn set LSU back.

That said, multiple ranked losses may set Oklahoma back even more. The Sooners face South Carolina and LSU toward the end of Jan. and Kentucky and Alabama later in the regular season.

Tennessee

LSU’s 89-87 road win over Tennessee may serve the Tigers well in the long run.

Given that there will already be some familiarity, having faced exactly one month prior, LSU will have a home-court advantage this next time.

However, Tennessee has hurdles even before that matchup. It faces Texas, South Carolina and UConn before it sees the Tigers. It also faces Mississippi State on Thursday.

The Volunteers have only seen three ranked opponents as of Jan. 16 and only defeated one. That lone ranked win came in December with a 10-point win over a No. 17-ranked Iowa. Iowa is currently outside the AP Top 25. Tennessee also lost to Oklahoma at home, 87-86. 

In addition to its four-ranked matchup within the next month, Tennessee will face Alabama and Kentucky at the end of the regular season.

Alabama

Alabama has arguably the weakest non-conference schedule of the SEC’s currently ranked teams.

With a 15-point win over a No. 15 ranked Michigan State, now No. 22, the Crimson Tide fell short to Cal, which was unranked at the time of the matchup but is now No. 18.

Alabama then suffered a 44-point loss to Texas to begin conference play to give it loss No. 2. 

The Crimson Tide face-off with LSU at home at the end of the regular season. Before then, Alabama will face South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi State, who could all be ranked by match time on Feb. 9. It will face Oklahoma to round out its regular season.