------------------- SEC Standings -------------------
......................Conference......Pts......Overall
South Carolina.......5-0..........15.........11-0-1
Arkansas.................5-0..........15.........12-1
Auburn....................4-1..........12...........8-4
Vanderbilt...............4-1..........12...........8-4
Florida.....................3-2............9...........8-3
Missouri..................3-2............9...........8-4
Alabama..................2-2-1........7...........7-4-1
Texas A&M..............2-3...........6...........7-5
Ole Miss...................2-3...........6...........7-6
Tennessee...............2-3...........6...........7-6
Mississippi State.....1-4...........3...........6-6
LSU...........................1-4...........3...........6-7
Kentucky..................0-4-1........1..........4-6-2
Georgia....................0-5...........0...........3-8-1

--- Thursday, September 29 ---
South Carolina 1, Texas A&M 0

--- Friday, September 30 ---
Vanderbilt 3, Tennessee 2 (2OT)
Arkansas 2, Georgia 1
Auburn 1, Missouri 0
Mississippi State 1, Alabama 0
Florida 3, LSU 0

--- Saturday, October 1 ---
Ole Miss 2, Kentucky 1 (2OT)

--- Sunday, October 2 ---
Tennessee 2, Indiana State 1 (OT)

There were a few scenarios where I envisioned Florida and A&M tied in the standings, but tied in the middle of the table probably wasn't one of them.

last year we exceeded expectations.
I think last years results may have had expectations a little high this year, especially considering we lost 2 key players that we had originally planned on having.
That being said, we are still performing below what would be considered reasonable expectations given our player situation. I think without the injuries to Bates and Hajdu we would probably be performing around a reasonable level.
Florida and A&M both in the middle of the pack is a surprise, especially with our extremely favorable schedule.

I tend to agree with this assessment. A&M did overachieve last season considering the regular season finish. We played well in the SEC tourney and then had a nice win over Washington in the 1st round of the NCAAs. The big upset of North Carolina in the 2nd round (in a game A&M was basically dominated in the run of play) vaulted us into the Elite 8 because Clemson was upset by Ole Miss, giving us a much easier matchup against the Rebels, which we won in PKs. Considering we were crushed by FSU in the Elite 8, it's obvious we didn't belong at that level yet.

This season's expectations may have been a bit higher than warranted (I expected an Elite 8 type season) considering the loss of Watt and the reliance on so many freshmen that are not at the level of the 2011 class in terms of talent when they were freshmen and starting a lot of games. But I do think that making the NCAA tournament was a baseline expectation considering the talent level. However, I didn't expect to lose both Bates and Hajdu and then have a hampered Harvey try to hold the midfield together. It's been a bit of an amalgamation of forces and bad luck that have this season on the brink of the worst of Coach G's tenure at A&M. Every coach is eventually going to have a season like this (see UNC a few years ago and UCLA last year) so I'm willing to overlook some of this as long as we come back very strong next year with Pounds and Harvey as seniors and Watt and a healthy Bates back in the lineup. We also have some very talented freshmen coming in next year that will provide immediate help in the attack and add depth in the midfield. But I would like to see the coaching staff address the physical makeup of the team in the offseason by getting the team stronger to prevent nagging injuries which derail an entire season.

Ole Miss only had 3 shots in their game today, and won 2-1 in 2OT!