The Southeastern Conference has the nation’s only undefeated Division I team and six of the top 10 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll.

No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 23 Ole Miss are a little farther down the depth chart, but more than pulling their weight in the toughest league in the land.

The SEC’s two Magnolia State teams entered the first week of 2025 ranked together in the Top 25 for the third week in a row and fifth time this season. It’s the longest such stretch ever. Prior to this, the only time the teams were ranked at the same time was for two weeks in January 2019, and for one week in January 2010.

“One thing about this league is you’ve got to have a short-term memory after a win or a loss. You’ve got to stay the course,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “Every team is going to have its ups and downs. It’s the teams that are most consistent that have a chance to be competitive as the conference race goes on. With that in mind, there’s a poise, a maturity, an understanding that each game’s going to bring an opportunity.”

Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0) and Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 SEC) both started their SEC schedules with victories.

Ole Miss started slow against Georgia before pulling away to a 63-51 victory.

Ole Miss trailed 28-26 at halftime, then started the second half with a 15-2 run to take the lead for good. Dre Davis and Jaemyn Brakefield both hit 3-pointers during the run, and Matthew Murrell got it started with a pair of baskets.

The Rebels bounced back from a loss in their previous outing, with a road trip to Arkansas up next on Wednesday night followed by a home game vs. LSU on Saturday.

One key to Ole Miss’ success has been defense. It has a plus-7.0 turnover margin and ranks 15th out of 355 Division I teams in forcing 16.3 turnovers per game.

The Rebels also rank 12th in Division I in steals per game, with an average of 10.2. Sean Pedulla leads the team with 2.4 per game.

“We’ve just got to get to the point where our offense helps our defense, and our defense helps our offense,” Beard said. “There’s different tempos to play, depending on where you’re playing and who you’re playing, time and score. I think we’re trying to get our guys to understand that our pace is dictated a lot by what’s going on with the game.”

Mississippi State was dominant in an 85-50 blowout of South Carolina on Jan. 4. Josh Hubbard made five 3-pointers and led four players in double figures as Mississippi State shot 56.5 percent from the field.

Mississippi State led 43-18 at halftime. It was the Bulldogs’ largest halftime lead since 2003, and they led by as many as 37 in the second half in cruising to their seventh win in a row.

The winning streak has included victories over ranked opponents Pittsburgh and Memphis during the non-conference schedule in December.

The Bulldogs were back in action late Tuesday night, on the road at Vanderbilt, and then will get a big test Saturday when No. 6 Kentucky visits Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss play each other Jan. 18 in Starkville, and again Feb. 15 in Oxford.

“That remains to be seen if we’re going to be more special than in years past. But this team has a great connection, which we’ve seen since this summer. You always keep your fingers crossed that a group will connect, so that worked out well,” Jans said.

The Bulldogs have averaged 84.0 points per game, which is the second-highest mark in program history through 14 games and the program’s highest mark going back to 1976-77.

Four players — Hubbard (17.1 points per game), Claudell Harris Jr. (10.9), Riley Kugel (10.4) and KeShawn Murphy (10.4) — are all averaging in double figures.

“It’s definitely special,” Hubbard said. We have a lot of power offensively. It all starts on the defensive end. That just makes it so fun when you have that many players that you can set different lineups with.”