The no. 1-ranked Florida Gators enjoyed an easy 91–66 victory Saturday over Auburn’s Tigers. But it was Wednesday’s game that in many ways served as a microcosm of the best team in America. Trailing by four, on the road against SEC rival Mississippi State, the Gators were in trouble. Many of Florida’s top players were struggling and the Starkville crowd was roaring. With a little over 13 minutes to go in the second half, Gators swingman Cory Brewer drove to the hoop and drew the foul. After sinking his first free throw, Brewer missed the second. But Florida’s ultra-athletic glue guy soared for the rebound, grabbing his own miss. Poised, he quickly found big man Chris Richard underneath with a deft dish. Richard drew another Bulldog foul, giving him two more free throws and a chance to cut into the lead even more.

The Gators would go on to win the game 70–67, despite shooting performances by star pivot men Al Horford and Joakim Noah and sharpshooter Lee Humphrey that were well below their season averages, and an overall performance that was well below Florida’s normally lofty standards.

Brewer led the charge in the second half. The 6-foot-9-inch junior potted a game-high 20 points. But Brewer’s defense and hustle loomed largest. In one key sequence, he trapped a hapless Bulldog along the sideline, causing a turnover. When Mississippi State assigned the smaller Barry Stewart to guard him, Brewer abandoned the outside shot and drove hard to the rim. His long arms, quickness, and leaping ability allow him to guard a wide array of players, from backcourt waterbugs to post players.

Like Brewer, Florida does whatever it takes to get a win. Noah was the magazine cover boy after the Gators won last season’s national championship, while Horford was seen as a sure lottery pick and Brewer a sure-fire pro in his own right. But on many nights, Florida’s guard tandem of Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey have taken the reins, making key plays on the perimeter and setting the table for their bigger teammates. Charged with manning the point and distributing the ball, Green’s been a stabilizer, instead of the 20-point-a-game scorer and superstar he’d likely be if he played for a mid-major team.

Humphrey’s been the biggest surprise of the bunch this season. The lone senior in the starting five and the player considered the biggest NBA long shot, Humphrey has been unconscious from behind the arc this year — especially since the start of SEC play. He’s made an unthinkable 23 of 32 three-point attempts in six SEC games this season, good for a ridiculous 72% accuracy rate. Humphrey’s perimeter fireworks show in turn opens up more space for the Gators’ hugely talented forwards to go to work closer in. With that kind of balance, it’s no surprise the Gators have gone a perfect 6–0 in SEC games this season, while storming back to the nation’s no. 1 ranking.

Last season, Florida had company from another SEC squad in the Final Four, as LSU rode a loaded core group of Glenn “Big Baby” Davis, Tyrus Thomas, and Darrell Mitchell to the brink of its own title shot. This year, only Davis remains from that trio, and the Tigers have crashed back to earth. That’s a familiar scene in the SEC’s West division, where, incredibly, no team boasts a .500 conference record. In fact, Arkansas’s 63–57 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa Saturday was the first time this year an SEC West team had won a conference game on the road.

Thanks to inflated preseason expectations, Alabama’s been a regular in the AP Top 25. But the Crimson Tide’s record tells another story, as ‘Bama has gone just 2–4 in conference play. It could have been worse, too, as Alabama escaped a close game at home against Georgia January 20, thanks to the referees missing an obvious traveling call on Ronald Steele as the junior guard hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer. Widely rated as a preseason All-American, Steele has struggled with knee and ankle problems that have suppressed his numbers across the board and robbed him of much of his explosion to the hoop and in his jump shot. A loaded starting lineup that includes Jermareo Davidson, Richard Hendrix, and Alonzo Gee has picked up the slack. Davidson nearly dropped out of school after the tragic deaths of his girlfriend and another close friend a few weeks apart, only to return to average a near double-double. This team went 13–1 against the 16th-toughest nonconference schedule in the country; the Tide remain one of the biggest wild cards in America.

Even beyond Florida, the SEC East has been far more intriguing. Tennessee boasts this year’s J.J. Redick in late-game assassin Chris Lofton. But the Volunteers have proved vulnerable to fast breaks, and offensive rebounds against their pressure defense. Kentucky blitzed the Vols by 19 Sunday at Rupp Arena, albeit with Lofton sidelined. That Kentucky has been one of the country’s most underrated teams tells you how wacky the SEC has been this year. Randolph Morris has gone from a tough-to-motivate underachiever to one of the best players in the conference, and Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley have formed a potent backcourt pair.

But the conference’s most exciting story may be Vanderbilt. The Commodores have won five of their last six games, while riding a streak of road wins unmatched by any other team in the country this year: Since January 10, Vandy has topped Tennessee by one, Alabama by 21, Kentucky by five, and LSU by 11, all away from home. Vanderbilt profiles like a top mid-major team playing in a high-major conference. Where LSU and other higher-profile programs have had to cope with early defections of star players to the NBA, the Commodores’ top six scorers this year include three seniors and three juniors. And all that doesn’t even include Georgia, tied for second in the SEC (with Kentucky and Vanderbilt) at 5–2, including the contested loss at Alabama.

It’s your usual SEC bloodbath, but with some new faces poised to follow Florida into March Madness.

Mr. Keri is a writer for ESPN.com’s Page 2 and a contributor to YESNetwork.com.